The Very Fairy Princess Here Comes the Flower Girl

Very Fairy Princess GIVEAWAY WINNERS!

Cue the Trumpet Fanfare! Random.org, that bastion of impartiality, has generated the numbers 57 and 23 as the winners of my Very Fairy Princess giveaway. Congratulations, 57 and 23! Oh — you want to know who 57 and 23 are? Oh, all right. PENNY KLOSTERMANN is the winner of First Prize, and will be receiving a copy of The Very Fairy Princess: Here Comes the Flower Girl by Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton as well as the Fairy Princess Wand made by Patricia Jensen. NANCY STEWART is the winner of Second Prize, and will receive a copy of The Very Fairy Princess: Here Comes the Flower Girl. Congratulations to the winners! (Please click on their names to visit their websites.) And as always with a giveaway, I wish I had a prize for everyone! I’ve appreciated all your comments this week so very much (as I always do.) I’ve just waved my own Fairy Princess Wand over the computer, and hope that helps you find your own inner SPARKLE and share it with others today.

X is for … X-fade (and it’s Perfect Picture Book Friday!)

How does one fade an X, you ask? X-fade is theatre shorthand for crossfade, a lighting direction to gradually bring up a new lighting scheme to replace the one in use in the scene currently, thus “fading” across from one sort of light to another. Today, we’re crossfading. We’re shifting the spotlight from the previous Very Fairy Princess books to the one that has just been released, The Very Fairy Princess: Here Comes the Flower Girl. I am delighted to be adding this hot-off-the-presses book to the Perfect Picture Book lineup. And in case you missed my previous links to Emma Walton Hamilton’s blog post about the Very Fairy Princess being about more than glitter and pink, you may read it here. And now for a look at this brand new book!

W is for … Wand

As In the Spotlight week continues, we turn our attention to the outward accoutrements of a Fairy Princess. (Fairy Princesses are very particular about their royal attire.) It is, of course, essential for a Fairy Princess to have a crown, wings and … a WAND! I have a Fairy Princess wand. So has Geraldine. It helps us remember to let our SPARKLE out. Mine was made by a talented woman in Minnesota, Patricia Jensen. You could have one of Patricia’s wands, too, since Patricia created the wand that I’m giving away as part of the Fairy Princess Grand Prize this week. I’m delighted to be interviewing Patricia on my blog today, so that you can get to know a bit about this very creative woman.

U is for … Underscore

I don’t mean taking a ruler and drawing a line under your words to emphasize them. That’s a different sort of underscore altogether. The underscore I’m talking about is a film term — the music that runs through a movie, enhancing and emphasizing the action and emotions of the film. Sometimes, one is hardly aware of the underscore. Sometimes one is more aware than one should be, if the music is too loud, or does not suit the action. Scoring a film is not an easy thing to do. One of the most masterful examples of underscore in my experience is the score for the film Victor/Victoria (and indeed, Henry Mancini won an Oscar for this score). Listen to that music. I’m not talking about the songs sung by the performers, I’m talking about the underscore. One example — the “Cat and Mouse” music that so aptly reflects the action as King Marchand and his bodyguard sneak in to Toddy and Victoria’s hotel room, then try to make their way out again without being discovered. Watch the movie again. Listen to the underscore. You’ll hear what I mean. There are underscores in writing, too.

T is for … Tagline

Taglines. You’ve all read them. They are those concise, highly memorable slogans used to promote a film. In a few words, the tagline encapsulates the key concept of the movie. Taglines are riveting. They stay with you. The best of them become part of society’s lexicon. To read some of the best movie taglines ever written, check out Filmsite’s listing of Great Film Taglines (but I’d appreciate it if you waited until you’ve read the rest of this post!) Taglines can be used to great effect by writers, as well.

Here Comes the Very Fairy Princess!

I decided I just HAVE to do an extra post today, to let you all know that the new book in Julie Andrews’ and Emma Walton Hamilton’s Very Fairy Princess series, The Very Fairy Princess: Here Comes the Flower Girl, is being released today! In conjunction with the book’s release, Julie Andrews, the Target Corporation, and Disney are teaming up next week for their first “National Princess Week.” In Julie’s words, “Throughout my career as an actress and author, I’ve encouraged children to use their imaginations and dream big,” …  “Joining Disney and Target to create National Princess Week is an extension of my work – a moment in time for children to celebrate their individuality and let their inner sparkle shine.” (Quoted from Business Wire, April 3, 2012) Here on my blog I will be celebrating National Princess Week, and the launch of Julie’s and Emma’s new book, all next week — all within the context of my A to Z posts. Click the magic words to learn more…

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