This morning I have chained myself to my desk in order to respond to ALL the fanmail that has piled up. I made a dent in it last week, and hope to finish today. If you have been waiting to hear from me, I am sorry. Check your mailbox later this week.
By the way, I still have teacher’s guides for TWISTED that I am happy to send out. Put your address in the Comments section, or email me at laurie AT writerlady DOT com and I will send you one ASAP.
There are many more pictures of the Whispering Pines SCBWI retreat on the blog of Liz Goulet Dubois. Liz was the featured artist at the retreat. She is a stellar example of a working artist; someone who day in and and day out uses her artistic talents on a million different projects and somehow manages to pay the bills. I salute thee, Liz, with this mug of Earl Grey! (Be sure to noodle around her site, too.)
A hale and hearty happy 200th birthday to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Maybe we should call him Oldfellow. I had to memorize lines from “The Village Blacksmith” in third grade. Despite that, I still like him.
Except when it comes to how he mucked up history.
Longfellow did not let the messy facts of Revere’s ride get in the way of a good story (or poem). The always wonderful J.L. Bell points out the differences between Paul’s ride and Longfellow’s poem. Historian Brian Leigh Dunnigan does the same thing for the Poetry Foundation.
How do I get this gig? Seriously, folks. I really mean it. I think I would do a remarkably good job. And it wouldn’t even have to be in London. New York has some lovely hotels. I hear Boston has a couple, too, as does San Francisco. Please put in a good word for me.
A Central New York Shout-out to 1979 Liverpool grad Julia Spencer-Fleming who just had her mystery novel All Mortal Flesh, nominated for a posh Agatha Award. I graduated in 1979, too. Must have been something in the water. (Thanks, Shelf Life for the tip.)
The book tour starts in exactly three weeks.
It is snowing again.