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!