Hello, everyone, and welcome to silviaacevedo.com! This is your best place to find my latest news, works, and musings.
Please take a look around the site, and feel free to reply to posts. I love hearing from fellow writers, journalists, and people from all walks of life.
The speedskating season is over, but you’ll find that the really dedicated skaters aren’t spending their newly-freed-up workout times sitting in lawn chairs, drinking margaritas, and finding shapes in passing clouds. Oh, I plan to do that at least once this summer, don’t get me wrong, but the point is we’re supposed to not let ourselves get out of shape, which would make our autumn transition back onto the ice painful.
To that end, my coach has been holding dryland workouts, including “low walking” (walking low to the ground in speedskater stance) to strengthen those thighs — feel the burn, baby — and sprints for bursts of speed. I haven’t been able to travel for the weekly workouts, but I’ve been making up for it by exercising in other ways, including working on an elliptical machine, on steps, using weights, and running.
Let me just say that I used to run quite a lot in college and loved it. It was always exhausting the first mile but got much easier the longer I ran, and I had a great running partner who was much faster than me and thus motivated me to keep up — Diane, if you’re out there, email me, hun.
Now I’m running with my kids, and it’s turning out to be a really nice way to spend time with them. We only run together about twice a week and about a mile per session, but it’s been great to have them as running mates. We’re all seeing improvement in our strength and stamina and we’re having fun — and preparing to set the ice on fire come September!
I’m really pleased to announce that I now have a literary agent to help guide my career, the exceptionally professional and wonderfully warm Kimberly Witherspoon of Inkwell Management. We’re working on a very exciting project together, which I’ll explain as it progresses.
You can learn more about Inkwell here. They’ve got wonderful agents and great books. Pick up some of their work and see for yourself.
It just came out Tuesday and, so far, it’s a really fun read. I’m a little more than 100 pages into The Last Olympian, the final book in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, written by Rick Riordan. My daughter and I have enjoyed reading the series together, and this one looks like it’ll be action-packed.
I’m taking a lot longer to read this one than I had the others because, happily, I’m under deadline, but I’m sure I’ll finish it soon and enjoy it as much as the rest.
Another book which I just loved and read, oh, probably six months ago now, was The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. It won the John Newbery Medal, the most prestigious writing award for American children’s literature. Such a strange and fantastical and gripping story! A feature film of another of his books, Coraline, is out in theaters now, so those who aren’t familiar with his fabulous stories can become so.
If you like contemporary children’s literature, you can’t go wrong with these!
Children’s Book Week is about celebrating children’s literature and the marvelous effect it can have in the life of a child.
One very exciting event for kids is happening this Tuesday, May 12th, from 6 – 8 p.m. at the South Milwaukee Public Library. Kids and their parents can meet talented illustrators Jeff Miracola, who’s also my hubby and illustrator of Welcome to Monster Isle, and the very friendly Carol Schwartz. Readers can also chat up authors Janet Halfmann and Gibbs Davis.
The event is put on by South Milwaukee Public Schools, the library, and the Wisconsin Chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. You can find more information here.
Come on down and bring the kiddies! Everyone will be happy to see you!
All the rain we had here in southeastern Wisconsin would have made today the perfect day to curl up with a good book. Instead, however, I had the great pleasure of previewing books about to be released, talking about books, mingling with some of the state’s best authors, seeing old friends, and making new ones at the SCBWI-WI Spring Luncheon. The annual event brings Wisconsin authors and illustrators together to share lunch and hear from a professional in the publishing world.
Our guest speaker was Kendra Levin, editor at Viking Children’s Books, which is an imprint of Penguin. Kendra’s shown left, and I’m on the right.
She spoke on a slew of issues, including how the economy is affecting acquisitions, which I found particularly interesting. Kendra assures us that publishers are still acquiring books (after all, that is what they do), although they’re being pickier and taking fewer risks. As such, she encourages authors to aim for specificity in their work: in hook, plot, target audience, and, later, the agent or publisher to which you submit.
I’m looking forward to seeing some friends next Saturday at the SCBWI-Wisconsin Annual Spring Luncheon. The event brings together writers and illustrators for lunch and conversation with a professional in the publishing biz. This year, the guest speaker is Kendra Levin, editor at Viking Children’s Books. Take a look at their titles, and you’ll be duly impressed.
It’ll be great to reconnect with this talented group and recharge for the next bout of writing.
Years ago, when I was studying in Spain and my husband was courting me all the way from Milwaukee, he’d send letters to me in envelopes that he’d turned into elaborate works of art. He’d create beautiful designs on the envelopes, which I just loved, and which got lots of attention from anyone who saw them.
Flash to today, when I can proudly announce that my husband, Jeff Miracola, has artwork in another newly-released book and on display in London’s Red Gate Gallery. And, you guessed it, it features mail art!
The Mail Me Art book features two hundred of the best illustrations from some of the great artists of today collected by art-lover Darren Di Lieto. It can be purchased here (USD) or here (GBP). Check out the MailMeArt website and, if you’re in London anytime soon, check out the gallery exhibit at:
Red Gate Gallery
209a Coldharbour Lane
London. SW9 8RU. UK
+44 (0)207.326.0993
Seeing Jeff create the piece selected for this project really brought back some great memories. I love the work and hope you will, too.
It’s been a great week. A respected figure in publishing is interested in turning one of my works into a series, and we’re moving ahead on that path. There are still revisions to be made, but it’s a very promising step that I’m pleased to share with you all!
Also, my young adult novel is coming along nicely. I’ve gotten some excellent feedback from my critique group and have incorporated quite a few of their suggestions into the manuscript. Extra eyes really do improve the work.
For whatever reason, I haven’t posted much on something which is a fairly large part of my life. Until today. But I’m just so amazed that I have to share my good news.
Today I clinched my division in the US Speedskating National Long Track Championships held at Milwaukee’s Pettit National Ice Center. That means… drumroll please… I’m the National Champ!
I’ve been speedskating for three years and figure skating for longer. I love both, but found myself strangely drawn to the need for speed. Who’da thunk it’d lead to a national championship? I’ve never been national anything before.
But there’s even more good news. My daughter, Antonia, took fourth in her division, against some tremendously talented girls, some more than a year older than she. We both skated five races, and got our personal bests in all of them. My eldest daughter, Corina, and son Armando also speedskate and are showing great promise! Here they are, as referenced, with medals from an earlier meet. As for my husband, well, I’m still trying to connive him into getting on the ice…
It is with great sadness that I post of the folding of Milwaukee’s own independent bookstore, Harry W. Schwartz. The bookseller has four location and has been in business for 82 years. It was a great supporter of local authors and illustrators.
Schwartz blames the same profound economic shifts that have brought down scores of other independent bookstores throughout the country and bode ill for surviving sellers.
Fewer bookstores mean fewer visible choices for readers, as megachains further control which books make it to shelves, thus greatly impacting a work’s sales. Big chains themselves are not bad, but I hate to see smaller stores be lost. Options are good. Choices are positive things for consumers.
With that in mind, I’m wishing two of Schwartz’s managers success as each plans to buy a location and strike out on their own. The Downer Avenue location is set to open as the Boswell Book Company in April under the ownership of Daniel Goldwin. Lanora Hurley is in talks to open the Mequon location as the Next Chapter Bookshop, opening date yet to be determined.
To see Schwartz’s official announcement, please click here.
The speedskating season is over, but you’ll find that the really dedicated skaters aren’t spending their newly-freed-up workout times sitting in lawn chairs, drinking margaritas, and finding shapes in passing clouds. Oh, I plan to do that at least once this summer, don’t get me wrong, but the point is we’re supposed to not let ourselves get out of shape, which would make our autumn transition back onto the ice painful.
It just came out Tuesday and, so far, it’s a really fun read. I’m a little more than 100 pages into The Last Olympian, the final book in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, written by 
Another book which I just loved and read, oh, probably six months ago now, was The Graveyard Book by 
She spoke on a slew of issues, including how the economy is affecting acquisitions, which I found particularly interesting. Kendra assures us that publishers are still acquiring books (after all, that is what they do), although they’re being pickier and taking fewer risks. As such, she encourages authors to aim for specificity in their work: in hook, plot, target audience, and, later, the agent or publisher to which you submit.
