I got a note from a friend last night. She'd gotten her copy of Bull Rider from Amazon - although the official release date is tomorrow - and she wrote to say "Your book is fabulous and I couldn't put it down." Well THANK YOU for telling me. It makes my day. She also said she bought a copy for a friend who works at the VA hospital in Palo Alto - a friend who said that few people knew about the cost of the Iraq War in terms of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America says that 100,000 military personnel are returning home with some form of TBI. It's time to talk about it and to think about the needs these veterans and their families have. More later.

Today was a good day. I slept late after going to the Nevada Reading Week Conference for two days. I was a presenter and signed a LOT of pre-release copies of Bull Rider. One High School librarian ordered six, count 'em six, copies for her school. YeeHaa!! I'm getting over the need to feel profound here on the blog - that may account for more entries. I do want to say that each day I am overwhelmed by the support from my friends as the release of Bull Rider approaches. I got a lovely e-mail today from a friend who'd received her copy and read it. "Couldn't put it down," she said. Lovely words. And she ordered a second copy for a friend who works at the VA hospital in Palo Alto - what a terrific tribute. Thank you. Another friend called to help me arrange school visits for the week Rosanne Parry (2k9 member www.classof2k9 ) and author of Heart of a Shepherd) and Terri Farley (Phantom Stallion Series) and I do a signing at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, Washington - April 5. A third friend posted photos of her kids reading their pre-ordered copy. My daughter, along with a number of friends said they would be asking for it at their local bookstores. THANK YOU. I couldn't do this without you. I'm hoping those of you who find this blog through my website will post comments as you read the book. I'd love to hear from you.

Day Three and Still Here

OK - the dog should get walked so often. The sun is out and I need to go outside too. For now, I'm going to be self-indulgent and say - after a long wait, although not so long in publishing time - I'm getting e-mails from friends who are now holding copies of Bull Rider in their hands. I was thinking last night that a lot of fabulous people from critique group to editors to designers to publicity and marketing people to SCBWI buddies spent a lot of time on this book. In the end, it will take a few hours for each person to read. That's like Christmas dinner! And, like that celebration at the end of a season, I hope they relax and savor it and then remember it for a long time. If you love Bull Rider, tell a friend, or loan your book, or ask your local bookstore to carry it. People can't read it if they don't know that it exists. Off to walk the dog. Ralph!!! PS Tomorrow I'm working ALL day. Next post - Sunday (how about a book review??)

Stacks of Bull Rider Books

OK, I didn't get to it in the morning - but I'm here again. I'm getting very excited about Bull Rider coming out next week. I am speaking at the Nevada Reading Week Conference this weekend with my friend Terri Farley and am busy printing handouts for my breakout sessions. I can't wait to see my first stack of Bull Rider books on their sales tables. I also bought a bunch of cutesy book plates with golden retriever puppies on them so that I can sign bookplates for any friends who come to Asilomar and haven't yet received books that they pre-ordered. If that's you and you have your book, bring it along and I'll sign it. If you haven't bought one yet, I hear there will be some there for sale. Editor Emma must have asked for them. Dinner is ready. Here's to blogging every day and to husbands who will make hamburgers while I blog and answer e-mail and buy airline tickets and print handouts for the weekend. Love to you all.

Hi there, well this time it's been TWO months and my friend, Terri Farley, tells me I have to blog everyday - like eating breakfast, I suppose. So my new routine should be to walk my dog, blog, and then eat. That would probably do it. I'd have to change my blog name to Walking the Dog and I think I'd like that too. It's been entirely too serious around here and wintry and cold - although precious little rain and we'll all be regretting that come summer.

In two months I HAVE had time to read some books and I'll talk about one right now: Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, Tor, 2008. My daughter gave it to me for Christmas and I read half of it while I was home alone and it got too scary for little me and I put it aside until my husband came home, then finished it. This is a chilling book about technology and how it can be used to track our every move - but even more creepy - it's about what our government might be like if it decided to use the "rules" that have been made for the "war on terror" on our own citizens. Or what it might be like to be disappeared by the US, no matter what your citizenship. Little Brother is set in San Francisco which made it all the more real to me since I grew up there. I'm not much of a techno geek but I was able to follow a lot of the technology bits. It was kind of like watching the TV show, Numbers, with an occasional aside - let me tell you how this works. I got lost with the encryption techniques, but by that time I didn't care. I would recommend the book for it's topic. For it's ability to make you think. A good read for anyone over thirteen with a brain.