Category: LHA

The Rowdy Mockingbird showed up at 2:17am this morning, but I slammed my window so loud I think he got the message. He flew off to woo elsewhere.

Yesterday was a great day to be in Philly. Perfect weather and not too many tourists. Many, many thanks to Christian Varquez, director of Friends of Independence for arranging the whole gig, and for all the nice people who came out. We spent time at the Powel House, the Todd House, and the garden where Benjamin Rush’s house used to be. Before and after the presentation I wandered through the area, focusing on what the city was like in the Revolutionary and Federalist eras. My next novel (after the YA I’m working on now) is another historical fiction. I’ve already started the research and pondering for it, so the walk was fun and helpful.

Here is the awesome Mother-Daughter Book Club who came out to hear me. Thank you, ladies!

For some reason the asthma beast is kicking my butt today, so I’m going to lay low and work on the new book. I have a rough sense of what happens when, a clear sense of my main character and his buddies (and enemies), and now I’m plowing through scenes one at a time, trying to bring vague ideas to life on the page. I should be able to get a respectable hunk of work done today. Mer and I cleaned the apartment yesterday and we actually bought groceries (shocking), so I’m all set.

Here’s a fun quiz: which science fiction writer are you? Turns out I am Robert Heinlein, which made me smile.

I am not a cake fan. I love pie. And now I know that pie is another reason to visit England. (Note – these are pies you eat for dinner, not dessert.)

After holing up like a crazy writerlady all week, I did a truly social thing last night and left my apartment for dinner with friends. We sat out on their deck all evening and watched the fire burning. I love the smell of wood smoke. I didn’t shower when I came home so I could smell the smoke in my hair as I was falling asleep. Now I have to wash my sheets and blankets in addition to my hair.

I’m off to Philly to talk about FEVER 1793 for the Friends of Independence Park. Then I have to buy groceries and clean the apartment. It looks like someone is trying to write a book in here or something. Feh.

The Casanova of Mockingbirds who lives outside my bedroom window stayed in last night. It might have been the weather. The temperature dipped down to the high 30s. He seems to be more of a hot night kind of guy. I wasn’t woken up until 5:15, which is a little earlier than I’d like, but infinitely better than the previous two mornings. Here’s hoping for frost tonight.

The writing was slower yesterday, but I knew that would happen. Mon-Wed I wrote with a speed and concentration I’ve never had before. Yesterday I focused on a very small piece of the Work In Progress, instead of sprinting. Today will be more of the same, I suspect.

Mer’s prom is in one week!! In honor of that, I’ll update you on PROM (the book) news:

PROM made the Booksense Children’s Picks Top Ten List for Summer 2005!!

It has been on The New York Times Bestseller List three weeks (my first book to ever make The List in hardback). This is the accolade that my father really, really, really cares about. It was a magical moment when I was able to tell him I made it. Deep and humble thanks to everyone in America who helped make that happen.

I’ve been receiving lots of nice notes from friends and total strangers who enjoyed the book. Special thanks to Coleen Paratore (check out HER stuff), Jackie White in Kentucky, Susan Mowery from Upper Dublin, Rachel, Sarah, and everyone else.

When I started to brainstorm PROM, I came up with the idea of having the teacher/prom adviser steal the money right away. Then I researched to see if this had ever happened, or if it was an absurd idea. It took me five minutes on the Internet to find a newspaper article that described exactly that scenario. Once I knew the story was grounded in reality, I never looked back.

Then last week Julia, a friend of mine up in Syracuse, emailed me an article about West Genesee Senior High School. The teacher adviser left $14,000 in cash and checks in a locked cabinet in a classroom. The keys were left in an unlocked drawer in the same room. The money was stolen. District officials speculate it was an employee. “There is a thief amongst us,” the superintendent said. The good news is that the district has an insurance policy that protects against this kind of loss, so the prom will go on as scheduled tonight at 6:30 pm.

And they say we make this stuff up…

Good news: The writing is flowing well. So well that I don’t want to talk about it for fear I’ll jinx the story.

Bad news: That stupid bird squawked outside my window again last night, from 1am-4am. It has to be a mockingbird – it had an incredible range of songs and didn’t ever appear to repeat itself. But why the hell is a mockingbird awake at 1am? Do I live next to the only hard-partying mockingbird in North America? Doesn’t it have a job or school to go to during the day?

I used to love birds.

Two days is definitely not long enough to qualify as a pattern, but if this almost-pattern continues, not only will I have a new book, but I’ll be back in shape.

I wound up walking again yesterday, walking to think through the plot of my new book. I walked 5 miles. Yes, that’s a lot of thinking. After I came home I wrote like a madwoman, then fell into bed at 8:30 pm. (If I find the bird that woke me up at 1 am, I will acquire the necessary plumage for a new hat.) Except for the rude wake-up call, I was very happy with the way the day went.

In other news, the stage play version (put on by the Gifford Family Theater) of FEVER 1793 won the Best New Original Play Award from SALT, the Syracuse Area Live Theater group. Congrats to script writer and director Steve Braddock and all the fine actors who worked on the production.

Patricia Newman posted an article about me on her website. I especially love the last paragraph.

Max writes: I was recently searching Lois Lowry’s website and decided to read the FAQ section. In it, somebody had asked her if they would get rich being a writer. She responded no. I was wondering if you felt the same way. I plan on becoming a writer when I grow up, and though I already knew I wouldn’t make a tremendous amount of money like J.K. Rowling, I am still hoping to live off the money I make.

*pauses for hysterical laughter*

No, most authors are not rich. J.K. Rowling is the exception. Authors earn a percentage of every book sold. For a hardcover book, it’s usually 10% of the cover price. For a paperback, it’s about 6%. I signed up SPEAK before I had an agent and made a very bad deal. I earn about 9 cents on most of the SPEAK paperbacks. Now I have an agent, so that won’t happen again. But agents take 15% of your gross income (20% for foreign deals).

If you go into writing to get rich, you will be disappointed. But if you are looking for rewarding, inspiring work, and you are a frugal person who is willing to work hard, you’ll be fine. Good luck!

More fan mail in the next few days. I need to do a PROM post, too. I have some good news about the book and a really funny article that Julia sent me to share.

Off to walk and write.