A couple of weeks ago I got to see my friend, the indomitable
Janet Wong speak at the North Shore Reading Council.
![](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ivRDSeXHgUg/SEaMJyOsH8I/AAAAAAAACNg/q651XYjIiOg/s200/janet.gif)
To me,
indomitable is the perfect adjective to descibe Janet. Within an hour of conversation, she had convinced:
-me to write The Year of the Tiger
-me to create product designs and sell them on my website
-Elaine to get her
poetry published-and a visiting friend to illustrate picturebooks
And she hadn't even started her formal presentation yet!
![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ivRDSeXHgUg/SEaMGPzQItI/AAAAAAAACNY/B9p04N8prKw/s200/janet_speak.gif)
Which, as always, was great. Janet is one of those speakers that doesn't need a formal speech prepared or ordered slides--she is one of the few authors I know who can just stand,speak and be completely engaging and fun. She and her talk is much like her poetry-- direct, thoughtful, intelligent, sometimes sad,and sometimes hilarious but at all times mesmerizing.
*And you can meet Janet in NYC, at the event below! Come, I guarantee by the time she has finished speaking, you will be convinced into starting your own children's book empire...