Blog – Page 156 – Laurie Halse Anderson

January 9, 2008

Mom’s special birthday delivery

Yep, he made it on time; Kegan Alexander, 7 pounds, 12 ounces (much of that seems to be lung)!

Mom was able to end her 77th birthday visiting her new great-grandson, who was also celebrating a birthday.

There was much cooing.

Four generations, from the left: my sister, Lisa, her daughter, April, the new star, Kegan, and Joyce, the mom, grandmom & great-grandmom.

Buried somewhere deep in the forest in another 4-generation photo. In that one, my mom is the infant, accompanied by Peg, her mother, Ethel, her grandmother, and Ida, her great-grandmother. If I am counting on my fingers right, grandmom Ida is Kegan’s great-great-great-great-grandmother (born in 1866, died 1935).

I need to work on two chapters today. I’ll look for the picture during the break between them. My head is spinning from all this family stuff. I need to hang out with my characters to get my bearings back.

January 8, 2008

Week 1 – DONE! Bring on Week 2!

I have kept my New Year’s resolutions for seven days! Go me!

2008 Week 1>> Days When I Wrote for At Least an Hour: 7. YTD: 7.
2008 Week 1 >> Miles Run: 20. YTD: 20.

Finishing out the miles yesterday on the treadmill was ugly, ugly, ugly, but I did it.

Today I will try to write a million bazillion chapters while staring at the phone because my niece is in the hospital right now getting ready to have her first child. If he is born before midnight, he will share his birthday with his great-grandmother, (aka my mom) Joyce Mason Holcomb Halse, who is 77 years old today.

It has always amused me that Mom was born the same day as Elvis. Even funnier: it’s David Bowie’s birthday. I think the joke should start “So Elvis, David Bowie and Mom walk into a bar…” Definitely the birthday of cultural icons.

Here is my gorgeous mother about to inhale a tray of frosted brownies at her party Sunday. One of the advantages to making it to 77 is that you get eat whatever you want. Happy Birthday, Mom.

January 7, 2008

Wow!

Thank you, thank you everyone who helped out with the playlists for PROM and CATALYST! I really appreciate it. (kmessner can you send me an address so I can write a note to Kianna, Eunice, Amy, Caitlin and Kadijah?)

A couple of the suggestions are books that are on the playlist for my YA WIP, so I am holding them in reserve.

The weekend flew by. We had Christmas #3 with Daughter #1, which was delightful. Now we have to finally take down the Christmas decorations, which is a little melancholy. My mom’s birthday is Tuesday, but as we had a couple of her granddaughters here over the weekend, we had a little party for her last night. Watching Mom’s face light up is one of the most beautiful sights in the world. We’re taking her out breakfast this morning, too.

The weather is disgusting. We’re getting up to 60 degrees today and going to have rain. Peh. It’s January – I want snow so I can snuggle down with library books and hot chocolate. (Though I must admit I am happy that Daughter #1 will have nice driving weather.)

I have to get some writing done before the family wakes up.

How was your weekend?

January 4, 2008

Did you read CATALYST or PROM?

Theo is putting the finishing touches on the playlist section of my Writerlady website overhaul. We’ve got plenty of songs for the other novels (special thanks to handworn and to John Connolly and his students for all their help). We are a little light on the number of songs suggested for PROM and CATALYST.

And I am on deadline. And after that, I have another book to write. And one of my kids finally comes home on break today.

So I could really use your help.

Any suggestions? What songs tie into the main characters and situations of PROM and CATALYST?

This is what I have so far:

CATALYST
Splintering – Arizona
The Great Escape – We Are Scientists
Under Pressure – Queen
Run, Baby, Run – Sheryl Crow
Runaway – Linkin Park

PROM
Alright – Supergrass
End of the Line – Traveling Wilburys
I Summon You – Spoon
Nowhere and Everywhere – Michelle Lewis
Survivor – Destiny’s Child
Lose Yourself – Eminem
Learn To Fly – Foo Fighters
Prom Theme – Fountains Of Wayne

Teachers! If your students help out with this, I promise a hand-written thank you note!

January 3, 2008

Welcome Mr. Ambassador!!!!

The rocking awesomest Jon Scieszka (Stinky Cheese Man, Time Warp Trio, etc.) has been named as America’s first National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No, the President did not make this appointment. The very smart people at the Library of Congress did.

Right now copy editors across the country are ripping through their files triple-checking the spelling of Jon’s last name. “Four consonants at the end? In a row? Are you sure?” They are all wishing for a vowel movement that is not going to happen. For the record, it is pronounced “Sheh-ska”. And “J-on”.

(Washington Post coverage, and the New York Times has a very nice picture and article. Publisher’s Weekly weighs in. I’ll add more coverage as people wake up and write about it.)

Along with being a terrific storyteller, writer, and all-around nice person, Jon is the brains and force behind the Guys Read program. I think this is a fantastic choice and I can’t wait to see what he does.

Jon and I share two publishers. Here we are with Viking editor, the ever-fab Sharyn November at IRA last year.