Singe Singe here.
Whew, what a week in Plattsburgh, NY!
I am proud to report that Kathy Ellen is writing up a storm. I’m so proud of her.
Though I’m also a little bit mad.
We went to the arcade and she only let me play skeeball once.
I love skeeball, a lot.
She said I’d better get a job if I want to play more.
So I’m working on that.
OH, WAIT!
I SHOULD GET PAID FOR DOING THIS!
I’ll see what I can do.
Anyway, conference continues!
The first keynote speaker at the SCBWI 2012 summer conference was Arthur Levine!
He edited the Harry Potter books!
I love Harry Potter, and I think he could have benefited from a sock monkey best friend!
(Harry, if you’re reading this, I’ve got some vacation days coming up and would love to hang out!)
So Arthur talked about timeless books.
He said timeless can mean many things, but I liked when he said it was like:
“capturing a moment of intimacy between the reader and author.”
There has to be something authentic about what you write.
You want that connection with other humans (and sock monkeys, of course!)
And as a reader you want to have these shared experiences with the characters that stop you dead in your tracks.
One thing that he said that really stuck with me was:
“Books to me are like friends.
And you can have all kinds of friends.”
So I asked Kathy Ellen about some of her friends that are books.
She has a lot, but we narrowed it down to two little stories.
So, please, welcome, Kathy Ellen!
KE: Thanks, Singe Singe, it’s wonderful to be here, thanks for having me.
SS: Of course, of course, you are welcome on your own blog anytime. You heard Arthur speak about a shared experience with a reader, one that can stop you dead in your tracks. Has that ever happened to you?
KE: Of course, many MANY times.
SS: Ok, want to tell us about one of those times, because we don’t have ALL DAY. I’ve got skeeball to play.
KE: Sure.
One summer I worked at a used bookstore in Johnson City, TN,
SS: DREAM JOB!
KE: Right! I know!
Anyway, I was going around the store one day,
picking up books and putting them where they belonged
when I stumbled upon a copy of “The Amber Spyglass” by Phillip Pullman.
SS: all books seen here:
KE: I remembered a part in the book I really loved, and if you haven’t read it yet, SPOILER ALERT.
SS: Oh no! I have to close my ears! But you keep talking, blog readers will want to know!
KE: Ok, so it’s the part in the book where Will and Lyra find out
that they cannot be with each other in the same world anymore.
It just won’t work. One of them will die.
Now, this wouldn’t be so hard if they didn’t LOVE each other.
But they decide that they will go sit on this bench,
each in their own world,
and imagine that the other is sitting right there beside them.
This broke my heart the first time I read it,
and I was so sucked into this book that I just started crying,
right there in the bookstore.
Another employee asked me if I was ok,
and all of a sudden I was sucked out of the story,
and back to reality. That is an experience I will NEVER forget.
A book literally took me out of my world!
SS: Can I open my ears now?
KE: Yes, spoiler alert over.
SS: Phew. Well, I would say that sounded lovely but I didn’t hear any of it.
On to the second little story about books….and this one involves a monkey, actually, my namesake!
KE: Yes, this is my favorite book EVER, Monkey Monkey’s trick.
SS: As seen here:
KE: This book as been my friend for a while, and I REALLY related to the character of Monkey Monkey.
Most likely because he had a double name, like me.
I think it’s a timeless story because I’ve loved it since I was five, and the story never gets old.
I love how tricky hyena is….
I love how tricky Monkey Monkey is…
and I love that there’s soup.
SS: Now, it is true that you have an original copy, in fact, THE ORIGINAL copy, that you read as a 6 year old, still?
KE: Yes, true story. It is in CA; I’ll try to get a picture for you.
SS: Isn’t there something else you are forgetting about this character, Monkey Monkey?
KE: Oh yes, how could I forget.
When I decided to make a sock monkey, I knew I would name him Monkey Monkey, after this character, and that is, in fact, how Singe Singe got his name!
He went by Monkey Monkey for the first two years of his life,
until he and I headed to French camp,
and we couldn’t speak anything but French.
So Monkey Monkey got his name translated into French,
and, after the fact, we both decided we liked the new name so much that we’ve kept it, in French.
SS: Yes, except when Grandma calls me Sing Sing. That’s not my name, that’s a prison.
KE: Agreed.
SS: Anyway, what a GREAT interview, but it would not have been so great without me, wouldn’t you agree?
KE: Yes, I agree.
SS: So you should pay me then?
KE: Singe Singe, no more skeeball this week. Did you tell everyone how they kicked you out for cheating?
SS: Well, cheating is a harsh way to put it…
KE: What do you call it when you run with the ball up inside the machine and dunk it in the highest point circle?
SS: It’s not my fault I’m small enough to fit up in there! They should make it harder!
KE: Well, we are not talking about this here. No more skeeball for you for a while.
SS: HUFF! Well, thanks for nothing.
Ok good people.
I’ll be back next week with another “Conference Continues.”
But just know I’m doing it for you guys, NOT for Kathy Ellen.
And if you want to send me some tokens for skeeball, just leave a comment. We’ll get it worked out.
Also, what books are “timeless” to you? What moments have stopped you dead in your tracks?
The one, the only,
Singe Singe
