Blog Posts - THE WORLD OF NANCY KRULIK

SUMMER!

5/27/2016

I know summer doesn't officially start until June 21, but here in NYC, where it's closing in on 90 degrees and everyone is in tank tops and shorts, it's pretty much a given that the season has begun. I don't need to feel the heat to know that summer's on its way. I can tell by the number of summer reading lists featuring Katie Kazoo Switcheroo George Brown Class Clown and Magic Bone books on them. I am so glad that teachers and librarians are suggesting my books for summer reading because to me summer is for fun. My hope is that the books I write are just that--fun to read! I write for kids because I want them to love reading every bit as much as I do. And I want them to laugh and smile and then read some more.

Speaking of fun, tonight my husband and I are heading over to Madison Square Garden for a night of music with the genius piano man, Billy Joel. Anyone who knows us is painfully aware that we spend a lot of time (and money) going to rock concerts. We just love the vibe at a concert--the dancing, the screaming, and the singing along with 20,000 other fans. (The music my husband composes is mostly classical, but he can still rock with the best of them. His new album comes out later this year and I will let you all know when it's available for download and purchase, I promise!) And I'll probably buy a concert t-shirt, because well...why not?

Whatever you all are doing this Memorial Day weekend, take a moment to remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice so that we can all dance to our own beat, and read any book that make us smile. Censorship is anti-American! In the end, that's really what this weekend is all about.

And don't forget the sunscreen.
xoxo
Nancy

Look Out World, Here I Come...

4/7/2016

Okay, maybe the whole world doesn't have to be on the look out for me--Just kids in EdmonOK, Austin and Katy (TX), and Spring Lake and Point Pleasant NJ. Those are the stops I'm making on my spring tour. The kids, teachers and I are gonna have a blast, playing Mad Libs, barking like dogs, and reading from my newest books. My personal favorite part of any school stop on tour, though, is the question and answer section of my presentation. Kids do ask the darndest things--including: How much do you make? How old are you ? and Will you let Katie Kazoo switcheroo into me in her next book? When I'm in the room no question is off-limits (Even if I am less than exact in answering some of them! I tend to leave my age a little blurry and instead of an extra dollar amount I try to explain the basicconcept of how royalties work).

Touring the US and other countries is my favorite part of being an author. Over the years, I have met many many remarkable indie bookstore owners, teachers who are nothing short of heroic, and bright, inquisitive kids who I hope will be inspired to read and write books of their own after meeting me.

I usually post pix and comments along the way when I'm on tour. So follow me on twitter @NancyKrulik to see how things are going. Should be an interesting journey!

The Surprise is Out!

2/11/2016

I've been keeping a secret for a very long time! But now I am soooo excited to announce that I am writing a new chapter book series, Project Droid for Sky Pony Press. For the first time I'm working with a co-author, Amanda Burwasser.. If you've checked out my site, you know Amanda isn't just my co-author, she's my daughter. She's also an amazingly funny author with a degree in creative writing from Pratt Institute.

Amanda lives in California, and I live in NYC, so this process has been filled with timing issues (I find myself skyping with her pretty late NYC time) because we write every single word together. So we spend many, many hours arguing, laughing, and creating together. Co-writing is a new experience for me. Being a peer of my daughter's (at least professionally) is new too. But I'm finding great joy in both.

Our series, PROJECT DROID, will be in stores September 6, 2016. Till, then, these cover pix will have to satisfy your curiosity.

xo
N

Time May Change Me...

1/19/2016

It's been a tough month for rock and roll. If you know anything about me, you know that music and I are pretty intensely linked. I've always been obsessed with the soundtrack of my life--music has never been far away. It started back when I was infant, when my grandfather would play music for me on the piano, by ear! My dad can read music but has an ear that won't quit--he can come out of a Broadway musical and pretty much play the whole score. My dad also took me to my first concert--Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie, when I was about 10. He bought me my first albums (Yes, vinyl LPs!)--the Beatles, Dylan, Joan Baez, and of course the Grateful Dead. My husband is a classical composer (check out music by Daniel Burwasser, it'll blow your mind) and my son is studying audio production and music at school. But it's more than just a family thing for me. I've never known a time when rock and roll hasn't been my best friend. It's been there for me when I've lost loved ones like my grandparents and needed a good cry, , and when I've been so incredibly happy I just had to dance around the apartment like a fool. Every moment of my life has been marked by music--in concert, at home on the stereo, on the road, at the gym...well, you get the picture. So when someone like David Bowie (who gave us all permission to "Turn and face the strange") dies, it feels like a personal loss. Not that I ever knew the man, or at least I never knew David Jones (Bowie's real name) but I sure knew David Bowie's music. It was always there--ever since I discovered his magic my freshman year in college (okay, I came the party a little late). I know that some of you won't understand attachment to a single artist, but that might be because today few artists last that long. It's often two albums and they're gone, because someone new is streaming in, or because now you can buy a single song in a way you just couldn't back in the day (man, I hate that phrase!). It doesn't really matter why artists don't just last decades the way they used to, it just simply means it makes it hard to form the kind of attachment I have to certain artists like Bowie. He's always been there, innovating and creating. There was always new stuff to listen to, and old stuff to bring me back in time. But now, it's all going to be old stuff--even the new album which I got just last week. Bowie was always a predictor--he knew the next trend because he was the one setting it. So I am left to wonder, who's going to be setting those trends now.

Make Your Own Kind of Music

1/4/2016

Happy New Year Everybody! Here's hoping your 2016 is filled with peace, love and music. I know my new year has started out that way. I've been hearing a lot of fantastic live music the past few weeks, and I can't tell you the joy it brings. There's nothing like hearing a favorite tune played live to get you up and dancing! Being married to a musician and having a son who is studying audio production gives me a chance to hear a lot of heated debates and discussions about various recordings, composers, and musical genres. (At one point my perfectly pitched husband and son were debating exactly what note you hear when the subway door closes in NYC.) Personally, I'm not into music for the debating, I'm in it for the sheer emotion it brings me. I tend to write with music on in the background--somehow it focuses me. (In case you were wondering, this morning it's Crosby Stills and Nash, although I'll be switching to the Grateful Dead in a bit)Thanks to the tunes, I'm in a very good mood now, which is helpful since I'm about to go back to writing a particularly funny scene.

So once again, here's wishing you a year of peace love and music. Oh and good books. Because there's nothing like a good book, is there?

Thanks...

11/24/2015

It's that time of year again. Everyone stops for a minute to give thanks. But the truth is, we really should be thankful all year for the wonderful people in our lives. I know I try to stop and give thanks for my amazing husband and my incredibly creative kids. I'm even thankful for the dog (unless she's chewed up one of my Grateful Dead CDs, or pooped on the rug!)

I've been touring on and off for the past few weeks, visiting schools all up and down the eastern seaboard and I've had a chance to meet the kids who read my books. I have been able to talk with them, laugh with them, and best of all, burp and bark with them. I am so grateful for the opportunity to write books for kids. There's nothing more heartwarming than finding out that my books have turned a kid on to reading. Let's face it, no one goes into children's book writing to become a zillionaire. Authors write because they have something to say, or because there's someone they want to reach. In my case, I write because I want kids to love reading as much as I do. And if my books can open the door to the magic of reading, I've done my job.

I've got a lot of new projects in the works, and any day now I hope to be able to fill you in on the news I've been keeping secret for so long. In the meantime, thank you so much for letting Katie, George, Sparky and Jenny into your lives.

Sending lots of love your way this holiday season.

xo
N

What's On Your Walls?

9/16/2015

Books. Record albums (The big round, vinyl kind!). Paintings on the wall. That's what you see when you walk through the door to my childhood home in Cherry Hill NJ. I was there this weekend, and found it fascinating that I never noticed just how much art, literature, and music I was exposed to every day while I was growing up. Maybe I just took it for granted that everyone listened to music while they ate dinner with the family (sometimes show tunes, sometimes classical, sometimes folk) or that all families carried books around with them from room to room like rectangular appendages that were attached to their hands. And doesn't everyone buy a piece of art when they go on vacation, or have friends who paint artwork for them?

Like most people, when I grew up and had my own home, I did some things differently than my parents . The music in my house is more Grateful Dead, David Bowie, and the Beatles (although we have plenty of folk, rock, and classical as well--especially by my talented composer husband, Daniel Burwasser), and they are not on vinyl, but rather CDs which will probably someday seem as antique to my grandchildren as the vinyl at my parents' house did to my kids. The books in our floor-to-ceiling shelves are more in keeping with our love of non-fiction and biographies than my parents' fiction collection. Art from my travels hangs on the walls, but so do international musical instruments procured by my musician husband and son during our various family vacations. There are also paintings by my multi-talented daughter scattered among paintings and tapestries found on the streets of Europe and the Middle East and flea markets in Philadelphia and the Catskills.

Recently I was watching some of the home makeover shows on HGTV and sadly noticed the lack of books in the rooms. There were no floor to ceiling shelves filled with multi-colored book spines. The people didn't insist on state of the art stereo systems--they just wanted a place for giant flat screen TVs. And there was little art on the wall, other than a few generic things purchased at a local Lowes or other hardware chain. In short, there were plenty of open concept rooms, but even at the three-months-later recap stage, there was nothing in the rooms that might open the homeowners' minds.

I don't need big closets, a swimming pool, or granite countertops. I just need good books, good music, and fine art to make me happy. Is it possible I am part of a dying breed? I hope not. I hope it's just that I've turned on the TV at the wrong time. Maybe one day, when I click on the tube, the Property Brothers will be building bookshelves, installing a massive sound system, and hanging art from around the world on the wall, all in time for that great reveal. How awesome would that be?

But for now, I think I'll just go read a good book.

Water Vacation We Just Had!

8/30/2015

Just back from a relaxing few days up in Newport Rhode Island, soaking in the sights, sounds, and food of a New England town. There's something so calming about being around water all day long, whether it's waking to the sound of seagulls flying over the deck of our hotel room, or riding around on a boat taking in the sights. And of course there are those New England lobster rolls. Nothing better, I swear.

That's the thing about vacation--spending a few days away from the routine (and in this case, away from the dog, who was being baby-sat by my parents) will allow your brain to rejuvenate. I didn't write a single word over this vacation (unless you count the endless tweets, instagram comments, and facebook status updates that I made almost constantly). So now I am ready to break into a new project that I hope I will be able to reveal to all of you very soon. (Superstitious author, I'm holding my tongue til the contract is signed.) My energy is renewed and my creativity is about ready to burst out of my brain.

I hope all of you had an amazing summer and are ready to embrace the Fall, and the routine that comes with it, in a revived, vibrant, manner!

Wishing you all much love and laughter!

xo
N

SUMMER SURPRISES ARE THE BEST!!

8/10/2015

Sometimes wonderful surprises come in the mail. Today was one of those days. A week or so ago it was announced that a never before published short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald would be appearing the The Strand, a well-known literary magazine. To say that Fitzgerald is my favorite author is kind of like saying the Freedom Tower is a tall building. Or that the ocean is pretty deep. Talk about an understatement. Fitzgerald, to me, is the gold standard. He came to represent an era--the 1920s Jazz Age (a term he coined btw), but more than that, he came to represent what kind of magic can occur when a true genius puts pen to paper. The word genius is thrown around way too often these days, but in F. Scott's case it's apropos. No one I've ever come across can form a story like he can or make made cap comedy seem so real life. So you can imagine my excitement today when my copy of the magazine appeared in my mailbox. No way I was reading this online. I wanted to experience it the way Fitz would have wanted--in a magazine. On paper. And I wasn't disappointed. Written towards the end of his life, when he felt un appreciated and was ill, this story has a tinge of sadness in it, but there's laughter, and twists and turns. If you can get your hands on it, read it.
I make it my business to read something by Fitzgerald at least once a month, if only to remind myself what writing is supposed to be like. It's kind of an obsession of mine--to the point where my kids say he's like my dead husband. (He was actually Zelda's husband til the end!) And then there's the embarrassing photo of me with his gravestone, which I probably shouldn't share here, but what the heck? Some gals search out where Jim Morrison is buried, but for me, Fitz is the ultimate literary rock star. Have a great rest of the summer. And if you're so inclined, reread the Great Gatsby...
xo
N

Let's Do Some Writing!

7/3/2015

This Tuesday, July 7, I will be at the 67th Street library on Manhattan's Upper East Side. working with kids who want to be authors. We're going to see what it's like to become someone else while you're writing, how to open a story with a real BANG!, and try some dialogues. Oh, and I'm bringing stickers. Lots of stickers. Because those are like currency, you know? Spending two hours talking books with kids sounds like heaven to me. I wish I'd had a chance to work with other kid authors when I was growing up. Writing is usually such a solitary experience. But we authors (of all ages) have a lot to learn from one another. Can't wait to see what the kids have to teach me. If you are in the neighborhood and want to pop by, here's the link with the 411 on Imagination Academy events.

Hope to see you there.
xo
Nancy
http://www.nypl.org/events/programs/2015/07/07/imagination-academy