Moving to LiveJournal

At Theo’s recommendation, I’ve switched to Live Journal.

Obviously.

So here’s what’s up…

More reviews are up for PROM. Fellow author and all-around great Texan Cynthia Leitich Smith also weighed in about the book. (Note – if you are a teacher, writer, or lover of children’s and teens books, spend your lunch hour (or all afternoon) enjoying Cynthia’s incredible website. Cyn is the author who really set the standard for comprehensive author websites, and was the inspiration for the changes on my site. Look at her husband Greg’s site, too! His new book, TOFU AND T. REX is getting rave reviews.)

Mer and I had an ab-fab time in NYC. We LOVED Wicked. Had one of those Twilight Zone moments before the play. We were eating dinner at a Cosi near the theater (go and eat S’Mores there) and we couldn’t help overhearing the conversation two girls were having at the next table. Nobody within a quarter-mile radius could help overhearing them because they were talking VERY LOUDLY so as to draw maximum attention. Anyway, these were brand-new college roommates who, like us, were stoked because they were about to see Wicked. But they were also busy getting to know each. There was a little sparring and lots of nervous laughter. Who was going to be the alpha roommate? Who was going to call the shots? What made this extra-amusing is that the central premise of Wicked is that Glinda the Good Witch (we’re talking Wizard of Oz here) was the college roommate of the Wicked Witch of the West. It was very tempting to ask those girls for their Livejournals so we could follow the state of their relationship over the next five months. But we didn’t have the guts to do it.

We saw the play, bought popcorn on the way back to the hotel, and slept like death. Next morning we went out for real bagels and schmear for breakfast, then we shopped down Fifth Ave., until we got to the train station and came home. If you haven’t been to a Broadway show or spent a couple days in New York City yet, put it on your To-Do list and start saving money right now.

I also had a long meeting with my Simon & Schuster editor, Kevin. Yes, there are photos, but everytime I try to put any photos in this stupid journal, the program yells at me. So imagine we are looking at Kevin and me conferring about book stuff.

I’ll update about the Eagles’ plan to win the Superbowl and conquer the world tomorrow.

Oh, wait. Before I sign off, there is an email I wanted to post. This comes from English teacher Joe Gucci of Johnson City High School, Johnson City, NY.

Mr. Gucci writes: In examining your novel, I have provided the students with an excerpt from Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. In reading this, the students quickly pick up on the fact that the name of the person that raped Ms. Angelou is Mr. Freeman. They (and I) are curious as to whether or not it was a coincidence that a Mr. Freeman also appears in your book. The kids also wonder if that it supposed to be his real name or if Melinda just gave him that name (similar to Mr. Neck and Hairwoman).

I actually borrowed Mr. Freeman’s name from one of my kid’s science teachers. The name, not the personality. My thinking was that the art teacher in the book is the person who helps Melinda free herself from her prison of silence. When I reread Caged Bird I saw the parallel and decided to leave it stand – not sure why, it just felt right. Your students might want to note that Melinda gives nicknames to the people she feels no connection to. She feels safe with her art teacher and knows that he really cares. Hence, Mr. Freeman is his real name.

Mr. Gucci also writes: I have searched far and wide for information regarding the release of the movie version of Speak. Is there any information available regarding a release date or a way to see this movie? My students have been begging me to get them news about the movie because they loved the book so much.

Theo really beefed up the Speak movie pages. We are posting the release update info here.

Melissa writes: Hi im doing a report on laurie hales anderson for school is you could tell me about ur self alitte that would help me alot thanks. ps im reading ur book speak

If you are doing a report about me, you’ll find everything you need on my About Me page.

Note to Heela – Thanks so much for your cool note. It made me smile.