Debra McArthur: A VOICE FOR KANZAS

BIO: Debra McArthur grew up in Springfield, Missouri, where her high school experience included church activities, choir, drum and bugle corps, and the kind of drama and angst that make a person really glad to grow up. She earned B.A. and M.A. degrees in English from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and an M.F.A. in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University.

These days, Debra lives with her husband in Kansas City, Missouri. She teaches college along the bluffs of the Missouri River, and she is still collecting nouns that describe her: student, teacher, wife, mother, reader, writer, Irish dancer, marathon runner.

DEBUT: A Voice for Kanzas will debut in January 2012 from Kane Miller.

Lucy Catherine Thomkins is looking for poetry when she discovers Information for Kanzas Immigrants in Papa’s coat pocket. Just another political paper, nothing a thirteen-year-old poet would care about. But before dinner is over that night, Lucy becomes one those immigrants. She feels as out of place in 1855 Kansas Territory as the sky-blue silk gown she has worn for the journey from Pennsylvania, and she seeks her own purpose in this strange place. When Lucy discovers that her best friend’s family is working with the Underground Railroad, Lucy must decide just what she stands for, and she must find her own true voice to express herself in a time and place where a young girl’s voice is seldom valued.

FIVE PAIRS OF SHOES FOR THE APOCALYPSE:

hiking boots,

UGG slippers,

flip flops,

ghillies, and my

Nike Free Run running shoes

Mônica Carnesi: LITTLE DOG LOST

BIO: Mônica Carnesi is an artist and a librarian, which allows her to combine her love for illustration and her passion for children's literature.  Originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Mônica lives in Philadelphia with her husband and her own little dog.  

She is represented by Teresa Kietlinski of Prospect Agency.

DEBUT: LITTLE DOG LOST: THE TRUE STORY OF A BRAVE DOG NAMED BALTIC (Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin Young Readers Group, January 2012)

On  a cold winter day, a curious dog wanders onto a frozen river. Suddenly, the ice starts breaking up, and soon the dog is adrift and traveling -- the unwilling passenger on a fast moving sheet of ice.

The gallant rescue of the little dog nicknamed Baltic made news all over the world.



5 Picture Books about Dogs for the Apocalypse

1.  Tupelo Rides the Rails by Melissa Sweet 
2.  Mutt Dog by Stephen Michael King
3.  Fred Stays With Me! by Nancy Coffelt ; illustrated by Tricia Tusa
4.  Boodil my Dog by Pija Lindenbaum ; retold by Gabrielle Charbonnet
5.  Rita et Machin by Jean-Philippe Arrou-Vignod ; illustrated by Olivier Tallec (all the books in the series!)

Gina Damico: CROAK

I grew up under four feet of snow in Syracuse, New York. I received a degree in theater and sociology from Boston College, where I was active with the Committee for Creative Enactments, a murder mystery improv comedy troupe that may or may not have sparked an interest in wildly improbable bloodshed. I have since worked as a tour guide, transcriptionist, theater house manager, scenic artist, movie extra, office troll, retail monkey, yarn hawker and breadmonger. Croak is my first novel. I live in Boston with my husband, two cats, and a closet full of black hoodies.


CROAK - Graphia/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, March 20, 2012
Fed up with her wild behavior, sixteen-year-old Lex's parents ship her off to upstate New York to live with her Uncle Mort for the summer, hoping that a few months of dirty farm work will whip her back into shape. But Uncle Mort’s true occupation is much dirtier than that of shoveling manure.

He’s a Grim Reaper. And he’s going to teach Lex the family business.

She quickly assimilates into the peculiar world of Croak, a town populated by reapers who deliver souls from this life to the next. But Lex can't stop her desire for justice—or is it vengeance?—whenever she’s forced to kill a murder victim, craving to stop the attackers before they can strike again. Will she ditch Croak and go rogue with her reaper skills?

5 processed cheese products for the Apocalypse:
-Doritos - their sharp edges can be used as makeshift shivs
-Cheetos - neon color can flag down help like flare guns
-Combos - gooey substance in the middle can heal wounds
-Utz cheese balls - buoyant, in the event of a waterpocalypse
-Pirate's Booty - will be used as currency in our new dystopian society