Only because you all asked...

And I love you enough to humiliate myself in LJ Land...

Please don't laugh too hard...

I WILL be able to hear you...

My big pants that look like a dress:


Me & E in action (E is in green pants, looking thrilled to be there ;-) ):




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Monday Morning Warm-Up:

Write an embarrassing school dance story OR an embarrassing encounter with a crush story. Then, send it to castellucci and win a copy of her new book, Janes In Love! :-)

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halseanderson Daily 15 Keeping Myself Honest Check-In:
Yesterday: 0 words :(
Today: 469 words

I really love all the photos cynthialord and friends are posting of their hometowns. Sorry not to participate, Cindy! But I won't have an opportunity to go to my hometown until the end of the week. :-)

Here are some photos I took during our vacation though...

Mom and Dad, with champagne and sparklers (sorry it's a little dark):


And here is the last castle (click on it to make it bigger):


Every day, my brother-in-law and his helpers made a HUGE sandcastle for the kids to play in. At the end of the day, we'd all watch the kids try to defend the castle as the tide came in. This one was by far the longest-lasting. Usually the kids put something at the highest point, such as a shell or a stick, and insist that the waves hadn't won until the object fell.

On that last day, there was a seagull feather, and E kept yelling, "It's not over till the feather falls!"

It took a long time, but the feather fell to a collective, "Ohhhhhhhh!" from all of us standing there watching.

What's really funny is that passersby can't seem to resist coming over to watch. I guess there's always that tiny bit of hope that the castle will prevail. Or maybe people just like watching children screaming orders at each other, desperately (and gleefully) trying to fight a losing battle. Who doesn't like seeing that magic determination and optimism the rest of us seem to lose somewhere along the road.

Thanks for your kind replies to my last post. :-)

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Monday Morning Warm-Up:

Write to the prompt, "I knew it was over when..."

Hello again.

Even in Maine, there are setups.


Yesterday, it was very cold and the beach was in a wet fog. But the kids were in the water by 9:00 a.m. and pretty much stayed there all day. They INSISTED that it was warmer in the water. Peter finally got brave toward the end of the day and went in, and he said it really wasn't too bad, but I stayed on the beach with my sister, where we sat in our chairs, huddled together under a blanket.

In the late afternoon, it started to rain, so we all came back to the house and ate snacks and drank beer. (The grownups, not the kids.) My brother-in law and I played charades with the kids and I came in 2nd, which was a bit of a miracle.

In writing news, I am up early again, though thankfully E stayed in bed until 6 so I'm not up TOO early. Yesterday I managed to piece together three chapters I've already written but I also managed to get things all messed up and now I feel a little overwhelmed about this new thing. This morning I decided that yesterday I was just pretending to write. This morning, it's all about filling the blank screen. I can worry about the mess I leave behind later, right? Ugh. Sometimes I really hate first drafts. They are so... not written yet.

Today it looks all cold and cloudy again. If this keeps up, I may have to join the kids and just pretend it's sunny and jump in the water. Who knows. Maybe they're onto something.

p.s. My son just informed my brother-in-law that if we sacrifice 5 fishes to Zeus it will stop raining. I think we've been reading too much Percy Jackson.

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E.T.A.:

OOOPS! Forgot it was Monday! I must be on vacation.

Monday Morning Warm-Up:

Write to the prompt, "Whenever it rains..."

It's raining here today. There's nothing to do. The fortress has been built.


The battle is over.

I believe Mr. Happy Snowman lost.

Now we are watching School of Rock. Again. And I am trying to finish up my revision. Less than 30 pages to go!

Tomorrow, E begins stilt-walking classes. It sounded like a great idea a month ago. Now, I'm a little nervous. The child isn't one for coordination. Or balance. Or a fan of high places. Or, really, too much physical exertion. This should be... interesting.


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Monday Morning Warm-Up:

Describe a song that has had/continues to have a strong impact on you. Or, choose a song that feels like the "theme song" for your WIP, or a main character.

90 degrees for two more days. I wish we still had a kiddie pool.

Peter said my blog makes me seem like a crazy cat lady. Is that true???

E is discovering that long hair is not so great in the summer.

Because the boy still wants to be a filmmaker when he grows up, every so often we get some old movies to watch. This weekend we had a Harold Lloyd collection. We barely managed the first film. It was too suspenseful. This morning he told me to just return it because it was too nerve wracking. It's so funny to me that he loves other types of suspense movies, but he can't stand the type when the person might get in trouble. Should I be concerned?? ;-)



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MONDAY MORNING WARM-UP:

Write to the prompt, "I believe" (suggested by Leah at my last writing group). I think this would be a great exercise to try writing from your main character's point of view.

Ugh, so many Internet problems again. And Comcast is nowhere to be found. Peter keeps calling and they keep saying they will come. But they never do. Blah.

Anyway, if you've been trying to reach me and I haven’t responded, it’s because my Internet service is all messed up. For the moment, it seems to be working...

In happier news, my trip to Maine was amazing. cfaughnan and I had a 3+ hour drive on Friday but it went by in a flash because we chatted like crazy all the way. We took a detour to Cape Elizabeth and went to a fun seafood place called Two Lights. It was FANTASTIC.

This is the view from the picnic tables:


Ahhh. There is nothing like your first big breath of Maine sea air when you’ve been landlocked all winter.

We finished our journey and arrived at Tamra Wight’s fun campground. We took a walk down to the beach and said hello to the lake and the gorgeous bald eagle nesting on the small island off shore (he is the speck way up high):


Cindy and I sat on the dock where the wood had been warmed by the sun. We listened to the water lap against the dock and to a beautiful Oriole staking claim to a nearby tree. Then we headed back to our trailer for some work and some blood-letting (the mosquitoes were a tad hungry). This is our outdoor office:


Later, anom3 showed up and we took some time to catch up, eat dinner and chat chat chat.


After doing campground duties, tamra_wight joined us, too.

Clearly, at that point, I had the Mike's Hard Lime Glow. Pathetic, I know.

Cindy the Red Sox Fanatic had the game going on her computer and managed to lure us all in. We stayed up until 12:30 “watching” the game, which really consisted of watching tiny dots turn different colors to tell us if they were strikes, balls or hits.


Yes, it’s hard to believe such a thing could draw us all in, but... yeah. I guess when you are a New Englander it’s in your blood or something.

The next morning we got up bright and early and spent the day reading and responding to each other’s work. I loved everything! Also, I got some great feedback for my new WIP and am feeling very excited to get back to it just as soon as I finish revising PEARL again.

We went back to our trailer and worked a bit. We also gave ourselves some well-earned rewards.


That night there was an ice-cream social sort of thing so we filled up on sundaes and then went back to the trailer and schmoozed until all hours.


Here's Jeanne, Tam and Cindy watching the game again. Ahem:


And ajboll and Mona learning how to play Scrabulous:


It was a fun, affordable and productive weekend! When the SCBWI, Highlights and other big ticket conferences are out of your range, I highly recommend this sort of gathering. I get just the same amount of inspiration from these, and I easily have just as much fun. :) Also, I’ve made some really special friends. This sort of things is doable. You just have to be a little creative, and willing to rough it a bit. We brought our own food so we didn't have to pay for meals. All we paid for was gas and our campsite. And beverages ;-) . And since Cindy and I carpooled, we saved on gas, too. :-)

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Monday Morning Warm-Up on Tuesday:

Write to the prompt, "When I go home..."

We got one after all!

But, to keep with the slowness theme?

Delivery in 6-8 weeks. ;-)

Yesterday was an amazing spring day here in Vermont. We put the rest of our garden in and then I sat on the deck and read to the boy until the black flies attacked us.

Despite the flies, these are the days I'm happy to live where I do.

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Monday Morning Warm-Up:


This is an exercise I did with the women at the prison last week. It has two parts. For 3-5 minutes, write to the prompt, "The things I hate." When time's up, turn your paper over or start a new screen page and write for 3-5 minutes to the prompt, "The things I love." Here's mine. It's rough and kind of silly and maybe a little lame, but when you do it yourself, you'll see how some of the items you come up with have a story behind them, and hopefully one might trigger an idea for you to take farther. Have fun! Share!

The things I hate...

Are the things I don't always understand:
War, poverty addiction, lying, cheating, beating, stealing.
I hate that I can't change the world
Or end hunger
Or find a cure for AIDS
Or impeach George Bush and Dick Cheney.
I hate that people are starving
And babies are born addicted to crack.
I hate that life can be so beautiful and ugly at the same time.
I hate it when ugly wins.

The things I love...

Are the things I sometimes know
And the things that are a mystery.
I love watching the sunset, then climbing a hill and watching it again.
I love the way a baby smiles just because you did.
I love the first tulip in spring
And the first snow in the fall.
I love that something can be ugly and beautiful at the same time.
I love that sometimes I can make a difference.
I love that hope somehow always finds its way back.
And that next fall, Bush and Cheney will be gone anyway.

:-)

This morning I was checking the news on my laptop when E snugled in beside me. Without saying good morning, our conversation went as follows:

E: Are you ready for The Press?

Me: Um...

E: What do you think Harry Potter’s hair will look like in the 7th movie?

Me: I think it will be OK. It seems to be improving.

E: I bet if a movie had come out every year, Harry would have good hair.

Me: Why's that?

E: Because then it would match the right age and they wouldn't have had to make him look younger.

Me: *ponders*

E: I wonder if professor McGonagall will survive through the rest of the movies.

Me: I hope so.

E: Yeah.


Last night we went to see Prince Caspian. I thought the special effects were great. This one is definitely a lot more intense than the first.

Today, Fred seems to be having deep thoughts.


Also? He seems a bit needy. He just stepped onto my lap and now there is cat hair all over my keyboard. This concerns me.


He always gets like this when the sun goes away. :-)

Thanks so much for all the hugs on Friday. You guys made me feel about a million times better. And also a little guilty because in the big picture, it's a tiny bump in the road. I hope so, anyway. ;-)

xo





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Monday Morning Warm-Up:

Describe a fear you had as a child. For an extra challenge, write about that fear from the point of view of your child-self. Or, do this for a main character in a piece you're working on. Go deep.

E had a birthday party to go to on Saturday. The party was for his new friend D. D is a wonderfully peculiar child who wears sports jackets to school and carries a briefcase. He just turned 9. The first time I saw his briefcase I asked him what was in it. He answered, "Top secret information about my business."

D is a little entrepreneur. To the extreme.

He's hired some of the kids at school to work for him. E is his secretary. When I ask what this involves, I get a suspiciously vague answer.

D takes his business (whatever it is) so seriously, he gives out employee-of-the-month certificates.

His favorite birthday present was a cash box that came with a lock and key.

He also received a kids' book on how to run a business. When he figured out it was a book for kids and not adults, he got offended.

When I asked his mom for ideas for D's birthday, she said, "Just go to Staples and buy him some office supplies. It's his favorite store."

At the party was another boy who has long hair. Everyone around here wants long hair, it seems. Some boys look very hip and cool. Others... well... do you remember that unfortunate hair style of the 80's? It begins with an M? Yeah.

Not surprisingly, E has insisted on growing his hair long. But it's not working out so well. Finally, we said, "What do you want it to look like?"

And he said, "Like K. His hair is short in the front and long in the back. I like that."

Peter and I both looked at each other in horror.

Our child wants a mullet.

Oh. No.

No no no.

No:



No:



And definitely, NO:



Please.

I don't like to tell E how to dress or wear his hair, but... There are times when a mom needs to take action. When a hairstyle has it's own Web sites devoted to making fun of it (a LOT of Web sites)? When it has names like Tennessee Top Hat? I think that action is justified. Tenfold.

I decided to show E some of the sites.

I think we're safe. For now...

My apologies to the mullet lovers out there. It's nothing personal. But the 80's were hard enough to survive. I don't need any reminders.


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Monday Morning Warm-Up:

Describe your biggest hair fiasco. Be sure to include what you were trying to do, and what the end result was. Have FUN! You survived! :)


P.S. Special thanks to reallyginnyf for sharing her special do:

Yesterday cfaughnan and I went to Cambridge and explored Harvard Square before the PEN Discovery event. I'm sure you can guess where we spent most of our time. But just in case, it looks like this:


We saw a lot of LJ friends' books! Yay!

I decided to buy E a present and Cindy suggested The Diary of Wimpy Kid, which E has been asking for.

At the counter, the woman asked, "Do you need some wimpy in your life?"

And I said, "Yes."

And then she said she read my book for her class at Simmons.

Well, that was pretty cool, I must say. I'm not sure how she knew who I was, but it sure feels nice to be recognized or remembered, however vain that sounds. :-)

Then Cindy and I had dinner and a sort of smart drink. Frozen sangrias. They were not as tasty as one would think. So, technically, not so smart. But we had fun anyway.

The PEN event was great. I thought the readings were wonderful. They also took time to recognize all the previous winners, which was a bit nerve-wracking but very nice as well. :-)

ANYway...

I got home late last night and put E's new book on the dining room table.

This morning, after E finished breakfast, he discovered the book. He gave an enthusiastic THANKS! and started inspecting the cover. I went back to reading the news. I wasn't really paying attention or notice how quiet it got, until the quiet was interrupted by giggles. When I peaked into the dining room, E was still sitting at the table.

Reading.

He was reading ON HIS OWN. Without being asked. Or bribed. Without insisting first that he couldn't. Without giving up before he started. Without tears.

His lips were moving with silent whispers. And then a giggle would escape.

Reading. Our E.

There were tears of joy. Concealed, of course.

When it was time to get ready for school, he asked if he could bring the book with him.

Hell yeah!

So yes. I guess we really did need a little Wimpy in our lives.

Thank you, Jeff Kinney!!



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Monday Morning Warm-Up:

Write to the prompt, "I come from..."

Oy. Still no cable. Was it all just a dream?

Ah well.

If you are trying to reach me, I'm having Internet woes yet again. I will try to be in touch soon.

Also, I had some great news over the weekend! TeensReadToo gave LESSONS FROM A DEAD GIRL a Gold Star Award for Excellence!! I'm so thrilled. You can read the review here. Yay!

Today I hope to finish my revision and get a rough draft of my next Freelance Text done. It seems like a somewhat impossible task. But... I'm gonna try.

Good luck to everyone else with deadlines! :-)


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Monday Morning Warm-Up:

Describe a boy from your childhood using as many details as you can remember. Weave a memory into the description. Have fun! Share!

Today our E starts at his new school.

At the moment, he is commenting on Peter's fat content. Peter is actually super skinny so I'm not sure what he's talking about. Ever since we got ENEMY #1, E has been a little obsessed with our sizes. One more reason ENEMY #1 is, well, #1.

In writing news, Debbie Ohi, who has a wonderful blog, has posted an interview with me at, "Inkygirl: Daily Diversions For Writers".

Debbie is also giving away a copy of LESSONS FROM A DEAD GIRL! All you have to do is leave a comment for her at the link above. If you win, let me know and I will send you a signed bookplate (if you'd like one, that is).

Also, please check out Debbie's other entries and links. She is an INCREDIBLE artist. I love her illustrations as well as her stunning photography. Debbie has a wonderful gift of capturing emotion in her photographs. I find them all fascinating and unique. Enjoy!

I will now attempt to bury myself in freelance work in an attempt to stay distracted and not worry about the boy, who will be fine, I know. I'm just a worrier.





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Monday Morning Warm-Up:

Write to the prompt, "I wish..." You can write about one wish, or make a list poem. Also, consider writing this from your main character's point of view. Have fun!

Linda Urban and I got up early Saturday morning and drove to Nashua to semi participate in this year's conference. Both of us knew that a weekend away at this time should really be spent writing, so we compromised and instead of going to the workshops we took our laptops and sat in the restaurant and wrote and talked and visited with passersby.

I must say that on the drive down we saw a flock of turkeys on the side of the highway. They were not modest about their intentions. Especially the last two who were... you know. Linda said when you see two turkeys doing it on the side of the highway it is surely a sign of good luck. You think?

I managed to make significant progress on my revision, as well as get the much-needed medicine of seeing lots of friends, giving lots of hugs, and doing lots of quick catch-ups as they went in for their critiques. I also got to see a bunch of my former students which was so much fun!!!!

After lunch, Linda and I checked in and wrote some more in our room. I feel like I'm nearly, nearly, nearly there. Nearly.

Later that night, we met up with a fun group of ladies and headed over to a terrific Irish pub. Here are the pub daughters from right to left (sorry, did that backwards), Mona Pease (anom3), Linda Urban (lurban), Loree Griffin Burns (lgburns), Caroline Scoppetone, Kelly Fineman (kellyfineman), Angela De Groot, and Tamra Wight (tamra_wight):



After amazing Fish and Chips that came wrapped in newspaper we went back to the hotel. We stopped at the bar but it was EMPTY. EMPTY! What is with that??? Actually, it wasn't totally empty. We ran into the lovely Amanda Marrone and her friend, and then Anna Boll stopped in. But the bar was really quiet and not very festive feeling. Not to be discouraged, we decided to go to Tamra and Val's room and drink something that was called wine but wasn't. I don't know what it was. Something with blackberry flavor which was way too easy to drink too much of. Here are some wine-induced photos...

Mona and Anna (who was still glowing from being the conference head cheese):


And here is Cindy and Tamra, who are both so sweet and wonderful and really, really close to selling novels. (Believe it, you two!!!!!!)


This is me with Val Giogas. I love Val!


I love Tam, too! (And, clearly, that blackberry wine!):


Thanks for the wine and good times, ladies!

I'm really sad that we didn't get to go to the actual conference, but we had a fantastic time just being there. I was also really sad that I didn't get to meet or even see Laurie Halse Anderson (halseanderson. She is my idol. And I'm really glad so many people were moved by her speech.

On Sunday, Linda and I headed over to the Eric Carle Museum in Amherst, MA. Marla Frazee and her editor gave a fantastic talk there about their author/editor relationship and the complex and sometimes frustrating process (gotta love Marketing meetings!) of creating a book

While there, I got to meet M.T. Anderson and I think I was so nervous speaking to him that I made up a word. Oh well. He was really nice.

I also got to meet Jane Yolen and I think she thought I was a stalker or something. But, being Jane Yolen, she probably gets that a lot.

We had a really nice lunch with picture book author extraordinaire, Peg Davol (Marguerite Davol), too! Thanks Peg!

After the presentation, we hung out for a bit and saw some very cool exhibits, including Arnold Lobel. I loved seeing pages from Frog and Toad with edits. The edits, by the way, were very smart choices. :-)

Finally, we got to see some green. Real green. Linda was a good sport and let me take a photo, for proof and the promise that it WILL make its way up here eventually:


Thanks for a great weekend, Linda! It was just the medicine I needed. I think you were right about the turkeys.

xo





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Monday Morning Warm-Up:

Write to the prompt, "I am..."

Bruce Black has a really wonderful blog called WORDSWIMMER. He posts lots of interesting interviews with authors, editors and others in the business. He also posts a lot of inspirational entries that just... make you feel good. There's something very peaceful and encouraging about this blog.

Today, Bruce was generous enough to post an interview with me! Bruce likes swimming metaphors. Or analogies. Er. I'm so dumb I don't know what we did in our interview. Maybe you could go over and read it and let me know. :-) Please? Anyway, we talk about such things as the importance of ALWAYS swimming with a buddy. Thanks buddies!

Also, if you like the interview please leave a comment for Bruce. He works really hard on these interviews and even though I've only had a few e-mail conversations with him, I can tell he has a huge and generous heart.

Oh, and check out all the great links Bruce provides! His blog really is a wonderful resource for writers.

Thanks!

And thanks Bruce!!! I would e-mail you but I can't! (See below.)

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Monday Morning Warm-Up:

Write to the prompt, "I know it's spring when..."


NOTE: I cannot access my e-mail. Please, if you need to reach me, leave a comment below. Thanks!

Happy Monday!

Some of you have probably heard me talk about a dear friend, Cindy Faughnan. cfaughnan is a middle school English teacher. I've met many of her students and they are wonderful. Some of you also probably know how I feel about standardized testing and the No Child Left Behind Act, which, lets face it, is a disaster. The combination of the two is leading to standardized teaching, I am afraid, in many places. I've certainly witnessed it close to home. Cindy wrote a wonderful post about students and writing on her blog today here:

"THIS IS ONLY A TEST" http://cfaughnan.livejournal.com/40378.html

THANKS CINDY!!! The world needs more teachers like you, that's for sure.

Some of you have probably also heard me talk about Carrie Jones. Carrie is running for the Maine state Legislature, District 38.

Here are some of the things Carrie stands for:

*Work for high-quality, affordable healthcare for all Mainers
*Support and protect the local control of our outstanding schools
*Support fair tax reform that will help boost the economy and be fair to individual tax payers
*Push for an environment that’s clean and safe
*Advocate for local businesses and land owners
*Ensure food and fuel security
*Increase local transportation and infrastructure
*Push for more opportunities for higher education and arts
*Work for the rights of all Maine people
*Push for responsive, ethical government
*Protect workers in their right to fair treatment, safe working conditions, and the ability to organize themselves to achieve better pay and benefits

If you live in this district, I hope you'll learn more about Carrie!



And GO CINDY GO, too!!! (Sorry I don't have a button for you, Cindy!)

I'm so proud of both of you. We are incredibly lucky to have wonderful women taking charge and trying to make a difference in the world. You two inspire me in beautiful ways. Thank you.

xo

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Monday Morning Warm-Up:

Write to the prompt, "Whenever I hear that song..."

E and I had a great time in NH this weekend. I wasn't prepared to get any writing done, but I took my laptop just in case. The older kids got up early in the morning and watched cartoons while my youngest nephew, R, climbed onto my bed and sat next to me to watch SPIRIT. As you can sort of see, he was content to sit there in his PJs while I leaned my ms against his back and click-clacked away on my keyboard.

I wrote a total of 14 pages this weekend. Then came home late last night and finished the draft. Now... back to the beginning.

I also had some very sad news. A friend I used to work with when I was young (teens and early twenties) died at the age of 60. My dad was looking through the paper and came across his obituary. Eddie B was an amazing guy. He was a brilliant musician (he was even a drummer for Cindy Lauper before she became famous), funny coworker (we worked at a health food restaurant together where we took orders and made sandwiches), and a sweet, honest friend. He was the kind of person who knew when you needed a hug, or a laugh, or a simple nod across a busy restaurant that said, "We'll get through it."

Eddie was kind of like an uncle or a big brother. He was crazy fun. Even though I haven't seen him in many years, I feel an emptiness in my heart where Eddie lived. It'll fill up again with my dear memories of him, but right now, it's just an ache. Rest in peace, Eddie B.

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Monday Morning Warm-Up:

Write to the prompt: "When I found out you were gone..."

E's Odyssey of the Mind team had a great time at the big competition. I think they were most impressed by the size of the high school. Most of the kids on his team are home schooled, or from E's tiny school. This place was ENORMOUS, with several gymnasiums and mazes of hallways to get lost in. Fun was had by all. Thanks for the reassurance on Friday. You guys were totally right.

Saturday night we stayed at a Bed & Breakfast in Shelburne and we lost power several times due to the rainstorm. Every time the power went off, E would wake up and say he either a.) needed to go to the bathroom or b.) needed water. I tried to tell him there was a connection there and to stop both, but no. So out in the pitch dark hallway to the bathroom we'd go. Ugh.

The next morning as we were checking out I discovered I didn't have my purse. Panic ensued. We called the restaurant where I last remembered having it and they said they didn't see it anywhere. We drove there anyway, just to try to look for ourselves. But no one would come to the door. So we sat in the parking lot and began to cancel bank cards and credit cards and generally just go through the inventory of all the important things that were in my purse. I was on the verge of tears when a guy came out a side door and I told him what happened. He turned out to be the owner and let me in. My purse was sitting on his desk.

We came home and felt very grateful.

Then this morning our smoke detectors all starting going off at 5:15. We got up, couldn't see what was wrong, and finally the alarm stopped. We decided it was a fluke. 20 minutes later, you guessed it. Same scene. Times 3. Finally Peter called the Fire department. The chief came out to take a look but couldn't figure it out either. He tested for CO2 and we're fine. The detector hasn't gone off again. Odd.

Then, I get in the car to take Eli to school. The garage door is frozen. Not only that, the little gadget thing that is attached to the door that makes it go up and down has torn right out of the door, stripping the holes where the screws go in.

Did I mention we've had a pleasant 24 hours?

Ugh. :(

I'm hoping it's true what they say about threes and that is that. Though I'm knocking on wood now just in case.

In more exciting news, Little Willow started a LESSONS thread over at the readergirlz myspace forum here:

http://forum.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=messageboard.viewThread&entryID=58090413&categoryID=0&IsSticky=0&groupID=104754972&Mytoken=471D2A50-9D0B-4F1B-8EFC3EBEA64890B274735812

Please come ask me a question or say hi!! Thank you!!!!

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Monday Morning Warm-Up:

Write to the prompt, "I wish I could see..."

Holy Cow! This weekend I found out that LESSONS FROM A DEAD GIRL is a suggested read over at http://www.readergirlz.com! Woah! I am SOOOOO excited!!!!!

This is the list:

A Little Friendly Advice, by Siobhan Vivian
Stay With Me, by Garrett Freymann-Weyr
Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher
Kissing the Bee, by Kathe Koja
Lessons from a Dead Girl by Jo Knowles
Red: The Next Generation of American Writers

I cannot believe my book is sandwiched in there with all those amazing books! And there's even a forum topic on the Readergirlz Myspace so if you want to talk about and compare these books that is the place to be! (http://forum.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=messageboard.viewThread&entryID=57531090&groupID=104754972&adTopicID=19&Mytoken=46A642B0-61AC-4753-A144245F1DF32AEF88032194) Sorry, whenever I try to do a link it never seems to work.

THANKS Readergirlz!! I'm donating a book for them to give away, too. Details to come!

And since I seem to be on a BSP kick, special thanks to Bri at "Bri Meets Books" for her thoughtful review of Lessons from A Dead Girl (http://bribookblog.blogspot.com/2008/02/review-lessons-from-dead-girl.html). :-)

In other news...

Yesterday I shoveled out our fake luge track and it was AMAZING. The sides are so high now, it's like sledding though a beautiful snow tunnel. So. Fun. It will be the only thing I miss from this winter. For sure. We have so much snow here it's a bit overwhelming. I really cannot imagine how long it will take to melt. I fear flooding. Sincerely. Also? Mud. There is going to be a lot of mud.

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Monday Morning Warm-Up:

Brought to you by mistake by cfaughnan, who was talking about something else during the writing club I visited, but the students picked up on it and took it as the prompt: "I wish I could remember..."

Have fun! Share! :-)

E went back to school today.

I miss him.

:(

One of my favorite moments of the week:

We were watching the first Indiana Jones movie. In the opening scene, Indiana is running from a temple and being chased by several native men down to a lake. There's a shot that shows their bare behinds and E covered his mouth and said:

"Oh my gosh, Mom! Why are they so scantily clothen?!"

Scantily. Clothen.

Yes.

I miss him.


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Monday Morning Warm-Up:

Last week at the prison we used a prompt that Dana gave us. It turned out some very powerful pieces so I thought I'd try it here. Write to the prompt, "I never knew..." I think we've done this one before, actually. But that's OK. Like the "I remember" prompt, this sort of prompt always brings up something new. Have fun!

Yay! We're leaving in one hour to pick up E's best friend M and head to the theater! I can't wait!!!


Last night my super sweet cousin Alexandra came over and we went sledding with E, had a big dinner and way too rich dessert (my fault) and hung out and drank wine and played Knockout (I lost, of course) and watched Driving Lessons (which I really loved).

The house felt empty when she left, as it always does when a guest I love drives away.

Thanks for taking the scenic route, A! XOXO


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Monday Morning Warm-up (sorry to be so late):

Describe going to your very first movie. What was the movie? What did you eat? Who were you with? Were you scared? etc. etc.