Category: LHA

Whew! It’s done! The book tour is finished! I get to wake up in my own bed for weeks and weeks. Drink from my special mug. Kiss my husband whenever I want. Sneeze at the dog. Marvel at the snow outside. I DON”T HAVE TO WASH MY SOCKS IN THE SINK ANYMORE!!!!

(It’s amazing the little things you miss on the road.)

Many thanks to everyone who braved the snowstorm and the fire down the road to come out to the Moravian Bookshop on Saturday. Despite the obstructions, so many folks came out (thank you and ) that I signed for a solid hour and a half. It was a wonderful way to end the tour.

And now, a word to the wise…

You know all of those people on your holiday shopping list that you haven’t found a present for yet?

BUY THEM BOOKS! And make out a wishlist and ask them to buy you books! If you are reading my blog, it’s because you love books. What better thing can you do but to spread that love around? There is no such thing as a reluctant reader, remember, there is just a person who has not been given the right book yet.

And while you’re at it, join IndieBound. Seriously. It will make you feel better, I promise.

And now for the latest CHAINS news. The Washington Post likes it, as did the San Francisco Chronicle, and the independent booksellers of America. (Thanks guys!) And this awesome blogger gives one of the most comprehensive reviews of the book yet.

My next novel is a dark YA called WINTERGIRLS that comes out in March. Yes…. three months from now. I have never had two novels come out so quickly – usually it’s 24 months between books.

What’s my secret?

My kids have grown up. We are down to one child, our 16-year-old son, and he splits his time between here and his mom’s house. The other three have flown the nest. It is amazing how much writing you can get done when you don’t have to drive to soccer practice.

Here’s the cover of the new book.

Advanced Readers’ Copies were given out at NCTE/ALAN and some early blog reviews are trickling in. Julie Prince wrote me an open letter with her thoughts, Ruth Price, a reviewer in the UK, gives a great description of the story, and Jen W.’s review made me blush and jump up and down.

We do have the first “official” review, and yes, it came decorated with a beautiful, shiny star, but it wouldn’t be right for me to give details before it is officially published next week.

Blog postings from me are going to be sporadic here through the end of the year. My mom is home, but she’s not feeling so good and I want to hang out with her as much as I can. Plus, I have to finish up all the stuff that has been postponed because of the book tour. And, oh yeah, Christmas is coming. and there was something else I had to do…

Something big…

Something people are bugging me about ….

I know I wrote down a reminder somewhere ….

That’s it! I have to write another book! Must remember to do that, ASAP!

What overwhelming tasks are on your to-do list?

Two last events on the CHAINS tour….

TONIGHT! RIVER’S END BOOKSTORE, OSWEGO, NY, 5:30 PM! Come out and help me celebrate this amazing year. While you’re there, buy Christmas gifts that your loved ones will actually enjoy instead of regifting next year. BUY BOOKS FROM AN INDEPENDENT BOOKSELLER!

BUY LOTS OF BOOKS! INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORES ARE THE COOLEST STORES IN THE COUNTRY!

(Yes, I am a little tired. And punchy. And I am amusing myself by speaking and writing in CAPITALIZED AND BOLDFACED WORDS!!!)

Tomorrow I am driving to PA and hanging out at the school where Daughter #3 is a student-teacher.

AND THEN SATURDAY!!!!!!

I’ll be speaking at the MORAVIAN BOOKSHOP IN BETHLEHEM, PA!! AT 6PM!!! If you live in the Philadelphia area, make the drive – it’s not that long and there are a ton of local, independently owned businesses in Bethlehem (i.e. the kinds of small town businesses that will regenerate our economy, thank you very much) and after you spend most of your money on books, you can pick up some other neat odds and ends for stockings.

After Saturday, I am going to crawl under the covers and sleep until Spring. But before I do, I promise to post lots of links to news about CHAINS and the early reviews of WINTERGIRLS…..

I am stuffed with gratitude and pie. I should go for a run, I should deal with the backlog of mail, I should write out my expense reports. I should write the next book.

But not right now. I am taking a couple of days off to read and drink vats of gravy.

I haven’t mentioned my mom here in a while because she’s been struggling with health issues and frankly, it’s been too sad to talk about. She is back in the rehab facility (the same place she was in August) and we’re hoping she’ll be home in a few weeks.

So as not to overwhelm her, my sister’s family ate Thanksgiving dinner with her, and my crew showed up with the pie.

Mom ate her dessert while wearing my two National Book Award Finalist medals. ‘Twas a sweet moment, indeed.

She liked the ALAN award, too, but pointed out that she could not wear it. Mother prefers bling that goes around her neck.

On a totally unrelated topic….

…..do any of you Twitter? Should I do this or will it be a massive timesuck? What are the advantages and disadvantages?

Thanksgiving was filled with gratitude, turkey, stuffing, and pie. As always, it is/was the best holiday of the year for me.

I’ll post the best Thanksgiving photo later…. maybe tomorrow. In the meantime, I need to clear these photos off my desktop.

The trick is to figure out where to start…… with Beowulf, of course!

HWAET!

I met a teacher, Priscilla, who also has some Beowolf text on her wrist. That’s mine on the left, hers on the right.

That is Priscilla in the middle, flanked by her fellow NYC teachers, Kate and Alexandra.

I was stoked to see a poster for my friend Deb Heiligman’s new book, CHARLES AND EMMA.

Authors, teachers, Guacamole Dave and the Alamo

Thank you, good citizens of San Antonio, for providing wifi in your airport! I’m sitting at Gate 13, waiting for the plane that will take me to Atlanta, where I will get the plane to take me HOME.

I’m not feeling terribly energetic or articulate right now, but I am so very, very grateful for everything the past month has brought: the people I met on book tour, the opportunity to go on book tour, the incredible teachers and librarians of NCTE/ALAN…. pretty much everything. I’m a gooey puddle of gratitude, spiked with caffeine and apples.

(Does that make any sense?)

I have plenty of pics to share.

A common sight all conference. I think these teachers are from Kansas.

This is the first conference where we passed out galleys of my new YA novel, WINTERGIRLS. The smart lady on the right is Joy Peskin, the editor of WINTERGIRLS. You can kind of see the cover of the book behind me. WINTERGIRLS will be published in March and I promise I will blog about it soon. Like when my brain re-engages.

In the mood for more pictures? Authors and teachers and guacamole, oh my!