Blog Contest at Ink Spells

Fellow writer, Susan Kaye Quinn, is hosting a contest on her blog to celebrate the release of her first novel,

LIFE, LIBERTY & PURSUIT,        


"a teen love story about a college bound girl who falls in a pool, the navy recruit that saves her, and their struggle to choose between following their dreams and daring to love."


Check it out on her blog  Ink Spells  I'm going there right now!

Thirty Day Countdown to 1 ZANY ZOO

I can't believe there are just 30 days until the release of 1 Zany Zoo and 34 days until my launch party!!  I remember a year and a half ago - it felt like July 20, 2010 would never come!


I would love to tell you to run to your local Barnes & Noble or Borders to buy one, or just look at it on the shelf (that's what I want to do), but I've been informed neither store is going to carry the book.  However, they will be available on both sites as well as amazon.com.  I'm not sure which independent stores, if any, will be carrying it but I'll post them when I find out.


Though they're not selling the book in their stores, the managers at my local Barnes & Noble have been nice enough to arrange a launch party!  It's going to be on July 24, 2:00 - 3:00.  If you're local, I'd love to see you there!

Simon & Schuster Sweepstakes

Simon & Schuster is having a sweepstakes and the prize
is . . . wait for it . . . wait for it . . . 1 ZANY ZOO!  What - no money, no cars, no trips?  Sorry, but it is a $15.99 value :-)

If you want to enter - and why wouldn't you - here's the link: 1 ZANY ZOO Sweepstakes  But don't wait because the deadline is June 30th!

2010 Printers Row Lit Fest

Next Saturday, June 12th, I will be participating in a panel discussion with fellow children's book authors: Kat Falls, Meggan Hill, Barb Rosenstock & Kristen Walker :


SHOW, DON’T TELL: Up Front and Personal with Five (!) First-Time Chicago Children’s Book Authors Moderated by Esther Hershenhorn.  Five first-time children’s book authors share their Tales from the Front – the thrills, the surprises, the rewards, the Reality  A portion of the time will be given to Q & A.


You can find us at the Hotel Blake, 500 S. Dearborn, Second floor, Chicago at 1:00 pm.  I'm really looking forward to this - it'll be my first (maybe only) time on a panel.  Hope to see you there!

Good Kirkus Review for 1 ZANY ZOO

My editor sent me the Kirkus review for my book, 1 ZANY ZOO, and they like it!!  Here are a couple of quotes from it:

". . . An array of further animal antics unfolds in bouncy verse (full of phonetic Seussian crunch) amid equally antic pictures . . ."

" . . . Degman’s verse is bright—this text won the Cheerios New Author Contest—and animator Jack’s digitally produced creatures, both animal and human, are pleasingly Bill Peet–esque. Crackling good fun . . . "

YAHOO!!