Tomorrow is the official publication day for The Impossible Patriotism Project! It's weird but nothing will really happen tomorrow -- no parade, no fireworks, no party. And even though the books are on order at my local B&N, they probably won't be on the shelves tomorrow. My husband's taking me out to lunch and friends are taking me out to dinner ( Read more... )

Last Saturday I spoke at a SCBWI conference and it was a fun day! I think everyone that participated came away with some new insights into different aspects of writing and a whole lot of inspiration and motivation! While I was still in an adrenaline high from the conference, I booked my first official B&N story time and book signing! It's not until ( Read more... )

My wonderful Fed Ex Delivery Man (and new best friend) brought me my box of author copies of The Impossible Patriotism Project today. Way Cool! I probably scared him when I squealed "Those are my books!" at a high-pitched tone not usually emitted by humans. (I may have woken up a lot of bats) Even though I already have 1 advance copy, it was fun to ( Read more... )

Fun morning! I was a judge at a Toastmasters contest. The contestants had all won previously in their own area division so this was the best of the best -- and they certainly lived up to that. I learn so much about public speaking and speech writing every time I watch/listen to a Toastmaster speak. Even though the speeches varied from one to ( Read more... )

It's bedtime but I haven't updated lately and I just know people are waiting impatiently for the latest ups and downs in my life. (Yes, I live in a fantasy world. But I like it here.) I've been away at the State Pool Tournament and had a blast! Son placed in the money and Hubby and Son's team was FOURTH in the state! Woo-Hoo! Much fun was had by ( Read more... )

My boys (both in college) are too old for Easter baskets, right? Wrong! We may not hunt for plastic eggs or dye the real things but they WILL each be getting an Easter basket! Actually they're getting gift bags full of goodies. Shopping was fun but frustrating because neither one of them really like sweets. Yes, I =know= they are both mine. We've ( Read more... )

Last week went by in a blur. I had a nasty stomach flu for a few days and spent a lot of time in bed. There may have been some whimpering and moaning but I'm not admitting anything. I don't feel quite 100% yet but much better than I was! Thank goodness for saltine crackers...

It feels so good to have the windows open and a fresh breeze blowing through the house -- yum! And bright little green buds are popping up on the bushes in the back yard. I love this time of year and I don't know if it's weather related but I have been doing a lot more writing lately. I just finished (about 1/2 hour ago!) the first draft of a new ( Read more... )

Since both of my boys have their spring break this week (Iowa and Iowa State) we had lunch together yesterday. My oldest talked us into going to a Japanese restaurant and feeling adventuresome, we did. He had shashimi (raw fish) but I had a combination plate -- and we all had sushi. He showed me how to mix wasabi into the soy sauce. And then he ( Read more... )

I now have an official "amazon connect author page." Probably sounds a lot fancier than it is... but if someone buys IPP and sends me an email, I can email them back -- that's pretty cool! Plus, I can post messages to the page. I'm not sure how many people read things like that on amazon.com but it's a fun idea.