Odds and Ends of No Particular Value

I keep reading that my blog should provide a service or information that will bring people back. Well, I hate to tell you, but I'm up to my eyeballs with stuff to do and service that isn't on this blog. So you get what's on my mind and it may not be awe inspiring - at least for now. I did watch American Idol and have never been so disappointed in one of their shows. My husband even voted - for Adam - and we know the outcome. Are people nuts? Was he too femme for the masses? What a voice that man has. And great eyes too - with or without eye liner.

And I weeded until my arms were itchy and I had to take an anti-histamine. This reminded me of why I don't get near grass in the spring. It's one big rash and sneezing fest for me. But the weeds didn't stop growing while we were away and I'll get them knocked out in a few days. I just have to remember to take the pills before I start.

Last, some good news. I'm writing again - yea!! - and our friend Saresh got his papers to stay in the States for several more years. We'll all be better off with him among us. Here's to immigration policy that occasionally works.

Midwest Moments

This will be short - it's late. I wanted to think about all the great times I had in the Midwest with Illinois SCBWI, Chicago members of Class of 2k9 and Authors Now, librarians and students from Des Plaines, Illinois, Homer and Lemont libraries, students at Bright's Grove and Errol Village Schools in southern Ontario and at Chippewa Middle School in Okemos, Michigan. Oh, and the book sellers - particularly the crew at the Book Stall who made me so welcome and also at Anderson's in Naperville who took time to show me around their great store. My friend Jude made sure I took just a little time out to play and we saw some great live improv theater in Lincoln Park and I ate frozen custard and cheese curds with my daughter Mara in Milwaukee. Luke and I did two jigsaw puzzles and he even played Scrabble with me - which none of our kids like to do. OK, off to see the finals of American Idol. More tomorrow, maybe with more details, photos? who knows. It's beautiful here in Reno, so I might end up weeding until I drop.

Home Again with LOTS to Say

OK, when I don't blog for two weeks I end up with lots on my mind and not enough time to share it. Starting with an e-mail I got from Chris in New Mexico today about a collection that the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators made for a library that burned down during the horrible Australian wildfires this spring - my friend Ellen Fockler at Washoe County School Libraries asked if SCBWI was doing anything and how the community could help. She posted the collection to our Reno libraries and the kids raised $800. People can be so cool - espcially kids and especially book people. Chris just let everyone in our organization know about the Reno donation. I'm proud to live here.

Next, I met so many really nice and exciting people on my trip to Chicago, Southern Ontario, and Lansing, Michigan. The book signings were great, the weather was mostly fabulous, the schools and kids were energizing. I'm happy to have met you all and look forward to more time in the Chicago area in the future. If you missed getting Bull Rider there should be copies at the Book Stall in Winnetka, Anderson's in both Naperville and Downer's Grove, and at the Barnes and Nobel in Overland Park. If you are in London, Ontario, the Chapters at Richmond Centre has copies. You can ask for it at any bookstore and order online.

Last, I have photos and stories from the midwest trip. I'll be posting some of them. If you met me in this last two weeks and have photos, e-mail them to me and I'll post some of them here. This is a great ride that we are taking together. Yeehaa!

Quickie Note

OK, so much for blogging every day. It's been busy. I wormed the goats and have been getting over a cold. Had a fun book signing at Barnes and Nobel in Reno yesterday. Yea for all the kids and parents who came out. One girl remembered me from talking to her class at Wooster High in early February. That was really cool. Hope all is well with you guys. I'm still looking for time to write. Maybe on the airplane. . .

California Readin'

I promised a switch from Bull Rider info and since it's snowing outside, I've decided to give you a sneak preview of two books I've read recently that are set in sunny and floral Southern California. Both are gentle middle grade books with lovely writing. Both confront their girl characters with difficult family situations

Jane in Bloom by Debby Lytton reads like the bright flower on it's cover. Jane is the second child, the one who lives in her perfect older sister's shadow. But Jane knows what that perfection is costing the sister she loves. When tragedy changes her family forever, Jane finds some unexpected allies and begins to create a space where she can bloom. I love the color imagery in this book and the clear prose creates white space for the splashes of yellow, purple, and orange to shine. Jane's relationship with her sister is haunting and the book will leave you thinking about family interconnections and personal resilience.

.The Year the Swallows Came Early by Katherine Fitzmaurice is set on the Central California coast. Between the fog, the ocean, the sun, and flowers, you can almost smell the setting as you read. In the first chapter Groovy Robinson's father is taken away to jail - in the kindest way by a policeman they both know. Groovy is confused and then angry as she discovers the reason her father was arrested. I was routing for Groovy from beginning to end, first as she has to rethink her dreams and then as she comes to accept her parents as they are, not as she'd believed them to be. The book makes me long to stare at the ocean and put my thoughts in order.


Information: From the website Mirrormirror:
Anorexia is the third most common chronic illness among adolescents.
40 – 60% of high school girls diet.
50% of girls between the ages of 13 and 15 believe they are overweight.
80% of 13 year old girls have dieted.
40% of 9 year old girls dieted.

Since both books are full of roses - try browsing for one at http://www.everyrose.com/everyrose/roses/browse.lasso

A Quick Note

It's been a quiet day - Easter Sunday - and our trees are still thinking about budding. Daffodils are blooming. I found four fish in our pond that made it through the winter. (That's good, only one more to spot and they are all there.) It's a good day to think about simple things that make each day so special. I heard this on TV this morning - "This is the day the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." I hope to remember that every morning.

OK, I wish I'd been blogging for the last few days. So much has happened. I've been in the Pacific Northwest signing books, visiting schools, and visiting friends and relatives. I traveled with my husband and with Terri Farley - author of the Phantom Stallion Series and the Wild Island Series. Since we are both Reno authors who write about the West, we were presenting and signing together. Rosanne Parry, author of Heart of a Shepherd set up a terrific signing for the three of us at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, Washington. That's us signing books at "Ranch Sunday!" It was so fun.




So I wish every author could have been there when we dropped in at Barnes and Noble in Clackamas Town Center to see the magic that happens between readers and authors. Terri had offered to sign books for the store and we had just found them on a top shelf when a girl came up and was trying to reach them. "Do you like those books?" I asked her.
"Oh, she reads them all," her mom said.
Then Terri said, "I wrote those books."
I thought that girl was going to pass out from excitement. She bought three books, Terri signed them, and she went home a very happy camper.

A week later Terri and I were signing at Barnes and Noble in Vancouver, Washington and a boy came in to buy Bull Rider. He was on chapter four (of a book he'd checked out from the library) and was anxious to get his own copy and finish. "He doesn't like to read much," his mom said. "But he can't wait to read this." Music to my ears. More tomorrow.