Monday, April 30, 2012

Turning Swords into Plowshares

Last night I listened to Peggy Reiff Miller speak about the seagoing cowboys, a subject near and dear to her heart. She was asked to speak at the last in a series of Peace and Popcorn events, and the subject was titled Turning Swords into Plowshares.

Peggy and I are in the same writing group and she has devoted the last ten (or more) years of her time researching and writing about the seagoing cowboys. Her historical YA novel, which is phenomenal and will most certainly be on shelves someday, is about a seagoing cowboy who is trying to find his horse.

It was so enlightening to hear stories from real seagoing cowboys, who traveled on ships after WWII taking livestock to countries that were devastated by war. The cowboys who attended the event each shared what they remembered from their trips across the sea. Some common shared threads witnessed by the cowboys included the destruction left behind after war, and the evils of the concentration camps, including the soap making factories, which I had little knowledge of until reading the draft of Peggy's book.

The cowboys got several laughs sharing stories of being seasick. The up and down, teeter-totter feeling of the ship seemed to resonate with them all.

Peggy has done a great service by saving a part of history that would have otherwise been lost. You can read more about her work on her Seagoing Cowboys website. It is a unique and wonderful part of history that you may not know about.

Thanks for stopping by,
Katie M.

Monday, April 23, 2012

My Blog Title

My friend Anne recently started following my blog, and she questioned me about the title. I realized I've had lots of questions about my blog title over the years and maybe lots of others are wondering the same thing. Why would I title a blog after mouse poop?

At times, I can have a rather bizarre sense of humor, which is how the title came about. My first writing I ever sold was a picture book project based on a mouse. When I think of mice, I think of their droppings. And I know that I'm not a blogger that blogs on a regular basis. I tend to 'drop in' and post when I have something to write about. Which is how I came up with Droppings, since I'm just dropping in and blogging. It's simple, and sort of weird, but that's how I came up with the title.

Thanks for stopping by,
Katie M.

Friday, April 20, 2012

SCBWI Conference at McCormick's Creek

No... I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth. Although it may seem that way, since I have not blogged in, well, forever. I've been busy editing, but that's slowed down considerably since the first of the year, which has allowed me to devote more time to what I really love, writing!

On the writing front, our big SCBWI conference, held at McCormick's Creek State Park this year, is just around the corner. With only a month to go, I've been busy preparing for the manuscript critique, learning about the editors that are presenting, and organizing the HoosierLinks event that will be held Sunday morning after the conference.

I can't wait to see everyone, and hope that all our Indiana members are planning to attend!

Thanks for stopping by,
Katie