Authors have office parties, too!

When I stopped working in the corperate world as a producer at Viacom for shows on VH1 and MTV, one of the many things I missed was the office holiday party. So when I emerged from the haze of stay-at-home motherhood to forge my next path, one of the first things I did with my AMAZING writing group was suggest we have our own holiday party. It has become a beloved tradition where we pick Secret Santa gifts for each other...and of course they are picture books! Buying picture books for picture book authors is no easy feat. How do you pay tribute to the author friend, while also, hopefully, surprising them with a book they hadn't known of? My Secret Santa, Gela Kalaitzidis, absolutely nailed it.

First, since Gela is Swedish, she gave me When Dad Showed Me the Universe by Ulf Stark and Eva Eriksson. Gela has educated our group about Swedish books and their delightfully dark/subversive edge, which also appears in her own award-winning work. Here is how the book starts, to give you a taste:

One day Dad said he thought I was old enough for him to show me the universe.
"Where is it?" I asked.
​"Not too far," he said, taking off his dentist coat with its flecks of blood.

Okay--NOT what you're used to seeing in American picture books lol. But I am IN!

The second book was equally perfect, Dive, Dive into the Night Sea by Thea Lu. There are so many reasons why this was the perfect gift for me. Lyrical book about nature? Check. Main poetic text with informational sidebars? Check. Dreamy illustrations depicting our wonderous relationship with nature in an adventurous environment? Check. Unusual book format? Check. I love everything about this book! She also included a printout of an interview with the book's creator. Wow, do I feel seen with this one. Thank you, Gela!

Here we all are, Chelsea Lin Wallace, Erica Rich, Julia Wasson, Sasha Mayer, and our East Coast member, Carter Higgins, on Zoom! I love these women and would have zero books published without their support.

Happy holidays!