Okay, so I promised I'd fill you all in on the summer family reunion.
True to my word, I did not write this summer, but still the story wove in and out as our family gathered here in my creaky old house with old plumbing. They came from Berlin, Germany, from Santa Fe, from San Anselmo, from Tucson, from Texas. And as we gathered, events began to unfold.

We had a wasp invasion, right through the living room wall one memorable Sunday morning.
We had a major plumbing blow-out (tree roots in the pipes).
We had a record heat wave, 103 degrees, and no air-conditioning.

But we also had a great wedding reception, welcomed the newest baby, Anika Faith (see picture) and celebrated the first birthday of our Berlin baby Ceci, along with that of her Daddy, Michael, (my eldest son.) We had lots of late breakfasts on the deck, a trip to the zoo, lakeside swimming parties at my daughter Laura's home (oh hooray for that lake when the temp soared to 103).

And each day, no matter what the joy or catastrophe (usually some of each) I journalled, just a bit, before I went to bed. Just bits, but the story was weaving, in and out, flashes of character, bits of dialogue, scenes to remember, some dramatic, some funny.

Will these come into the new book I'm beginning? Maybe. But for sure they are woven now into the fabric of my life, part of the bigger Story. The story of family that undergirds everything else I write. I'll share next time some of the smaller bits, those colors and textures that stand out, the pieces of that bigger story.

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Last Saturday I had the great joy of participating in the Northwest Bookfest, presenting a session with my writing buddy Mary Jane Beaufrand (author of PRIMAVERA, and the soon to be released THE RIVER.)

Our topic for the session was "How do you get your ideas?" and I had the brilliant (last minute) idea of heading for our Halloween fun store and purchasing a rubber eye, which I attached with spirit gum to the middle of my forehead, my Third Eye, so to speak. It was blue and a bit wrinkly around the edges, and I must say pretty realistic, once I'd attached it to my forehead, and added a bit of beige face toner.

I explained to my intrigued audience at Bookfest that this Third Eye is what all writers need, the ability to see in a new and creative way, so that we notice those great ideas that just slide by otherwise. Brainstorming together as a group, we used some "what if" situations, and an assortment of objects ranging from Russian nesting dolls to odd-shaped rocks to come up with story ideas. We had everything from aliens perched in neighborhood trees to teleporting tennis shoes. We let the ideas fly with no editing, and I know at least some of the delighted attendees headed off home to write up (perhaps) their first story.

Afterwards, I inadvertently created a lively story scene myself. Driving home from Bookfest, I made a last-minute stop at Trader Joe's, totally forgetting my Third Eye was still firmly in place. I was cruising the aisles with my basket, wondering why I was getting all the strange looks when I remembered it. I quickly combed my bangs over my forehead as best I could, kept my head down, and headed for the checkout stand.

The check-out girl did a double take, but didn't say anything. When I finally made it back to my car and looked in the rearview mirror, I had to giggle. The third eye was peeking out through my bangs, looking more realistic than ever.

All the way home I chuckled as ideas for stories, both funny and weird, zipped through my mind. So yes, the Third Eye, that most creative and unusual way of seeing things, really works.

Try it yourself. I'd love to hear your stories!

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Okay, I know this is heresy, but I am not writing this summer.
This is my Summer of the Family.
In exactly nine days, my beloved son Michael, his wife Christiane, and my almost year-old granddaughter Cecilia will arrive from Berlin, Germany to spend 5 weeks here with me in our home.

While they are here, my other two daughters and families will come from New Mexico and California, so that all the sibs and grandkids can have time together, as we all join in the fun with the families already here in the area. Some of our Tucson family will come, too: my sis Nancy and husband Mike, my brother Frank, and maybe more.

We will do lots of eating, talking, hiking, swimming, and lounging about, with occasional trips to the zoo thrown in. All in all, it doesn't sound wildly exciting. But I am smiling, even as I write this. And though I have consciously decided to set aside my writing times this summer so that I might be totally present and ready for family enjoyment, I know the stories will be percolating in my head and heart, stories springing from this very family time together.

Perhaps I'll keep you posted via this blog. Stay tuned!

And may your summer be wildly creative, in some delightful way--be it family and friends, writing or sketching, surfing or rock-climbing.

Eyes open for blessing, hearts open too--let us seize the glory of these summer days.

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Our Western Washington SCBWI conference is two weeks in the past now, and still some of the wonderful snippets of wisdom and tantalizing tips stick in my mind, and continue to to nourish me.

I'll not forget Nina Laden (ROMEOW AND DROOLIET) reminding us, "If you don't make mistakes, you may not make anything."

And Deb Lund (MONSTERS ON MACHINES) reading her unforgettable poem about that inner voice that harasses us as we write, and summing it up by telling us, "Sometimes we have to revise our own story, that story we tell ourselves."

Krista Marino, Senior Editor at Delacorte, reminded us to take cute out of our dictionary, when talking about children's books.

Nathan Bransford (Agent, Curtis Brown Ltd.) gave us his pet peeves for story beginnings: Don't start your book with

• the weather
• your character waking up
• looking in the mirror
• sarcastic characters (too flip and negative)

Steven Malk (Agent, Writer's House) says it's great to be aware of trends, but don't write to them.
He also advised us to be nice to everyone, not only because it's the right thing to do, but also because you never know when that editorial assistant may become the Senior Editor.

Kelly Sonnack (Agent, Andrea Brown Literary) told us to avoid

• forced pace-building (suddenly, quickly, at that moment)
• copious tears (only one tear per story)
• faces draining white or blushing
• exclamation points!

Justina Chen (NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL) encouraged us to "say yes to the emotional truths of your heart."

And Sundee Frazier (BRENDAN BUCKLEY'S UNIVERSE AND EVERYTHING IN IT) told us she has to write, that she cannot deny that creative part of her being. "I could not deny the One who created me."

I've offered just a few nibbles of that wonderful feast that was spread before us at our unforgettable Feed Your Genius conference. Now fully fueled, it's back to work. Happy writing, everyone!

Picture above: Some of my favorite people in the whole world--Molly Blaisdell, Janet Lee Carey, me, Katherine Grace Bond, Holly Cupala, all members of our Diviner Writing Group, all of us enjoying the Conference Feast

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Wow! Just got back from our Western Washington State SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) Conference, and I am flying high! I feel like a balloon filled with helium, ready to soar. So many wonderful writers, editors, agents, all eager to share, each having a special gift to enrich us.

The Kid Lit party Friday night was a time for us to just hug and rejoice in being together again, some of us who don't get to see each other often. Okay, so it was in the Mariott Hotel Bar and we could have little drinks and snacks to go along with our vibrant conversation. My good friend Mary Jane Beaufrand treated me to a strawberry daiquiri. I don't usually drink, but it was so deliciously filled with strawberries, and made me feel quite brilliant and happy. (See picture, above left, Mary Jane striking in turquoise blue, surrounded by, left to right, Sue Nevins (Mockingbird Books) and on Mary Jane's other side, Rene Kirkpatrick (Third Place Books), Janet Lee Carey, whose wonderful book, STEALING DEATH, will be out soon; Justina Chen, author of the amazing NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL; Holly Cupala, whose yet untitled but amazing YA book you are all going to love; and moi. Janet, Justina, Holly and I are all in the same wonderful writing group, the Diviners. Lucky girl am I!

Scroll down this blog to see our whole wonderful group--or most of us, in the archived blog, July 27, 2008.

Another joy for me at the Kid Lit party was having several of my writing students attend: See the pic on the right with four of them from my Bellevue College Advanced Class, The Magic of Writing for Children. From left to right they are: Jacquie Hill, Don Jenny, me, Erik Pulkka, and Neil Hoyt. We are going to be seeing published books from this crew--I'm looking forward to autographed copies, down the road!

I'll be blogging more about this wonderful SCBWI conference--the Kid Lit conference was just the start!

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I'm back from Santa Fe, after a joyous visit with my four-year-old grandson Weston.
Our main project while I was there? A papier mache pig.
Weston always has a list of projects for us to do when I arrive, and the Pig Project was the one on top. We started with a pink balloon, fully inflated, and attached toilet paper roll ears, snout and legs.

Sometimes the simplest of materials, those basic things of life can be the beginning of something wonderful, be it a new story idea for a book, or a papier mache pig. It's a good thing for us to remember as writers!

Weston and I proceeded to make a very sloppy paste, and to tear hundreds of strips of paper. These we had to slather on, layer by layer, over our pink balloon pig. What a messy process! Reminds me of that middle stage of writing a book, all those pieces that have to somehow be layered in and on our story.

Then we had to let it sit for awhile and dry. Yep, just like our book, when we get that first draft done.

After that we attached a Baker's clay tail, such a lovely curly tail.

But oh my, wouldn't you know it, when we tried to poke in the Tail End the whole inside of the pig exploded (that pink balloon) and there was a gaping hole in our beautiful pig.

Repairs needed. Some major, some minor. We made more paste. Tore up more newspaper. Slathered on more layers. Attached the ears more firmly. Let it dry again.

Ah, lovely! This pig version was much better. Those ears looked so cute at that new angle, and our pig was firm, fat and fully dry.

Weston and I painted him a lovely crimson, and Weston put on the finishing touches--his eyes and nostrils. Such a wonderful pig.

Such a wonderful story.

May you all have a joyful week, enjoying your stories and life, even if the process is sometimes messy. Even if your story, or your day explodes.

Just keep at it, slather on a little more paper and paste, and let it dry. Sooner or later, you'll wind up with a new creation, more lovely than before.

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I'm so glad that writing opportunities come in bursts at unexpected moments.
I'm on my way to Santa Fe for an 8 day catch-up with my four-year old grandson Weston -- the one who knows the meaning of onomatopoeia. (Okay, look it up, it's a fun word all writers should know!) Weston is my soul mate--loves words and reading, and I expect will soon be writing his own stories. (His mom told me he did his first crossword puzzle last week!

So all that is to say--here I am, barely re-entering from my amazing pilgrimage to Egypt, Israel, Greece and Turkey, and I'm off again--with all my Writer Antennae fully extended, smiling as I watch for the story ideas that will be popping all around me.

When I get back, I promise to continue with those joyful and intriguing bursts of insight from my Holy Land trip--and I know I'll have some zaps of insight and writing delight from my Weston, and the Santa Fe trip too.

Until then, may you all have joyful and provoking experiences of life.

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Okay, I promised tidbits about my recent four country trip. First stop: Egypt.

We (my sis and I, and our tour group of 84 others) started out in Cairo. On day one, eleven of us took a rollicking ride on the Nile River in a felucca, which is an Egyptian sail boat. We rocked and skimmed, and I clambered up to the front mast to get a better look at life along the Nile. Our guide Islam was nervous about this, and stayed close by my side until he could convince me to go back and sit down. But hey! I think we writers have the urge to do this often, to stand up and stretch, to look for the unexpected, even if we do rock the boat sometimes!

Our felucca made it safely back to shore, and we headed for lunch at a floating restaurant at the edge of the Nile. Delicious Egyptian food. I'm not sure what I ate, but it included a mix of meat (lamb?) and vegetables and spices mixed together in a delightful way.

Next stop: Khan al-Kalili, one of the biggest bazaars in the Middle East, and the oldest, dating back to 1382. As we wound our way through the maze of canvas-covered alleyways, we were plunged back into the time of Aladdin. Mysterious robed figures reache out to thrust scarves into our arms, and gold and brass and copper vases and statues glittered in the cave-like shops. At first I was intimidated with the shouting and the haggling, but our guide Islam stuck protectively beside us, and my sense of adventure kicked in quickly. By the time I emerged an hour later, my arms were filled with treasure. I smile, thinking yet again how much Khan al-Kalili is like the writing life--some days I have to coax myself to go into the winding, unpredictable alley-ways of my story--but if I venture in, I always discover treasure of one kind or another!

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And the traveling continues, most unexpectedly! Thanks to a lovely gift from my sis Kathy, I found myself March 10th, hopscotching to Rome and landing in Cairo for a twelve day pilgrimage of the Holy Land. I responded as a writer--I journalled every night when we came back to home base on our cruise ship, the Cristal, at least a bit, no matter how tired I was. And now I'm grateful as I read over the snippets of what we did each amazing day, to be able to break open each experience and relive it, coming to understand more fully as I write.

I'll share my insights with you, bit by bit: Egypt, Israel, Turkey and Greece. The very presence of these countries in my being now shapes my writing in ways that will surprise me, I know.

One bit for today--an experience in Galilee that rises quickly to the top for me. We stopped at the Mount of Beatitudes, overlooking the Sea of Galilee, a holy spot where tradition teaches Jesus spoke those eight wonderful Blesseds to the people. There on the green hillside sloping down to the sea our little group of pilgrims, in the Catholic tradition, celebrated Mass. Olive trees trembled in the afternoon breeze, their leaves green and silver. The birds (sparrows?) sang a spring song to us as we gathered on the top of that hill where Jesus taught almost 2000 years ago. And I had the joy and privilege of standing where Jesus stood and reading the Scriptures aloud at that Mass, Micah's words, "Shepherd your people, the flock of your inheritance." And then Psalm 103, "Bless the Lord, oh my soul; and all my being, bless his holy name."

It was a moment to be held tenderly for all my life. Someone told me afterwards my face glowed as I read--I'm sure it did. In that moment I realized the powerful blessing of God's goodness in a way that I will not forget.

So many moments in those twelve days. This is one of the joys of being a writer, to take each of these life experiences and hold it like a jewel, seeing new facets, then sharing the treasure in some way with my readers. I smile just thinking about it. Who knows what wonders will come forth?

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I love this time of year! In our church year, we call January 6th Epiphany, the time when the magi arrived bearing gifts for the Child Jesus. But also, symbolically the time when the wider world (symbolized by those three wise men) came to know about this newborn King.

The Epiphany was an Aha! moment for the world, and even the word epiphany has come to mean an awakening, a sudden knowing. I love it! This is one of the most exciting things about the writing life--those little light bulbs going off when a new awareness comes. Sometimes it's the moment when I suddenly understand my character, and what she's all about, like when I finally got why Ellie feels so connected to her mysterious, long-dead Great-aunt Eleanore, in my newly finished Finding Nonna.

Sometimes it's a great plot twist, something unexpected, that comes in the middle of the night, or when I'm out on a moodling walk, like that Aha! moment I discovered what happened to the cruel Red-bearded soldier in Two Moon Journey, that was going to be mean a life and death decision for Shanote.

Sometimes the Epiphany is wordless, a feeling, something moving inside me, like the moment I had just after midnight New Year's Day, our neighborhood sky dripping bits of glitter from fireworks, and the snow covered trees glowing white in the velvet night. I stood there by the window, feeling an inner joy, an excitement for this year to come.

Kids have this excitement, this willingness to watch, to be surprised. See the watchful look on my granddaughter Cecilia's face? She's ready for the epiphanies of this year.

And this is my New Year's hope and prayer for you. May we stay awake in our deepest being, watching and listening for those epiphanies, great and small. May we see and hear them all.

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Three hours to go before 2009, and I am determined to do one more post to my Blog for 2008.
This is my commitment to blog more often in this coming year.

Blogging (for me) is a means of noticing some specific event of my life, searching out the meaning of that in a bigger way, and that making it truly mine by sharing it with you. For example, I (along with the rest of my fellow Seattle folk) have just come through two weeks of snow and ice, of postponed Christmas gatherings, and slippery, slushy roads.

For most of us in western Washington, this is unusual, and not all of us coped so well, quite a few getting truly stir-crazy and attempting icy hills with cars that should have stayed in warm garages.

I admit I loved being snowed in. I would like to say I wrote fast and furiously, reworking my Finding Nonna revision, and I did do a bit of that. But mostly I played Christmas carols, baked tons of cookies, made snow angels, walked in the snow (and yes, skidded on the ice at times, but in my hiking boots, not in my car.) I found it altogether lovely, and my one concern was the safety of family and friends who at times were out driving around.

My daughter, visiting from California, was snowbound with me and we loved cocooning in at night watching old Christmas movies, and eating (I regret to say) LOTS of those Christmas cookies I made.

So, did I waste my time, that precious writing time?

I don't think so.

I think I filled up my writing soul in a delightful way, as I looked out at those feathery flakes coming down, and the bare branch tree in my neighbor's yard, even the tiniest twig of it magically crusted with snow. I don't write fantasy novels, but that fairyland tree could easily inspire me to try one!

My spirit feels at peace this New Year's eve, rested in a deep way that I haven't felt for awhile.
I have just talked to (or left messages) for each of my five children, and I am ready to begin anew.

The snow is melting now, even the most cautious of snow chickens (like me) can get back on the road again. The postponed Christmas gatherings can take place, people can get to each other without sliding off into a ditch on the way.

But in that hunkering-down time when the snow was falling, falling, falling, and the roads were icy, I filled up that deep part of me writing soul.

Let the New Year begin!

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I'm back! It's been an amazing few months: An end-of-summer trip to Berlin, Germany to hold my brand new grandbaby Cecilia, who of course, is strikingly beautiful, and coos in both German and English. You may suspect I'm stretching it just a bit, since Cecilia is just two months old now, but that's how it sounded to me Saturday, as she told me a long story in her coo language.

Cecilia is richly blessed with a trumpet-playing papa (my son) and a dancer mama: Christiane who was born in East Germany, and who you will soon see is quite beautiful. Besides the great joy of being with this loving family for three weeks, I had the remarkable experience of writing some of my chapters for Finding Nonna sitting on the rocks by the waterfall at Victoria Park, my home away from home in Berlin. Not only are there wooded paths for wandering as I pondered just what Ellie would do to discover Nonna's secret, Victoria Park also has a great outdoor cafe with lecker eis (delicious ice cream). Each day I rewarded myself for my roughed-out chapter, by ordering " eins waffel mit eins kugel vanille und eins kugel erdbeere." (one cone with one scoop vanilla and one scoop strawberry.)

All in all, it was a lovely three weeks.
Less than 24 hours after I returned from Berlin, I welcomed my 4 year-old grandson from Santa Fe, New Mexico, along with his mommy and daddy, for ten days of blackberry picking, visiting with cousins, going as high as we could on the swings, buying two new swordtails for our aquarium, going to the Turtle Park, making muffins, making a magic wand, and other such delightful pursuits.

I rejoice in saying I suffered little Jet Lag from the Berlin trip--there just wasn't time for it!

And now the third Rejoicing I want to share with you all: I finished my revision of Finding Nonna this week. My writing group, the Diviners (see picture with the blog entry before this) gave me a round of applause. I was a little startled when I got to the end--somehow it just didn't seem that could happen, after all the time I've been working on this book.

Yes, I still have some rewriting to do--I've been at this business long enough to know that. I will be printing the book out this week and reading it all the way through to see what I still need to do before I begin marketing it. But for now, tonight, I am smiling, my heart happy at all the surprising insights, and the unexpected action scenes (who knew that Mark was going to be a skateboarder? Not me, at least not when I started.)

As I sign off from this first entry after my summer absence, I promise to be back much sooner this time around. In the meantime, my hope is for all of us to keep our hearts open to the Rejoicings all around us, be they cooing babies, double scoop erdbeere cones, or finished chapters of our books.

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Pictured here, Holly Cupala, Katherine Grace Bond, Janet Lee Carey,
our celebrated author,Molly Blaisdell, Judy Bodmer, and myself, Peggy
Not pictured: Justina Chen Headley, and Dawn Knight

The trials of the writing journey can sometimes discourage us, and then how thankful I am for my writing group, the Diviners. We meet each Wednesday afternoon to read and critique each other's work, to console during hard times, and to celebrate the grand events of our writing lives. This past week was one such glorious event, as we gathered to celebrate our dear Molly Blaisdell's new book, Rembrandt and the Boy Who Drew Dogs, just out through Barron's Publishing. Molly has such a fresh and wonderful take on Rembrandt's life through the eyes of his son Titus. This book is going to be a must-read for teachers, librarians, and lots of delighted kids, and we are rejoicing with our dear Molly! We cheered her (note the pom-pons) and had fun with flowers, cards and gifties of a writerly sort.

We did our work, too, reading and giving feedback on current chapters we'd brought, feeling fresh energy from our time of rejoicing. I left smiling, newly confirmed to keep on keeping on. The writing journey is worth it, and these joyful celebrations are one of the ways I remember this.

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My almost-ten year-old grandson Jordan attended skateboard camp this week, and I, as his chauffeur learned right along with him. It was pretty cool, if a bit unnerving to watch Jordan zip up and down ramps and half pipes, trying out new tricks. The first trick to learn is the ollie, I discovered. This involves slamming down the tail of the board and leaping up in such a way as to "catch air." It looks easy when it's done right, the skater and board coming up as one.

But it's scary, too, and painful when skater and board don't reconnect in the right way. Jordan has an impressive-looking bruise on his left shin as testimony to this.

Still, the ollie is the basis for all the other skateboard tricks, including the kickflip, which mesmerized me as I watched the experts do it, leaping up, nudging their boards to spin in the air, then reconnecting gracefully: board, skater, and ramp.

Jordan and I both learned a powerful lesson this week: If you want to be a master skateboarder, you have to be willing to "catch air" no matter how painful the learning may be.

Writing (and life) are a lot like that too. Catching air means leaving behind the firm ground and taking at least a little leap. This summer, I've committed to doing just that with my current book project, Finding Nonna. I'm leaving behind the firm earth of the old plot and leaping up to catch some unexpected story twists involving an Italian greengrocer, a neurotic dog, and, as of this week, a skateboarding friend for Ellie.

I have to admit, as I leave the terra firma of the old plot, which was quite serviceable, my stomach is sometimes churning. But wow! As I catch air, and sometimes land on my feet by the end of the chapter (like yesterday) my heart soars. Each day I'm getting better with my writing Ollies.

I think this week I'll try a kickflip.

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I saw a woman singing to the birds this weekend. She was standing under a gigantic willow tree in my favorite Juanita Bay Park, and chirping and trilling at two birds perched high up in the branches. She eagerly identified the two birds for me--a dusky flycatcher, and a common yellow-throat. "You just missed a Wilson's Warbler," she told me.

"I bet the birds love it, when you sing back to them," I said.

Her face lit up. "I know they do. If I were Cinderella, the birds would make a dress for me."

What a delightfully startling statement!

I will always remember this woman and her love for birds because of this. It made me ponder my own writing: Do I say things in fresh and startling ways, so that my reader will be pulled in and want to read on?

At a recent writing conference our facilitator at a round table discussion urged us to do just this. "Shock the Broca," Jim Rubart told us, explaining about that very small part of the brain (the broca) that filters out the ordinary, the usual, those expected words we all seem to spout in our first drafts.

In writing, as well as in life, we want to be heard and remembered. I think that's why I put iguanas and llamas in so many of my kid stories. Who could ignore a llama named Rama? That's what I hope at least.

And so, as I write today's chapter for Finding Nonna, I'm looking for ways to shock my readers' brocas. It has to be true to the story, of course. I can't just put in dramatic language for the sake of it, without moving the story forward. But I'm having fun today with the once ordinary Mom next door, who now mutters in french when she gets upset. And of course, she has some startling things to say to Ellie about the injured snow goose Bela.

Am I tantalizing you? I hope so. I want to shock your broca, just a little bit, and encourage you to use fresh and unusual language, both in life and in writing.

Who knows what you may sing up?

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Here I am back from Mazatlan, and it was truly as wonderful as I'd hoped. Iguanas (BIG ONES) on the sidewalks and in the trees, walks on the beach, checking out the flamingos with my grandson Weston, and just relaxing and pondering by the pool as we ate shrimp fajitas. (Mazatlan is the shrimp capital of the world, or so they told us. )

And yes, I did work on Finding Nonna. Okay, so a lot of it was subliminal, but I came back with a good feeling for this rewrite. I am up to Chapter 6, as well as back to the general fast-forward of life, with library workshops, and teaching writing classes.

But besides just the fun of Mazatlan, something else happened that is a blessing for me now in this busy time. To explain what happened, I need to tell you a story that our pastoral coordinator, Kathi Rowley told us at a workshop, just before I headed for Mazatlan:

The CEO of a big California company headed for Africa for a safari vacation. When he arrived, he hired some tribesmen to carry for him on the safari--he had lots of stuff.

The first day the CEO and the tribesmen got up very, very early and traveled very, very far, very, very fast.

The second day, the CEO and the tribesmen got up very, very early and traveled very, very far, very, very fast.

The third day, the same thing--the CEO and the tribesmen got up very, very early and traveled very, very far, very, very fast.

The fourth day, the CEO got up very, very early and found the tribesmen sitting under a big tree, looking out into the distance. They refused to move. "What's going on?" the CEO asked his interpreter. "What do they think they're doing?"

The interpreter looked at the CEO. "They are waiting for their Souls to catch up with their Bodies," he said.

And that's what happened for me in Mazatlan. In that time of reading, and resting, and reflecting, of looking at beautiful sunsets, and basking in the honest delight and wisdom of my three year-old granson, my soul finally caught up with my body. I think that will stand me in good stead these next busy weeks.

But I know this is a blessing that needs to be renewed consciously and often.

As for me, I plan at least twice a day to stop, to reflect, to breathe deeply, and to let my Soul catch up with my Body.

I hope you'll do the same.

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Okay, so I know I said I wasn't going on so many trips this year, that I was staying here at home in rainy Seattle and write, write, writing. And I have been, for the last two months, faithfully plugging away on Finding Nonna, like I committed to in this very blog. I'm actually starting to get excited again, researching snow geese, and Alzheimer's Disease (both in the book) and having fun getting to know Ellie and Nonna all over again. I'm up to Chapter six, reworking as I go.

But now I have a chance to go to Mazatlan--warm sunny Mazatlan with my Deb, her husband Eric and our 3 year-old Weston, the brilliant kid I've told you about, who last week, sitting in the tub, saying "Bam, Bang, Crash" as he played, called out to his mom--"Mommy, is 'bam' onomatopoeia?" Oh yes, I need to invite this 3 year-old grandson of mine in to do a class for my writing students!

But in the meantime, I'm heading for Mazatlan with them this Monday, and will be doing most of this week's writing on the beach. I do have a laptop, but often on vacation I just take my notebook and pen--and am surprised at the new and exciting plot twists my stories take when I make this occasional switch in my writing mode.

It's a perfect time for a fresh take, too--I've just gotten to the part of the book where I'm getting a bit tangled. Which way to go? What happens next? How do I get to this beautifully plotted end I already have in mind for this book?

I'm betting a week in the balmy sunshine and tropical breezes of Mazatlan will break open some brand new possibilities for Ellie and Nonna, and Bela the Snow Goose.

So now I'm off to pack--a hat, some sunblock, my writing notebook and pen. I'll keep you posted when I get back, on how it all went. In the meantime, I wish you all a creative vacation of your own, whether it's Hawaii, Mazatlan, or your own backyard deck. Any change of pace or place brings new life to our hungering creative souls.

So this week, create that space and enjoy!

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Okay, so I know it's not really spring, but this morning the sun is peeking out, and I saw a yellow crocus, my first one, while out walking. Not only that, I'm eagerly springing back into a rewrite I've put off for a long time, a novel called Finding Nonna. (In one version, it was called Spring Forward, Ellie, which may be why I feel this fresh excitement to work on it, now with a hint of Spring in the air. )

I'm publicly proclaiming to all of you that I will pursue this time, and get this book completed and off to market. It's a book dear to my heart, dealing as it does with a tough topic: Ellie's beloved grandmother has Alzheimer's (early stage) and is coming to live with them.

But the book has humor as well, and a particularly personable Snow Goose.
Okay, that's all I'm going to say about it, remembering the writer's maxim, if we talk about a book too much, we tend not to write it!

So I'm signing off rather quickly this time. If you're looking for me, I'm holed up at the computer, boldly writing away, while outside on the deck two dark-eyed juncoes, who also believe it's Spring, are trilling along to keep me company.

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Oh wonder! Oh Joy! I have the Starbird Ridge Snowflake in my possession--a gift from my sneaky Sis Nancy and her husband Mike. I so wanted it as a memory of my four years Starbird Ridge fiction series with Pockets Magazine. And once my dear family found out about the Robert's Snow auction to benefit cancer research, they decided to bid on the Starbird Ridge snowflake for me for a belated Christmas gift. There was a lot of bidding going on--thanks to all of you who decided to support this worthy cause.

But my sister persisted, and on January 4th, sitting at their kitchen table in Tucson, I opened the surprise gift and rejoiced. Anni Matsick, my illustrator for the series did such an amazing job of capturing the other Annie (Sammy's youngest sister in the story series.) And Haggis, the family Scottish Terrier! He makes me smile each time I look at Anni's rendering of him. The snowflake will soon be ensconced in a glass case and put in a place of honor here in my office, not only a joyful memory, but also an encouragement as I write, to bring to life my characters for each story, so that readers may have that jolt of recognition when they read, knowing this is a worthy character, real in the best sense of the word.

And now on to the New Year--so many books to be written. I'll be sharing that process with you in its many aspects--from simmering the "soup" of my daily life and skimming off the ideas, to applying writerly glue to the seat of my pants to stay attached to my computer chair each day, to weeding my writing garden as I revise.

There now, I've mixed three metaphors all in one sentence, just to make you all smile.
May this be a year of smiles for all of us.

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It's the fourth day of Christmas (yes, I do count the 12 days--that's the only way I get my cards and cookies done during the season.) So today we celebrate four calling birds, and I'm pondering--what are the Four Calling Birds for me for this coming year? In my mind I see a white dove of peace swooping in, and that's my first calling bird--praying for peace, yes, in our world, and also in my own life.

Second calling bird: That cheerful chickadee who stays through the winter, coming to the bird feeder on our deck, not put off at all by the snow. Yes! He makes me smile, and gives me determination to get through the cold winter days.

Third calling bird. Okay, I'm thinking an eagle. We see them often here in the Northwest, majestic, soaring high over Lake Washington, not put off by the wild winds, but riding them. A good image for me to keep in mind when the tumultuous winds of life blow hard.

Fourth calling bird: A robin. A sign of spring--I know it will come: flowers and sunlight and the joyful chirping of that red-breasted beauty who shows up early, thank goodness, in our backyard cherry tree. Hooray for robins!

How about you? What are your Four Calling Birds? It's a fun thing to ponder, this fourth day of Christmas.

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I'm home again! Since I last blogged, I've spent ten days in Maui (with 3 grandkids, nine, three, and one-year) as well as 11 days with my 3 year-old grandson Weston in Santa Fe, New Mexico. And now I arrive home to our Pacific Northwest gray drizzle--but my heart is singing! There are Christmas lights everywhere, I have the carols playing, and I'm so grateful for this place I call Home.

I loved my visits with dear children and grandchildren. I will be blogging insights and memories from those trips for these next several months--from my first snorkeling ever, swimming with the giant turtles near Molokina--to my first ever Las Posadas celebration in historic Santa Fe Plaza this past Sunday.

But now, this rainy Tuesday, exactly one week until Christmas, I rejoice in the quiet moments in my own dear home to reflect on it all.

As a writer, I need this time. My soul hungers for it, like my body sometimes hungers for a bowl of my daughter's homemade soup. It warms me, comforts me, settles my spirit. From these quiet moments to reflect comes all that has meaning to me, both in my life and in my writing. Right now, this past month is still a blur to me, from my last hasty note to all of you when Anni's and my Snowflake finally posted (more about that later) to hastily packing shorts and sunblock for a trip in the Hawaii sunshine, to jumping waves at Wailea Beach with three-year-old Amanda, to making snow towers and throwing snowballs with three-year-old Weston in his Santa Fe front yard two days ago!

Are you confused? Me too! But now as I sequester (even if only for two days) and reflect here at home, I will sort it all out. I journaled, of course, on my trips, and I will be re-reading, praying, thinking, looking for the meaning of it all, pulling out those jewels of Truth that reside in each precious moment and event, and sharing some of it with you, some of it in my stories, all of it more richly in my life.

For this, I am so grateful to be Home for Christmas.

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Yippee and double yippee! Our Snowflake is finally posted on the Robert's Snow website. Anni just emailed to tell me and we are both thrilled that it is finally up. If you'd like to take a look, go to www.robertssnow.com, click on View 2007 Snowflakes, click on Auction 1, November 19-23, and scan down. Anni's snowflake, "Snow at Starbird Ridge" is second from the bottom. Isn't it beautiful? Actually you can see it in the blog entry just below, but you 'll need to go to the Robert's Snow website for bidding which starts a week from today, November 19th. What a wonderful way to make life better for so many--bid on a snowflake, help fund cancer research that will save lives--and get a lovely Christmas gift for someone in the process!

We'll update you again after the auction. Just a few more days and I am off to Hawaii with my daughter and their family, including three kids (ages one, three, and nine--Grandma will come back with lots of story ideas!) Hopefully the time will include some lounging in the sun as well. I'm smiling already, thinking of those balmy Hawaiian breezes and blue skies.

Blessings to you all this Thanksgiving week. There is much to be thankful for. I'm going to make a list and post it right here above my computer--how about you?

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This is a quick note to let all you faithful readers who have been emailing Anni and me that you are indeed right: Our Snowflake is not yet available to view on the Robert's Snow website. Yes, it is scheduled to be in the first auction, as described in our Blog Interview below, and yes, we are promised it will be posted any day now! We'll exuberantly notify you right here, as soon as that happens.

In the meantime, keep looking, and enjoy all the other wonderful Snowflakes that are posted on that amazing website.

We'll all watch together for the rest of the Snow(flake) fall!

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This blog is a bit longer than usual but with good reason! Something wonderful is happening all over the United States now through December 7, and I have the joy of being part of it, thanks to Anni Matsick, my illustrator for our Starbird Ridge story series that has been running in Pockets Magazine (www.pockets.org) for the past two years.

Anni is one of 200 children's illustrators who has joined Robert's Snow: for Cancer's Cure. She’s transformed a five-inch wooden snowflake into an original piece of art, and Hooray! She chose two of my favorite characters from the Starbird Ridge series to put on the snowflake: mischievous Annie--no relation to Anni, the illustrator :) --and Haggis, Annie’s feisty Scottish terrier.

The snowflakes are now on display in the Children's Gallery at the Danforth Museum of Art in Framingham, Massachusetts. They’ll be auctioned off online to benefit sarcoma research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute during three online auctions, on Nov. 19 - 23, Nov. 26 - 30 and Dec. 3 - 7. You can preview the snowflakes online (and if you’d like, place a bid) by going to www.robertssnow.com.

In our great excitement at being part of this event, Anni and I decided to do an interview to post here on my blog. Here it is below, along with a picture of Anni Matsick and the snowflake she has designed for the auction. I’m asking the questions, and Anni is answering.

Why did you choose Annie for the snowflake?

Annie is a charming, spirited little character who would enjoy a good snowfall so she popped into my mind instantly when I was thinking of possibilities. I’m into illustrating the third year of the series so I know her well and I particularly enjoy the episodes where she appears. Especially if she is wearing her red cowboy boots or has done her own pigtails. :)

As you mentioned, we're into writing and illustrating the third year of Starbird Ridge. Does any particular episode stand out in your recollection?

Yes, the ones where you made me work hard researching things mentioned in the story! I had to find visual references for bear bells, flame flowers, an Ethiopian cocoa pot, and many more things that figured in the plots. That’s how you and I got to know each other, through the email exchanges. Chris Schechner (Pockets art director) and I always laugh about having to contact Peggy again when we are stumped. We always agree that’s what makes your stories so special, introducing new, interesting things to your readers.

I have to admit, Anni—I do get a kick out of throwing in those little unusual details, and I smile when I see you figuring out ways to picture those in the series. I’m wondering though--Do you ever get tired of showing the same characters?

People asked me that when I did Goofus and Gallant for Highlights Magazine over a nine year period. The characters seem very real to me after a while so it becomes easier to portray their postures and emotions. There are quite a few characters in Starbird Ridge so enough variety exists to keep me interested.

As a closet artist/illustrator myself, I’m curious. What medium did you use? Could you describe your process for us?

I had to buy a new set of acrylics since I haven’t used them since college. My work for publishing is in watercolor. I practiced a bit on a piece of gessoed cardboard. The snowflake has two layers of gesso which I sanded for a nice, smooth surface. My composition was worked out in a sketch on tracing paper in reverse, so that when I rubbed it the pencil lines transferred to the snowflake surface. I began with light washes of color, diluting the acrylic paint with water, to lay in the palette. After that, I used the paint full strength to develop the image in small brush strokes. The facial expression is always the first thing to establish, then I work around it. I kind of loosened up on Haggis, with the snow on his coat.

Once the paintings dried I applied quite a few light coats of spray varnish to seal the image and create an even surface that I think enhances the work.

And I know readers may want to know this as well—could you tell us your background and professional experience?

My degree in painting from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh gave me a strong foundation in drawing and a valuable aesthetic sense. I’ve worked for close to twenty years in children’s illustration.

Looking at the snowflake you designed, and seeing how natural Annie and Haggis look on this snowy day, I have to ask you--Do you live in a place where it snows?

My home is in a college town in central Pennsylvania so I am very familiar with snowy winters! Snow has been lucky for me, since I acquired my reps Cornell & McCarthy when they saw an image depicting children making snow angels in an ad directory. It was one of my first covers for Pockets, which has been a great association over the years.

I recall the debut issue of Starbird Ridge had a snow scene on the cover done by you!

Yes, and the winning bidder will get a signed copy as a bonus.

Where can we see more of your work online?

Samples are on my reps’ website and at Picturebook online:

www.cmartreps.com

www.picture-book.com

Anni, I’m so excited about this project, and so honored that you chose two of our Starbird Ridge characters for this worthy cause. Thanks for sharing with my blog readers some of your story. It will be fun to update everyone after the auction is over.

I’m excited about participating too, Peggy, and having two charming characters to make the snowflake special. It will be fun to watch the bidding!

And a final note to all of you: Remember, you can preview the snowflakes online (and if you’d like, place a bid) by going to www.robertssnow.com . Anni’s snowflake will be in Auction One, November 19-23.

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