Hey, I'm in this video of the iPad 2 launch line in Toronto!

Lining up for 11 hours at the iPad 2 launch in Toronto

Read my photo-packed 3-part report:

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3.

RNIB video: A World Without Books

Thanks to Sheila McLeod for pointing me to this link. Sheila writes: "I've often wondered how it could be possible to make picture books accessible to children who cannot see or cannot see well. Thought I'd pass this link along in case it interests you or someone in your creative network."

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is a UK charity offering support and advice to almost two million people with sight loss. UK Helpline: 0303 123 9999. URL: www.rnib.org.uk.

Not happy with Zazzle and Warner Bros right now

UPDATE: Ok, I found out what probably caused the problem (thanks to Kelly Light on Twitter, Christine in my blog comments & Patricia Storms on Facebook) -- Warner Bros must own the name/phrase "Harry Potter" and are protecting their trademark. -- Debbie

So I've had a Zazzle store with some of my cartoons on cards and t-shirts for a while. I don't tend to publicize my Inkygirl Gifts For Writers shop much because I don't keep it updated with new material -- I'm too busy with my illustration and writing.

Today, however, I received the following letter from Zazzle:

Dear inkygirl,

Thank you for your interest in Zazzle.com, and thank you for publishing products on Zazzle.

Unfortunately, it appears that your product, Four Things You Should Never Say To A Writer, contains content that is not suitable for printing at Zazzle.com.

We will be removing this product from the Zazzle Marketplace shortly.

Please help us make our content approval process better by taking this short survey.

The details of the product being removed are listed below:

• Product Title: Four Things You Should Never Say To A Writer
• Product Type: Shirt
• Product ID: 235977150042632245
• Result: Not Approved
• Policy Violations:
o Your product has been removed from Zazzle’s Marketplace due to an infringement claim by Warner Bros. This may be due to the actual design of the product, description or search tags that references properties owned by Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
• Image: Image

We apologize for the inconvenience, a detailed description of the policies are located here.

If you have any questions or concerns about the review of your product, please emailcontent_review@zazzle.com

Best Regards,
Content Review Team
Zazzle Inc.

You can see the t-shirt design image at the top of this post. I assure you all that *I* came up with it all by myself, based on real life experience (though slightly exaggerated in some cases :-)).

The image link in the Zazzle letter did NOT match the name of the product title, but referred to another of my t-shirt designs:

Now, I'm assuming that Warner Bros ISN'T claiming that they own the phrase "I write."

I've written to Zazzle to find out more info.

Have to say, though, that I'm not crazy about the fact that they took down my "4 Things To Never Say To A Writer" t-shirt (it's gone from the store already) without asking me about it first.

Comic: No Magic Beans...JUST WRITE

Writer Survey & An Amusing Barton Fink Video Clip: "I'm A Writer, You Monsters!"

My "writer uniform" today:

-- Red track pants

-- T-shirt

-- Fleece jacket

I try to avoid working in pajamas. I know some writers do, but I don't because I inevitably lose track of time when I'm working, and I don't want to have to answer the front door.

What do YOU tend to wear when you write?

(Thanks to David Diaz for the YouTube link)

New comic for writers posted on Writer Unboxed

http://writerunboxed.com/2011/03/19/comic-while-youre-sleeping/

Support the Red Cross & win a hand-illustrated custom poem from yours truly

A while back, Therese Walsh of Writer Unboxed asked me if I'd be willing to donate anything to the Writers For The Red Cross fundraising effort. I had no idea at that time how meaningful that effort would become for me.

By now, you've all heard about the Japan earthquake and tsunami. A family friend lives in Sendai with her young daughter, and we are still trying to find out if she's okay. [UPDATE Mon March 14th 8:30 a.m. - Just found out that Yoriko and her daughter are fine. Building damaged but ok. They have electricity but no water or gas.]

My heart goes out to the victims of the disaster and their loved ones, and I've been following the bravery of those involved in rescue and relief operations.

Please do consider bidding for the package I donated (handwritten, illustrated instapoem custom-made for the winner plus a selection writer greeting cards). If you donate $25 or more, you get to pick a free book from the authors donating to the project (not sure if this is only if you do a straight donation or not). My package is up for bid from March 13-March 20th.

Even if you're not particularly interested in my package, there are TONS of fantastic items and services donated by writers around the world. Please do take a look at the Writers For The Red Cross site.

Thank you.

My writing critique group made me cry

So my writing critique group, MiG Writers, made me cry this morning. Just recently one of them asked me what my favorite picture book and favorite middle grade book was. I told them heck, that's a hard question but if I had to choose, here's what I'd choose.

Well, this morning I logged into my e-mail to find the following video and blog posting:

Feeling very, very lucky to have found this group of women. We've all become friends in addition to critique partners, supporting each other in so much more than just our writing projects.

Anyway, please do join the party over on the MiG Writers blog. :-)

And to my fellow MiG Writers: THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Writers & Voice: my MiG Writers' blog series

I've started a blog series over on the MiG Writers blog about writers and voice, for those interested. Today's post:

Stephen Pressfield & the Fabrication of Voice

Will Write For Chocolate updated (finally)

I bet you all thought I had given up on Will Write For Chocolate! Please read my most recent post to see why I was away so long, and why things look different.

Back home, catching up

I'm back from my trip to California! Unpacking and catching up with e-mail. Will resume posting in Inkygirl very soon. Hope everyone's writing is going well!