Shelly Nicholson - Guest Blog and New Children's Book

"A Stinky Surprise for Jake the Snake"..."Jake the Snake is having the “worstest” year of his whole entire life. With an “all day kind of school,” a scary school nurse, a new first grade teacher, plus a stinky new baby; how could things get any worse? All Jake the Snake wants is a shiny new bicycle. Except Mom is too busy decorating for the stinky baby to go shopping for a snazzy bike with dangly streamers. When Jake the Snake barfs all over the clean floor on the first day of school and has to visit scary Nurse Pickadilly, he is sure life couldn’t get any worse. That is, until Grandma Nelson announces that Mom and Dad have gone to the hospital to get the stinky baby! Find out what other stinky surprise is in store for Jake the Snake in this hilarious second release."

A great book for early readers, Jake is always into mischief. The illustrations are really cute and depict the situations nicely. It's easy to read and I wish this series had been out when my children were younger. They would have loved it!


Shelly shares with us her thoughts on writing!

Writing, writing, and more writing….I think I am addicted to writing.

Sure, I have other interests. I love to cook; therefore, I run. Lol. I ski, because my house sits smack dab on a ski slope. I love to lie next to the pool in the scorching sunshine. But while I bask on the lounge chair, listening to the roar of my four children acting like true pool menaces; somehow, above all the raucous, 10,000 ideas pop into my head like an overheated popcorn popper. And that is why I write. Whether writing three-page emails to my lifelong best friend, making up silly poems for special occasions, writing memoirs of my family on my blog, creating short stories for children’s magazine, or writing about “Jake the Snake;” writing is my #1 favorite pastime.

If you are an aspiring author, I have six words of advice, “Never give up! Write! Write! Write!”

In 2006, I enrolled in writing classes through the Institute of Children’s Literature. I would highly recommend these classes to anybody. If you are interested in honing your writing skills, learning how to write a query, finding out who to submit to, brushing up on your grammar skills, or discovering the art of revising and editing; you should definitely take some type of writing class. Join a writer’s group where other writers will critique your work and help you improve your writing skills. (I am a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and a local writers group, the Ligonier Valley Writer’s Group.) Pick up a publisher’s marketing guide. It will be your best friend and Bible for the next 100 years! I promise.

During my writing classes at ICL, I wrote 12 short stories and articles. Each (to my surprise) were published in children’s magazines! My last assignment for the first writing course was a book manuscript. For a few years, I had been thinking about writing a children’s book based on my youngest son’s antics. Yes, Jacob (my now seven-year-old and much calmer-than-before child) had always been quite the character! A few years ago, he did everything from swinging on the dining room chandelier to planting a Marigold in the canister of hot cocoa mix. One time he painted the bedroom furniture with hand lotion. He built a sandcastle with my laundry detergent. He ate a piece of cat poop. And he used the toilet as a matchbox car carwash. Ah! Jacob! So much inspiration I’ve retained from this child!

If you are trying to find ideas for your own writing, look for inspiration all around you! I always get story ideas from my kids. Recently, I wrote a short story that was published in Stories for Children magazine in June ’09. The story was entitled “PINK!” and was inspired by my daughter who is obsessed with the color pink! Even in A Stinky Surprise for Jake the Snake, the color pink is used a lot!

I want other kids to love my stories as much as my own kids do. That’s why I try to make my stories funny and realistic. Put yourself into the mind set of your character. It really is a lot of fun. You, yourself, can be a kid again! Find the fountain of youth through your writing!

Thank you, Wendy, for hosting me on your blog. I hope you all will visit my website www.booksbyshelly.com. Have a great day, and happy reading and writing! –Shelly Nicholson

About the Author:

Author Shelly Faith Nicholson lives in the Laurel Highlands
of Pennsylvania with her husband, John, their four children and two
dogs.  Besides her "Jake the Snake" books, Shelly's writing credits
include 17 short stories and articles published in children's
magazines.  She is an active member of the Society of Children's Book
Writers and Illustrators and the Ligonier Valley Writer's Group.
Shelly is also working on a picture book that will be released in the
fall of 2010 and a middle school novel. You can learn more about
Shelly and her books on her website: www.booksbyshelly.com


Please check out these other blogs on the tour!

August 30- www.kennedyandzach.blogspot.com
Aug 31- www.Booksandneedlepoint.blogspot.com and
www.maymaysmemos.blogspot.com
Sept 1- www.mindingspot.blogspot.com
Sept 2-www.reclaimdinner.blogspot.com
Sept 3- www.molcotw.blogspot.com
Sept 4- www.molcotw.blogspot.com
Sept 5 www.thatsanovelidea.blogspot.com - The author will do a guest post!
Sept 6 www.theclockmonkey2.blogspot.com