Month: November 2006

Just ask Ned Vizzini.

Hey there, guys.

This has to be one of those weeks when I turn off the Internet and beat my head on my WIP manuscript in the hopes that some words will leak out of my forehead and onto the page. In fact, the rest of the year is going to be that, with time off for good behavior on the holidays.

I want your help. I figure we can use my temporary absence from the Net for a fun project.

Help me develop playlists for my characters. Respond to this post here or comment on my MySpace with the names of songs (and the artists) that makes you think of one of my books. We’ll start this week with SPEAK. What is the best playlist for SPEAK. Why?

If you give me enough ideas, I’ll have Theo dream up a new website page for the playlists. Maybe I can figure out how to set them up over on iTunes, too.

(I am smelling a class project, teachers.)

While you give me tunes, I will write. Does anyone want to hear about the progress of that, word counts, etc.?

This announcement about the Sagebrush Award is passed along courtesy of ALAN:

“Did you bring books and young adults together this past year? Did you encourage the development of life-long reading habits? Are you a personal member of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)? Then you’re eligible to apply for the Sagebrush Award!

Not just for reading clubs! We’re looking for innovative new ways books and kids have been brought together.

The Sagebrush Award for a Young Adult Reading or Literature Program is designed to honor a member(s) of the Young Adult Library Services Association who has developed an outstanding reading or literature program for young adults. The award provides a grant of $1,000 to support the winning member’s attendance at the ALA Annual Conference.

The award is made possible through an annual grant from the Sagebrush Book Company, a division of The American Companies.

The deadline is December 1st, so apply now!

For more information, or to apply, check out the application at:

http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/awardsandgrants/sagebrush.pdf.

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), the fastest growing division of the American Library Association (ALA), is pleased to announce over $30,000 worth of grants and awards available to YALSA members.”

I have a confession to make.

My name is Laurie and I am a political junkie. Reformed political junkie. When I was a reporter, I spent several fascinating nights at various county headquarters, covering races for President and Congress and school board and dog catcher. When I left the paper, I worked as a campaign volunteer and poll watcher. It was fun, but rather all-consuming and did not lead to much fiction writing. I swore off the hard stuff a couple of years ago when I decided there was more to life than stuffing fliers in mailboxes.

So I quit cold turkey.

Well, I fell off the wagon last night. Stayed up much too late watching returns. Found myself analyzing the numbers and poking through tea leaves trying to prognosticate about 2008 and debating the choices of tie colors worn by reporters and irritated that CNN could only find one female commentator. Hello? CNN? Girls vote. We have opinions, too, and some of us are wicked smart about it, and so please hire a couple more next time, OK?

Today I am climbing back into a state of political junkie sobriety. I vow not to track the minute-by-minute changes in the VA and MT senate races. I promise not to scan the Internet for Nancy Pelosi’s plan of action. I will focus on my art and my job and my mail pile.

(I am, however, still trying to find out the status of the proposed Mexico, NY water district. Does anyone know?)

More coffee, BH.

What are you doing tonight? Want to hang out? Meet me at Storer Auditorium, on the campus of my alma mater, Onondaga Community College, at 7pm. I’ll be the one up front, blabbing into the microphone. If you are an LJ-reader, please let me know.

BH and I voted at 8am this morning, in our town hall, in a small room filled with cheerful volunteers. The left side of the room was Precinct #1 and the right side was Precinct #2. It was probably the last time I’ll have a chance to use the old-fashioned voting machines, with levers and a big handle that went thuuunk to register the votes.

While choosing our candidates, BH and I whistled Revolution, by the Beatles.

I love voting.

I vote so my government hears me speaking up.

Why do you vote?
If you aren’t old enough yet, why will you vote?