What a week! I’m shaking my head in total disbelief. First THIS happened and now MORE good news. Far more than I deserve.
From today’s Publisher’s Marketplace:
Children’s/Middle Grade
Helene Boudreau’s REAL MERMAIDS DON’T WEAR TOE RINGS, about an aquaphobic mer-girl trying to balance the drama of two-legged teenage life with her quest to rescue her mermaid mother from really scary mer-dudes, to Rebecca Frazer at Jabberwocky, for publication in Fall 2010, by Lauren MacLeod at The Strothman Agency (World).
Other things I don’t deserve:
1. My fabulous super agent, Lauren MacLeod. Lauren had to talk me off so many ledges over this whole submission process. She has nerves of steel and can leap tall buildings in a single bound, which is why SHE, on the other hand, TOTALLY deserves this good news.
2. My amazing new editor, Rebecca Frazer. Rebecca is just a whole lot of awesomeness. From the second we spoke on Tuesday, I KNEW she totally *got* my manuscript. Like, how often does THAT happen?
3. My phenomenal critique group. Where the heck would I be without their kicks in the pants and knocks upside the head? Nowhere, that’s where. And yes, they’re that violent, but no pain, no gain.
4. My friends and family. You guys put up with so much. Half the time I can’t believe you’re all still listening. The other half, I whine anyway.
And yes, maybe I don’t deserve all these things, but I sure am grateful! Though, I’m pretty sure I’ve used up my quota of good news and sparkly karma for a good long while.
Hugs, all! 
When I was 9…my teacher wrote a picture book. She brought it to school to show us and I remember how she went from teacher to goddess that afternoon, with every flip of the page.
Wow!
A real author! In my little town! I was in absolute awe and went straight home that afternoon and wrote (and illustrated!) my own picture book about a couple of kids with a crazed robot that goes off on a rampage through town, flattening hedges and knocking soup cans off grocery store shelves.
Um, yeah. Bestseller, fer shur…
But, a spark ignited in my gut that day. I knew from then on that I wanted to write picture books like my teacher, now an author. I wanted to BE that author more than anything in the world.
Many (many) years passed and about five years ago, I decided to get serious about that childhood dream of mine. So, I wrote a picture book. And another one. And started a novel. And by a very lucky twist of fate, had that novel published. And then wrote more picture books.
And this was one of them (announced today on Publishers Marketplace):
******
CHILDREN’S: PICTURE BOOK
Helene Boudreau’s I DARE YOU NOT TO YAWN, an anti-bedtime story testing the theory of whether yawns are contagious, to Mary Lee Donovan at Candlewick, by Lauren MacLeod at The Strothman Agency (World).******
Yup, that’s me. And yup, that’s my book! Needless to say, I’m BEYOND thrilled!
So, I want to give my shy and awkward 9 year-old self a hug right now and say…guess what?
You did it…
I’d long forgotten that 9 year-old’s book, my first picture book, until last year when I was in my hometown launching my first novel ACADIAN STAR.
Something you should know about my mom: I have 7 siblings and we joke that our mom passes off the same baby picture for all 7 of us. READ: She’s not very sentimental.
Who can blame her, she was too BUSY to be taking pictures. But that day last October, she went into her back cupboard and pulled out a manila envelope.
She’d saved it.
Thirty years later, she pulled out that very first story of mine, each page laminated, each pencil-drawn sketch of my crazed robot, unsmudged, and said, “I knew you’d want this someday.”
And there it was; the defining moment of my decision to be a children’s author, perfectly preserved.
I’ll admit, I’m bawling as I write this. Maybe I’m up too late, maybe it’s the sense of relief that I can actually share this wonderful news with you, but thank you for reading.
And thanks to my teacher for showing me what was possible, to my wonderful agent, Lauren MacLeod, for believing it was possible for *me* and to Mary Lee Donovan at Candlewick for opening a whole new world of possibilities for me and this book.
RED DUNE ADVENTURES: The series!
Date: Tuesday March 31, 2009Posted in: Good news!,Red Dune Adventures
I am THRILLED to finally announce my upcoming series with Nimbus Publishing.
RED DUNE ADVENTURES is an illustrated chapter book series for new readers (6-9 year olds). The first volume: KEEP OUT! will be released in the spring of 2010 and the second: WATER HAZARD! will follow in spring 2011.
In KEEP OUT! Lucas and Andre try to solve the mystery of who, or what, has destroyed the endangered piping plover’s nest. And Lucas hatches a plan to get Andre to keep his dirty socks on his side of the room!
In WATER HAZARD! the boys wonder how the best Irish Mossing horse in Prince Edward Island got injured. Was it an accident or sabotage? And will their classmate, Summer, stop reciting poetry long enough for them to figure it out?
I LOVE that this will be a series for new readers and I’m really looking forward to working with the Nimbus team again on this fun, new project!
Yippee!
It’s officially official: ACADIAN STAR’s nomination for the 2009-2010 Hackmatack Reader’s Choice Award.
Sweet!
Could that be the whirr of the printing press as ACADIAN STAR goes off for its second printing?
Well, yes indeed, it is!
When ACADIAN STAR was first published, I remember thinking ‘Geesh, who’s going to buy all those books? My family is big, but not THAT big’, but somehow Nimbus has gone through the first print run and it’s off to the presses once more.
Yippee!
Thanks so much to all my friends, fans (and family!) who’ve bought ACADIAN STAR. It’s been wonderful, reading your reviews on Chapters/Indigo on Amazon and Goodreads. I also appreciate all your lovely notes on my facebook fan page and here on my website.
I can’t believe it was only one year ago when my Nimbus editor called to tell me they were interested in publishing ACADIAN STAR. Yes, her message got cut off on the answering machine (oops!), but thankfully she persisted and here we are, one year later with an award nomination and a second printing.
What a wild ride!
I always wanted to say that! And now I can!
I got a lovely e-mail from my publisher today, congratulating me on ACADIAN STAR’s nomination for the 2009/2010 Hackmatack Children’s Choice Book Award.
From the Hackmatack site:
The Hackmatack Children’s Choice Book Award is a literary program designed for young readers in Atlantic Canada. Each year, thousands of children aged nine to twelve (grades four to 6) read from the selection of outstanding Canadian books and vote for the winners. The award is designed after similar successful programs in Ontario (The Silver Birch Award) and British Columbia (The Red Cedar Award).
The Hackmatack Award was established with young readers in mind and serves to achieve the following objectives:
- to promote and advance reading and literacy among school-aged children in Atlantic Canada
- to participate in and promote a regional program in schools that will encourage young readers
- to foster the development and appreciation of writing in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, in both official languages, through a reading program
- to work with public libraries to encourage readers through a developed reading program
- to encourage a greater official public recognition of the work of Canadian writers
Thank you to the wonderful team at Nimbus and to all my friends, family and fans for your amazing support over the past year.
Can I hear a WOOHOO?!
So okay, it wasn’t the book but a poster of ACADIAN STAR (to be released this fall by Nimbus Publishing). And right next to Sheree Fitch’s book–how cool is that??
And it wasn’t actually me who snapped the pic but my amazing book-seller-extraordinaire friend, Sheri, from Chapters/Indigo. (I forgot my camera at home. Duh. Oh, who am I kidding? I never remember my camera. And I don’t own one of those fancy camera phones either. Double duh.)
But it’s MY BOOK!! And it’s BOOK EXPO!!!
Very, very cool…
Acadian Star, Fall 2008, Nimbus Publishing
Date: Friday May 23, 2008Posted in: Acadian Star,Good news!
The Acadian Star competition is the biggest thing to ever happen in Meg Gallant’s small Cape Breton town. Meg dreams of performing onstage with her best friend Nève. If they’re lucky, they might even make it to the finals in Halifax.
But Meg’s weird old aunt, Tante Perle, has been acting stranger and stranger-and just before the finale of the competition, she whisks Meg away from everything she knows. Meg suddenly finds herself trapped in the time of the tragic Acadian Deportation-where she must choose between escaping to her own time or saving a girl who looks remarkably like Nève.
Why is she trapped in the eighteenth century? Will she be able to save this stranger, so quickly becoming a friend? And where does Tante Perle fit in with all this?
This remarkable book for middle readers introduces us to contemporary Acadian characters, and also offers a young girl’s perspective on the Acadian Deportation.
Hélène Boudreau is an Acadian writer and artist. A native of Isle Madame, Nova Scotia, she writes fiction and non-fiction for children and young adults from her home in Markham, Ontario. Her writing has appeared in various Canadian publications and her Maritime-themed art has been exhibited by the Toronto Public Library. This is her debut novel. The manuscript won 2nd prize in the 2008 New Brunswick Writers’ Federation Literary Competition for juvenile fiction.
PRAISE FOR ACADIAN STAR:
A must read!
The Acadian Star is a touching tale of the power of friendship between Meg and Nève, spanning several generations. This fast-moving story has the right amount of suspense and some moments of pure magic as it moves towards an exciting dénouement. Boudreau’s love for Acadia shines through and adds a wonderful touch of verisimilitude to the narrative. A must read!
-Mahtab Narsimhan (author of THE THIRD EYE)
Lose yourself in the novel!
Helene Boudreau weaves an exciting and eloquent time-travel tale. From the first page on, the reader is drawn into the lives of young Meg Gallant and her mysterious and crazy old Tante Perle. An absolute must read!
-Marina Cohen (author of TRICK OF THE LIGHT and SHADOW OF THE MOON)
A new Canadian classic
On the night of her performance in a singing competition, Meg Gallant is magically transported back 200 years to the time of the Acadian Deportation. Putting her own life at risk, she struggles to change history in order to salvage her friendship with Nève back in the present.
With lyrical prose, Hélène Boudreau has written an enchanting tale of friendship and destiny with her debut novel, ‘Acadian Star’. And within these pages, she offers young readers an emotional glimpse into an important time in Canadian history – the Acadian Deportation. A delightful blend of ‘old’ and ‘new’, readers will find that the historical subject matter is perfectly balanced with the lighter themes of friendship and family.
-Deborah Kerbel (author of MACKENZIE, LOST AND FOUND)
A moving and exciting adventure
Acadian Star, by Hélène Boudreau, is a suspenseful adventure set partly in modern-day Cape Breton, partly in another time. The heart of the story is about friendship, something that’s especially important to young girls growing up. Pre-teen Meg Gallant and her cousin, Nève, have been best friends all their lives. Today is the day they’ll compete as a dancing/singing team in the Acadian Star Competition. If they win they’ll go on to the finals in Halifax. But there’s a shadow on the day: Nève will soon have to move away with her family, and their friendship could be broken forever.According to Meg’s great-aunt, Tante Perle, this has happened before. The story goes back to the time of the Acadian Deportation, 250 years ago, when thousands of Acadians were evicted from their homeland. Something else happened then that has brought sadness and separation to a girl in each generation of Gallants. Each one has had the chance to go back and put things right, and each has failed. Now it’s Meg’s turn. She’s whisked back through time and plunked down in the middle of the deportation. Can she prevent heartbreak this time? Right up to the end, the reader won’t know whether or not she succeeds – or how the competition turns out!
Hélène Boudreau has deep roots in the Acadian tradition: she was born on Isle Madame, in Nova Scotia. Her love for the land and the people shines through and, at a key moment in the story, will bring tears to the reader’s eyes, no matter what their background.
-Patricia Bow (author of The Prism Blade, Ruby Kingdom, The Spiral Maze, The Bone Flute)
Hi everyone,
Carol Spradling’s debut novel, COST OF FREEDOM is due for release on May 30. Jen Hendren, has posted a contest for an ebook giveaway on her blog. If you’d like to participate and have a chance to win a free ebook of COST OF FREEDOM, please go to Jen’s blog.
Make sure to say I sent ya (I think I get bonus points hee hee)
I hope to see you there and good luck!!!
Got a lovely note yesterday saying that my middle grade story, ACADIAN STAR , had taken second place in the Writer’s Federation of New Brunswick’s Literary competition:
2008 WFNB Literary Competition Winners Announced
By Kellie(Kellie)
Helene Boudreau of Markham, ON, takes Second place with “Acadian Star.” Third place goes to Lindsey Morris of Amherstburg, ON for “The Hotdog Bun.” Carmelita McGrath judged the Sheree Fitch Prize for Poetry written by a youth. …
Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick – http://nbwriters.blogspot.com/
Snoopy dancing!!
