I have really enjoyed the ongoing discussion about how/if we can/should alert readers to content in YA novels that some might not want younger kids reading. I have much to think about. Please keep the opinions coming!
But it is summer. The farmers down the road just finished their first cutting of hay. Local strawberries are abundant and sweet. The days are long, but the nights are cool.
And the Japanese have launched a new flavor of soda: Pepsi Ice Cucumber.
1. Bandages are off! I woke up yesterday at 5:15 and had removed the blasted bandages by 5:20. The doc made 15 small incisions on The Leg and they’re all healing nicely. I see him in a week and if there is any justice in the world I’ll run after that.
2. The revision is going very well. I figured out yesterday that I need to completely disassemble the last quarter of the book, move stuff around, throw some stuff out and make some new stuff up, and reassemble. But I am not freaking because I am pretty sure I know what to do. That will be next week’s job.
3. John Green and I have a coffee date for ALA!!! (He was very nice and wrote to me.) Remind me to post next week about the introductory message “This is not a book for children” that is in TWISTED.
4. I will get to meet Sherman Alexie at ALA too. ::fangeekfangeekfangeek::
5. I am off in a few hours for to speak at the SCBWI Mid-Hudson Conference. A friend has graciously offered to drive so I can rest The Leg and knit.
5a. I will be quite happy if I can live out the rest of my life without ever hearing the name “Paris Hilton” spoken again.
The trip to New York was very, very, very good – I saw friends, had meetings, ate smoked beef tongue and went running in Central Park.
And the weekend? Daughter Number Two came home with a gleam in her eye and before I knew it there was a paintbrush in my hand. We spent three days making over the upstairs bathroom, which desperately needed the love.
What did you do this weekend?
(I am going to take a couple more days away from the Internet to have some minor surgery. It is not a big deal at all, just one of those things that gives you an almost-decent excuse to lay on the couch and read. See you next week!)
We’re home again after a weekend spent at the SCBWI Whispering Pines retreat in Rhode Island, sponsored by the New England regional chapter. It was exactly what the doctor ordered. BH got to go (which doesn’t happen very often, sadly) and both of us snow-blinded, cabin-fevered kids had a blast.
Lodge critiques, too much food, howling ice, and real-live editors!