 My staff and I are very excited about our new venture.
Let me introduce them to you:Francoise
will be covering what, where, when and who. She will keep you up to
date on where I will be, where I have been, and who I have met.
Francoise has written for dance magazines and was a can can dancer for
many years. In recent years she has owned a school for the dance. She
is no stranger to the social scene. Pierre is a self published
poet. He will be covering art and literature. Not only will he
interview other authors and illustrators, but he will also be
interviewing people that work behind the scenes in publishing -
editors, marketing people, production people - without them the books
would never make it to the shelves. Jacques is a man of all
trades. He will be writing about gardening, crafts, and cooking.
Jacques has been a truck farmer, a chef, and for the past few years has
made his living as a computer artist. He lives with his sister in a
bottle house he built. Ollie is a mixed breed pup who will be
picking up and sharing tidbits of all sorts. He will be writing about
this, that and whatever. I will write a column each month about
whatever catches my fancy. You may notice that my name and work will
appear often in the Chatter Chronicles. The reason for this? It is my
newsletter. Ha! A big thank you to Peter and Marcia Derse for
helping me come up with the name of the newsletter. Marcia owned an
independent children's bookstore for 24 years. And I must not forget David Powers, husband for 36 years, who is the best! He picks up all the slack. If you have any ideas, comments or suggestions email me at: denise@denisefleming.com. |
 Francoise
It was a very busy fall. Denise, David, and I were on the road a great deal. We were in Texas at Sam Houston University leading a hands on art workshop. The elegant Rosemary Chance organizes workshops with guest illustrators. Teachers and college students are able to see how different artists work and are able to experiment with the visiting artist's media.  The participants were great, they jumped right in and made a glorious paper mural. It would make a fabulous rug. A '"who knew" - Rosemary raises goats! In Alabama Denise spoke at the Alabama Reading Conference. The Waddell family was there in force helping keep the conference on track. Guess who else was there misbehavin'? Our girl, Janet Stevens. She and Denise were having such a good time that Janet missed her plane! Wow, what a weekend Denise had in the mountains outside Seattle. She led the picture book portion of the SCBWI Weekend in the Woods Retreat. This was a first for Denise. She was a bit apprehensive, but the participants made her feel very comfortable. They were up for anything.  If any of you WIWR folks are reading this, remember - verbs, verbs, verbs. Denise thanks you all for being so enthusiastic. A big thank you to the organizers- Kjersten, Jolie, Sara, Jaime and Meg.  Jaime also gave Denise a tour of Seattle. I hear the coffee was fabulous. I was not included on this outing. Sniff.
Jaime Temairik took this photo.
They have coffee artists in Seattle!
Here at home in Toledo, Ohio Barnyard Banter was chosen as the first book for Let's Read - You & Me!, a yearlong effort by the United Way Of Greater Toledo to get books in the hands of children that may not have any books of their own. One thousand books were given away. The children were thrilled. At one center a little girl asked David, Denise's husband "why do you wear your hair like that?" His response - stunned silence and a grin.
David and Denise visited the East Lansing Public Library in Michigan where everyone was warm and welcoming. Karrie Korroch and fellow librarians provided great company, an enthusiastic audience, "to die for" cookies, and a lovely B and B. Thank you for a marvelous weekend. Thank you all from Denise and David. Denise's upcoming appearances:
February 22-23, 2008
Great Big Book Bash
Huntsville-Madison County Public Library - Huntsville, AL
February 29-March 1, 2008:
McConnell Youth Literature Conference - Lexington, KY
March 12-16, 2008
Woodson Art Museum - Wausau, WI
April 5, 2008
Ponte Vedra Beach Public Library - Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
April 17, 2008
TLA, Dallas, TX - with Henry Holt and Company
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 Pierre
Pierre - Denise, you have a different way of doing things. I mean, you make the picture and the paper at the same time. Why?Denise - Well, for one thing I'm not totally in control with paper. Surprises happen. I like that. I can create textures that would be difficult to create in other mediums. I like the painterly quality of the finished illustration. It is very physical process, which I enjoy most of the time.P - So, do you think you will always work in paper?D - Well, just recently I began experimenting with another style. I have a book idea that wouldn't be successful in paper. In the past, I discarded ideas that would not work well in pulp painting. I want to do this book so I am trying out a new technique.P - Can I have just a peek of the new style? A hint?D - No.P - Well, excuse me! So, what is the book you are working on at this time other than the book you do not want to show me?D - A book about sleep and mamas and babies is what I am working on now. It is a quiet book, meant to invoke sleep. The idea for the book started with an original Japanese woodblock print that was given to my mother when she was pregnant with me. I have always loved this piece. It has a serene, safe feel. I am trying to capture that feeling in the pictures for this book. The illustrations will be pulp paintings. P - I've heard you are bossy about your books, you have to do it your way and all that.D - Yes, I am bossy. I am a "Bossy Bessie" and proud of it. I have a picture in my head of how each book should look and a feeling for how each book should sound. I work hard towards that end. I'm very lucky -- I have great people supporting my work.P - I hear Buster the dog has a new book?
D - Yes, he does -- Buster goes to Cowboy Camp. This was a fun book to do. Lots of cowboy words in the text. The first Buster book has a map. Quite a few readers told me how they loved the map. So, there is a map in the second book. I hope there will be a third book. I have to wait and see how the second book does. I already have the third book written. I wrote all three books at the same time. P - Who creates all those activities on your website?D - My husband and I work together on the crafts and activities. He also is in charge of the website. Right now we are busy working on ideas for the Buster Cowboy book.P - When will Buster goes to Cowboy Camp be in stores?D - It is a Spring 2008/May release. P - I want to tell you I love the colors in that bug book. The rhyme makes me want to dance. What is the title of that bug book?D - Dance, Pierre! P - Excuse me? D - Beetle Bop is the book. You want to dance when you read it because the beetles are bopping - moving here there and everywhere. I also love the colors in Beetle Bop. Especially the pink and yellow on the back and the orange of the cover. Beetles are beautiful.
|
 Jacques
Hello. Not much to report about the gardens as it is winter here in Ohio. Gray and brown are the colors in the landscape. Not much green to be seen. Last week we had a good amount of snow and it was quite beautiful. The blue shadows of trees and bushes on the snow created intricate patterns. 
Indoors the amaryllis are blooming. Deep pink and white stripes- huge flowers. If you never have grown amaryllis before, you must give them a go. Easy as can be. Such cheer they bring in the gray months.
If you have sun, consider creating a garden of sunflowers. There are many varieties now. The birds and I are fans of the plain old fashioned sunflower. Time to spread peanut butter on those pine cones you collected for holiday decorations. Roll peanut butter covered pine cones in birdseed. Hang the peanut butter/birdseed cones from the trees with twine. Peanut butter is a great source of protein for wild creatures. Tip: tie the twine on pine cones before you spread on the peanut butter.  Cut out some paper snowflakes with a heart theme. Sandwich snowflake between two pieces of clear, adhesive backed laminate (adhesive sides toward snowflake). Dampen back of laminate snowflake with water and stick to window. (goggle paper snowflakes for folding pattern)
 Make silly snowmen. Use toothpicks to hold together a stack of three marshmallows. Use toothpicks for arms, whole cloves for eyes, mouth, and buttons, a gummie worm for a scarf, a giant gumdrop and a gummie worm for a cap. Decorate a coconut topped cake or cupcakes with your snow folk.  Read The First Day of Winter. Count the squirrels, mice, deer and birds in the book. Everything that is used to decorate the snowman is shown ahead of time in the pictures. Read the book all the way through then start back at the beginning and see where the items are first shown. Sing the book to the tune of The Twelve Days of Christmas. Nurture, Jacques |
 Ollie
Hey there, Ollie here. I'm going to introduce you to Georgie, Denise's pup. Georgie is a giant Yorkie. Must weigh 20 pounds. He is as handsome as all get out. He is a "loverducks" and is very dramatic. He was three years old on Dec. 24th. He likes boat rides, walks, and chasing squirrels. He loves to eat fish, cucumbers and hummus and sometimes dog food, although he prefers cat food. Georgie is one of the campers in Buster goes to Cowboy Camp. He is also a champion face licker. Georgie is spoiled. He has at least 50 toys. "But he's so cute" is Denise's constant refrain.  |
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This is the first issue of Denise Fleming's Chatter Chronicles. I decided a newsletter would be a great way to keep in touch with the people I meet as I travel around the country and those I meet through my website. The newsletter will be sent out six times a year.
