i’m alive and are you ready to write tomorrow?

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Not only am I alive, but the combined efforts of the OfficeMouse and the AppleGenius drove the demons out of my laptop. All vital signs are stable, no data lost.

Right now I’m in the John Wayne airport (which makes me laugh every time I say it), waiting for the plane home. I’ll get there between 10 and 11 tonight, if all goes well. No, I will not be blogging then. I will be executing a perfect faceplant in my pillow and going to sleep.

Conference summary: fun, friendly and inspiring. I have a bazillion photos, good stories (I met one of my favorite authors!), a report about the glamor and dazzle of the Newbery/Caldecott dinner, and maybe a new video. They’ll be dribbling out of my computer over the next week.

Before I board, I have three things to remind you about:

1. There is a wonderful review of INDEPENDENT DAMES and ELIZABETH LEADS THE WAY (written by my friend Tanya Lee Stone) in the San Francisco Chronicle.

2. I am the featured author all week in the Barnes & Noble online book club called the Family Room. Pour yourself some tea or coffee and join us.

3. Tomorrow is July 1st – the kickoff of my 15-minute a day writing challenge! Are you ready? Are you willing? Are you able? Write yourself a reminder note right now and stick it where you will see it tomorrow. Sharpen the pencils, clean off the keyboard, and take a deep breath. I don’t care how freaking busy you are. You can find fifteen minutes. You deserve it.

They’re calling my plane. Here’s a photo of me at an illustrator’s luncheon. It’s representative of what a colorful blur this weekend was.

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Technical Difficulties

OfficeMouse here.

Laurie is currently having problems with her laptop. We think her backlight has died, but she is on the phone now with the Apple Genius trying to fix the issue. There is a possibility that she will not be able to keep you updated on the latest happenings at ALA.

Thank you for understanding, and expect a happier Laurie to be writing upon her return home!

left coast scribbling

The trip out to Anaheim was lovely and uneventful. They even gave us free crackers on the plane.

My ALA whirlwind doesn’t start until this evening, so I am sneaking in writing time while I can. Poolside. Coated in sunscreen, sitting in the shade, but, yeah, I’m lounging next to what I think is a bougainvillea plant, underneath a palm tree.

Some parts of this job do not totally suck, I must admit.

Another cool thing is the email I’ve been getting recently. I don’t know why, but suddenly teen boys are reading TWISTED (because it’s out in paperback?) and are emailing me; often at 4am. Several of them are demanding a sequel like this guy, who wrote:

Thank you for grasping what us, as teenagers go throu on an daily basis and putting it into words. Reading your books, gives me hope to get throu the weeks. Espicllly TWISTED, its my favorite so far, and I would like to know what ends up happening to Bethany and Tyler, Yoda and Tylers sister Hannah??(name has slipped my mind) and if Tyler continues on with his new ways and becomes the man he wants to be.

Many of the guys who are writing want to see more of the relationship between Tyler and Bethany. Must ponder this….

I will try to take lots of pictures this weekend and post them (and yes, I’ll try to make a video again), but the Internet connection at my hotel is really slow, so it might take until Monday before I can put up anything substantial.

Now I will lean back, close my eyes, and absorb this memory so I can pull it out during a blizzard next February.