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A contest note and hints of review love

I love all the entries for the last drop of snow contest. Keep them coming! You have until March 20th to enter. (For the record – it rained most of yesterday, which ate away at the snow. But we have flurries right now.)

Today I have phone interviews in anticipation of the TWISTED release next week. And I have to get my hair cut. And I have to go shopping to pick up various odds and ends. And return my library books and go to the bank. And pick up my mom from the hospital.

That last item is, of course, the priority of the day. My mom has emphysema and came down with pneumonia. We spent Tuesday in the ER and she was hooked up to meds in the hospital all day yesterday. The meds did the job and and now she can breathe again, so they are letting her out. She is fond of breathing. We are fond of her breathing, too. Mom has emphysema because she smoked. She started when she was 17 years old and finally quit two years ago, when she was forced to go on oxygen 24/7. Please don’t smoke. It is nasty.

A few more reviews (VOYA & KLIATT & Horn Book) came in yesterday ::glows:: but I have to check to see when their publication date is, and if I’m allowed to post them.

Basketball starts at noon and continues all weekend. Don’t like hoops? Then read one of these books about the lies and injustice of “higher education.”

OK, that last sentence was really cranky. I don’t want to be cranky today. I want to be happy. Muffin happy. Muffin. Muffin. Muffin.

edited to add Mom is home safe and healthier from the hospital. Man, oh, man is she feisty. I think it’s the steroids. Poor Daddy. But it is awesome that she is not gasping and that she is so quick to smile again.

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Gazing in a crystal ball & contest to win a signed book

At about three this morning, a chunk of ice the size of a coffee table and six inches thick released itself from our upper roof and crashed into the roof of the sunporch, right outside my bedroom window. The impact put a sizable dent in the two layers of steel roofing. It also woke me up. Nearly gave me a heart attack, in fact.

I think this is going to be a long day.

I leave on the book tour in one week, exactly. First stop will be Arkansas and Mississippi. I have not been to either state yet and am very stoked. The Mississippi event is open to the public. It is actually more of a Tennessee/Mississippi event. The store, Books-A-Million, is in Southaven, MS, which is a suburb of Memphis, TN.

Do you know anyone who lives near Memphis? If so, would you consider begging them to go to my signing on Wednesday, March 22? How about Oxford, MS? I’ll be there on Thursday, March 26th. The bookstore is Square Books, Jr. and the event starts at 3:30pm. Author Karen Hesse (whom I adore) will be there, too, so please, please, grab the dog and the kids and join us!

One of the nice things about having the first part of the tour set in the South is that the chances of sheets of ice crashing in the middle of the night are slim.

It’s time for a contest!!!! Guess when the last bit of snow is going to melt in my yard. Step right up, folks! Declare your guess for the the date and time in the Comments. Guesses must be posted by one week from today, Tuesday, March 20th. The person who comes closest will win a signed copy of TWISTED.

Let the game begin!

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Monday – books, life & teachers edition

Thanks to all the Michiganers who made my quick trip to the Mitten State fun and interesting. The conference was HUGE – more than 5000 attenders who had hundreds of workshops to choose from, and I was honored that so many folks came out to hear me mutter and rant.

I spent most of Saturday on planes or in airports. Here is the free Wifi score:

Syracuse airport – three stars – free wifi, plenty of seating
Chicago O’Hare – no stars – wifi connectivity cost $10/day. Boo-hiss. Get with the program, Chicago.
Grand Rapids airport – three stars – free wifi, very nice lady running coffee shop near gate B1

However, O’Hare gets a star for having my favorite airport bathroom.

Saturday night I enjoyed a fabulous tapas dinner with some teacher and librarian friends. After dinner I was interviewed by YA-lit guru and teen-reader advocate Ed Spicer for his teen book group. Ed had a large handful of reader reviews for TWISTED. They liked the book. They really liked it. Yep, I glowed.

The good news about my hotel room was that I was upgraded to a suite because the hotel was overbooked. The bad news was that it was a suite where smoking had been allowed. (Ack. Puke. Ick.) BH wisely suggested I brew a pot of coffee to help with the stench. Great idea, but the management had removed the coffeemakers from all of the rooms in an effort to get guests to spend more money in the coffee shop.

Sunday was a blur of meeting teachers, signing books, talking about books, signing more, and then schlepping back to the airport. I got a chance to hang with Betsy Partridge, which was nice, and to see Marissa Moss again and to meet Wendy Mass. And I ate a lot of bananas, and a sandwich that contained mysterious meat which I probably should have not consumed, given that I could not identify it, but it was on sunflower seed bread which was so good I inhaled it. And I didn’t get sick. So sunflower seeds balance out strange meat products.

The day started with a very nice breakfast (it had real food and everything!) where I met Kristen, Jill, and all the other ladies.

I told everyone at the conference that I will be back in Michigan on book tour: Monday, March 26th, at the Southfield Public Library in Southfield (evening) and Tuesday, March 27th at Nicola’s Books in Ann Arbor (also in the evening). I hope everyone in the entire state turns out and they have to call the fire marshal. That would be a good signing.

Be sure to read this wonderful article about teens buying and reading books. (Thanks Shelflife and Bookshelves of Doom for the link.)

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Monday – basketball edition

They didn’t pick Syracuse for the NCAA tournament?

They didn’t pick SYRACUSE for the NCAA tournament??

This is an outrage. Excuse me while I lie on my fainting couch a moment.

::curses stupid selection committee::

Other than that, the brackets are intriguing. If things work out well, we’re looking at a Sarah Dessen (North Carolina) vs. Laurie Halse Anderson (Georgetown) showdown for the East regional championship in a few weeks. If this occurs, I think wagering will be required. What do you say, Sarah?

(Syracuse was robbed, man. Robbed. I wonder if Coach Boeheim will make changes to his noon-conference schedule next year.)

I haven’t decided who my Cinderella team is yet. Any suggestions?

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Another reason to love Syracuse, NY

is that we have free wi-fi at the airport. Wo-hoo!

Just wanted to say thanks to Notre Dame for an excellent game last night. They played way above and beyond the call of duty, esp. that freshman guard, Tory Jackson, who is my New Favorite Player on Opposing Team. It was one of the best games I’ve seen in a very long time. At the end, Georgetown won and is in the Big East championhsip game for the first time in a decade. 9pm tonight. HOYA SAXA!!!

I am shutting the computer now to do some brainstorming with paper, pen, and large cup of tea. Have a great weekend, all.