Five months off

People, I took five months off blogging. I think it was because I was writing the
guts of my novel. Yes, you heard correctly, my novel--directed at the very sophisticated audience of 10 year old girls. If all goes as planned, the book will have suspense, excitement, fashion, witty banter, love, loss, and what everybody wore.

As a matter of fact, I had to change the title. It was originally called Agnes Von Kliner, Fashion Designer. But Agnes is now the best friend. The protagonist is Carly Blye. I would hate to be someone who has to run a title contest, but I promise you, dear readers, that not one decent title for this book have I thought of. NOT ONE.

Enough about me and my writing (though I am also working on a book I sold called Carry It, Harriet) enough about my life (I go back to school in a few weeks you know!) how could I possibly go on and on , with complete disregard for the tediousness of the self-referential blogger (aren't we all?)

Anyway, there has been a shift for me in this blog. I find myself seldom reading to my children anymore. Why is this? I am frightened to ask. It's probably neglect. Gus (11) reads about a novel a day, if he has a new one, and Henry (8) vigilantly reads 20 minutes per night for his third-grade reading log. He has read some C.S. Lewis, Garfield, Fudge books by Judy Blume, a great book called Weird Stuff--and more. Gus just finished Rick Riordan's new book in a day. Yup, he brags. And he's lined up some Anthony Horowitz and Susan Cooper.

So I won't say to much about what they're reading until I start paying very close attention again--but I will say that I have continued to read for school (my MFA in writing for Children and Young Adults at Hamline)and I have read Saffy's Angel (loved) Absolutely, Positively Not Gay (an important book), Somebody (suspenseful quick read), The Higher Power of Lucky (misplaced it 3/4 way through, so very upset)and a galley of Betsy Partridge's wonderful new novel Dog-Tag Summer (luscious) and I am also reading Darkness Over Denmark by my friend Ellen Levine who was just diagnosed with Stage 4 lung Cancer, which is so very devastating. She is so loved by so many. She is my Jewish mother in the city, and I already miss her as she struggles with treatments.

Signing off to go pick up kids, but I have not disappeared--I just needed to write a draft of a novel, and so I almost have one. I'd say another 30-40 pages, and I'll have something you can read!