I told you it would be a different kind of According to book! Humphrey and I agreed it was time to hear Og’s side of the story, but we had no idea what his past life was like. Mark your calendars for July 3, 2018 and get ready to visit the swamp! I’ll be talking more about Og and his past in a blog in the very near future, but for right now, I’ll let this cover sink in!

Yes, it’s been a REALLY-REALLY-REALLY long time since I blogged. A few years back, I had major neck surgery that took over a year to recover from. The absolute worst, most pain-inducing thing I could do would be to sit, especially at the computer. I kept the book-writing going, but I dropped the blog and other things, like school visits (local only) and travel alone, because I can’t carry much of anything and was told never to lift a bag into the overhead compartment again – yikes!

Please don’t get the wrong idea. I’m active and healthy – I just have some skeletal issues. Except for the eight months of waiting for the bones to fuse, I’ve been doing Pilates twice a week and a deep tissue massage once a week at a local Wellness Center for several years, so I’m in better shape now than before this all began!

But sitting – not so great.

The writing continued but I stuck to writing about Humphrey and couldn’t accomplish much more than that. Though we did manage to have a great time at our son’s wedding 2016 with the whole family.

Then on the fateful day of January 6, 2017, I completely wrecked my knee. I knew I was overdue for knee replacements, but one step onto the patio and boom- the knee was shot. However, I had personal and professional obligations to fulfill, so I had to wait until the end of May to get the replacement. At first I rolled around the house in a desk chair. Then I graduated to crutches, a cane and finally hobbling for a few months. I hardly ever even made it out to my dear writing house in the backyard.

I got a laptop (bad for the neck, good for the knee) and worked in the kitchen. Here is the GOOD NEWS: I had a total knee replacement and it went very well. I was always ahead of the physical therapy milestones and my surgeon called my range of motion “phenomenal.” But since they completely realigned my knee, it caused subsequent hip/low back issues which “laid me low”.

I guess my mind was still working, because back when I was working in the kitchen, I had a sudden inspiration for a new kind of Humphrey book. It was a very challenging idea … but I quickly wrote some chapters and an outline, sent it to my agent and editor and got a two book deal. One of the reasons I had to wait until the end of May was to finish the book so Humphrey’s fans could get it in 2018. (There were other reasons as well.) Even though I was in the kitchen, where there’s more hubbub (phone, husband, repair people, etc.), I got it finished.

During my recovery, I was able to work with my editor on the copy-editing of this book and several new upcoming Humphrey’s Tiny Tales and eventually I went back to my office and to my sessions at the Wellness Center.

Now that I’m well on my way to recovery, I have discovered a renewed interest in doing lots of things I was struggling with before: writing more, reading more books, learning new things, connecting with people. Things I couldn’t do for a long time. I will never carry a suitcase or anything heavy again and I’ll never run a race, but I feel like my old self again.

Now I head out to my writing house at 5 am (or earlier) with lots of energy, looking forward to life.

As we approach the “cover reveal” of the new book, due out in July, 2018,  and its subject matter (this is not exactly an According to Humphrey book,) I remembered this long silent blog and decided to start communicating with fans again.

*****HUMPHREY DISCLAIMER***** READ-READ-READ! *****

Hi, Humphrey here! Just to say that I read this blog post and it does seem as if Betty G. Birney BELIEVES that she writes these books all by herself. Which is kind of cheeky, given that she doesn’t actually have to experience all of my sometimes scary but always hamster-iffic adventures! Just saying …. you’d better take all of this with a grain of salt, as they say. And some lovely crunchy celery would taste very nice with that salt. THANKS-THANKS-THANKS for listening!

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HOW TO BE IN TOUCH WITH HUMPHREY AND ME

There are several ways to communicate with me. Writing a letter is not the best way – you will wait a long time for an answer. But I answer emails fairly quickly. If you want to scan a letter and attach it, you can do that on the Contact  form. If you have trouble with that, let me know and I’ll tell you another way to do it.

To email me through this website – look for Contact link at the bottom of the Home Page or use this: https://www.bettybirney.com/blog/contact/

You can follow Humphrey on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/AccordingtoHumphrey/

You can follow me on Facebook using my name. You can follow me on Twitter @bettygbirney

(I’m just getting started on Instagram.)

You can sign up to a list of fans called Humphrey’s Handlers. http://www.bettybirney.com/blog/humphreys-handlers/

And you can come back here very soon as I get ready for the BIG reveal of the next book! Right, Humphrey?

  RIGHT-RIGHT-RIGHT!

This week was so exciting, Humphrey’s whiskers were wiggling and his tail was twitching. I was pretty excited as well because of four BIG-BIG-BIG releases.

On Thursday January 22:

BOOK 11, Imagination According to Humphrey, was released in hardcover in the U.S. (It comes out in the UK on 5 February.) I love the cover and I’m especially excited because the book has a lot to do with using your imagination and writing. I’ve learned from many students I’ve talked to that writing can sometimes be more difficult than it sounds. In this story, Humphrey tries to write a story and is surprised that his imagination doesn’t seem to be working. (Sometimes mine is a little sluggish, too.) Here readers can get some tips about jump-starting story ideas … and also read about real and imaginary dragons, as well as ghosts, crying babies and so much more.

Here’s an excerpt from the Booklist review – I cut out some spoilers and I don’t know where the reviewer got the idea that Humphrey’s been around for 15 years, but other than that, I’m pleased. (It’s 11 years, by the way.)

The same day Imagination came out, BOOK 10, Secrets According to Humphrey, came out in paperback. I’m always happy when the paperback versions come out so more people can read about Humphrey’s adventures.

I’m thrilled that on Thursday, the Spanish translation of BOOK 1, The World According to Humphrey, was published in the US.  I’ve been hoping for this for a long time and here it is!

There’s been quite a gap in the audiobook releases but also on Thursday, this 4-book audio collection was released. It contains Mysteries According to Humphrey, Winter According to Humphrey, Secrets According to Humphrey and Imagination According to Humphrey. I hear from lots of families who listen to Humphrey books in the car.

Now Humphrey will have to spin his wheel until May, when the third Tiny Tales book is published: Humphrey’s Creepy-Crawly–Camping Adventure!

As for me, Book 12 is just about to go into editing as well as the fourth Tiny Tales book. Next week, I’m doing a Skype tour for Penguin Kids, visiting 16 classrooms from my desk. If you wish you had known about this opportunity and want to keep up with events like these, please follow Humphrey on his Facebook page.  www.facebook.com/AccordingtoHumphrey.  You can follow me as well. Also follow Penguin Kids – they always have great ideas for teachers and librarians.

HAPPY-HAPPY-HAPPY Reading!

It’s been an unsqueakably busy year – most of which was taken up by neck surgery and ongoing recovery – but I’m doing much better. Of course, for our furry friend, it’s been a year of great adventures, including the launch of the new shorter, illustrated Tiny Tales series. Humphrey’s Really Wheely Racing Day and Humphrey’s Playful Puppy Problem are already available and Humphrey’s Creepy Crawly Camping Adventure comes out in March. I’m so lucky that Priscilla Burris is the illustrator. I can’t think of anyone better suited to bring Humphrey and his friends to life!

Book 11 in the According to Humphrey series, Imagination According to Humphrey, will be published January 22 in hardcover. It’s all about writing! Also in January will be the paperback release of Secrets According to Humphrey.

As the year ends, I look back with gratitude for Humphrey’s wonderful fans – the best in the world. I wish each and every one of you a fantastic 2015! I hope you all read a lot of great books

Here’s a peek of me with Priscilla – I think we’re very colorful characters, too!

When people ask me: “What’s the one thing you’d like to change about yourself?” like most of us, I have many answers: be thinner, be richer – you know the list. But in the end, what I always come back to is this: I wish I could draw! My dad was a great artist and woodcarver, but I inherited ZERO talent. Although I can draw a passable rose, a not bad tree and a recognizable horse – because he tried to teach me –  I didn’t ever take art as an elective because it would be embarrassing. But in my secret life, I spent countless hours and used up reams of paper drawing. All during my childhood, I drew rows of girls with different hair and different dresses and yes, I did make up storylines about them, but I didn’t write them down. It was just for fun. I’m also an inveterate doodler. I even dabbled a little in throwing paint on paper a few years back and found I could manage postage stamp sized paintings but not big ones. The problem is, I can’t draw. When it comes to art, I’m a klutz!

To make things worse (well, better, really) I worked in advertising for years where I was always teamed up with an artist or art director (think Mad Men), so all my close friends were and are artists. Even my two beautiful stepdaughters, Rebecca and Anna, are amazing artists, both graduates of prestigious art schools, while artistically, I am chopped liver! Even today, I am lucky to count amazing children’s book illustrators as my friends. I can’t believe they’d even speak to me.

I was so lucky that my book, The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs, was illustrated so beautifully by Matt Phelan – his first book and he now has an impressive body of work. Here’s a sample from the bo

I had two wonderful picture books published almost two decades ago – Tyrannosaurus Tex, illustrated byJohn O’Brien, whose cartoons I had long admired in The New Yorker, and Pie’s in the Oven, illustrated by Holly Meade, who sadly passed away far too early last year. She generously sent me the artwork for an entire spread, which is on my wall and will remain there always.

But the According to Humphrey books aren’t illustrated. They have photographs (wonderful ones) on the covers both in the U.S. and U.K.  I like that because it makes Humphrey totally real and believable . But when Humphrey’s Tiny Tales were underway, the question was what would Humphrey look like? And even more importantly, what would his classmates and teacher look like? The books were published in the U.K first, charmingly illustrated by Penny Dann.

When the books were going to be published here in the U.S., I knew they would be re-illustrated. Different countries, different publishers, different tastes. And then my editor, Susan Kochan, said the magic words: “How about Priscilla Burris?” I know Priscilla! She’s a Southern Californian, as I am, but she’s actually a native Angeleno,  while I’m a transplant. I knew who she was because she’s on the board of SCBWI! (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and I know you may be tired of hearing it, but if you want to write or illustrate children’s books, JOIN!).

My answer was: YES-YES-YES! And I wasn’t disappointed. Priscilla is the perfect illustrator for Humphrey. I always say that I AM Humphrey but now she is Humphrey, too. She creates so much heart with her deceptively simple lines.

So as a “wish I could be” artist, I was delighted to see this video of her drawing Humphrey. In typical Priscilla fashion, she added a charming bee friend for Humphrey. I’m so happy, I could spin on my wheel! In fact, I think I will!

The first two Tiny Tales; Humphrey’s Playful Puppy Problem and Humphrey’s Really Wheely Racing Day are now available in paperback and hardcover.  And there will be more!