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Busy weekend writing. Busy week ahead.... you guessed it, writing. My cold is gone but it woke up the asthma dragon who sleeps in the deepest lobe of my lungs, and we've been wrestling a lot. I tend to lose these battles. I've been getting my running in, but veeeeery sloooooowly because of the hacking and sputtering. I am trying to convince myself that running with a reduced flow of oxygen is a cool new conditioning technique. And I am off to the doc today to see if he can prescribe a nostrum that will put the dragon back to sleep.

I hates lung dragons. (Does anyone remember the Yosemite Sam quote?)

In much happier news, I can share the cover of my fall book with you!!



The story follows the adventure of a slave trapped in New York City in 1776 while the city is torn back and forth between Patriot and British occupations. It doesn't come out until the fall, so more details later. (Thanks to perfykt for the nudge.)

Last week mousesnovel asked in response to my announcement that I left a character on the cutting room floor: Was it difficult to eliminate the character? I'm not sure how much you can tell me, if it will give spoilers, but I know I get very attached to mine.

The different parts of the writing process feel like different countries to me. The etiquette and customs of one country is extremely different from the next. In the early drafts, I include everything that falls into my head and I love it all. I could never cut out a character at that stage. When I get to later drafts, that changes. The only thing that matters is what works best for the story. if I fall in love a character and she doesn't work in the story, she's gets cut. I can always send her flowers, take her to the movies, or go out for coffee with her. But if she isn't a vital thread in the fabric of the story, out she goes.

I am packing again - this time for a trip to New York City for the National Council of Teachers of English Annual Convention and the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents. These are the conferences organized and attended by the best of the best English/Language Arts/Literature/Reading teachers *** in the country. They are the smart ones - the passionate ones, the ones who get to school early and stay wicked late to help their students. I love them.

*** note: some of the best of the best can't make it to this critically important professional development conference because their school districts won't pay for it. Some folks pay out-of-pocket (on a teacher's salary!) because that's how important this conference is.

Will any of youse guys be there? Here is where you will find me:

Thursday, November 15th
Spending the day in comfort riding the train and writing instead of suffering the hassles of the airport.

Dinner with a group of teachers.

Friday, November 16th
9:30–10:45 a.m. Panel: “Adolescent Literacy at the Crossroads: Redefining Sex and Sexuality in YA Fiction”. Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, 655 West 34th Street (at 11th Avenue) | Room TBA

This panel has a YA killer line-up: me, Brent Hartinger, E. Lockhart, Laura Ruby, Tanya Lee Stone & Lara Zeises, and will be chaired by She Who Knows Most Everything, Teri Lesesne. You really, really, really want to come to this one. I imagine the conversation will continue in the hall long after the session is over.

2:00–3:00 p.m. Book signing at Penguin Young Readers Group, Booth #202, Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, 655 West 34th Street (at 11th Avenue) | Hall C, Level 1

3:00–4:00 p.m. Book signing at Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, Booth #442, Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, 655 West 34th Street (at 11th Avenue) | Hall C, Level 1

Dinner with a group of teachers.

Saturday, November 17th
9:00–10:00 a.m. Book signing at Anderson’s Bookshop, Booth #479, Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, 655 West 34th Street (at 11th Avenue) | Hall C, Level 1

10:00–11:30 a.m. Book signing at PermaBound, Booth #357, Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, 655 West 34th Street (at 11th Avenue) | Hall C, Level 1

12:30–2:15 p.m. Books for Children Luncheon at the Marriott Marquis Times Square, 1535 Broadway | Westside Ballroom Salon ½. Andrea & Brian Pinkney will be speaking - this should be awesome.

Afternoon - I might hang at the convention or I might run in Central Park (if the weather is decent). Anybody want to join me? I'll run 6-7 miles, probably at a 10-minute mile pace. You are welcome to join me for some or all of it. If you're interested, let me know in the comments section and I'll get more details to you.

Evening - I need to write.

Sunday, November 18th
Daytime - holed up in hotel, writing. Might sneak out to attend a few sessions. We'll see.

6:00–7:30 p.m. ALAN Reception, Marriott Marquis Times Square , 1535 Broadway (at 45th Street) | Astor Ballroom, 7th Floor - I think I am going to wear my new shoes, so I will be the one limping.

Dinner with my publishers.

Monday, November 19th

Breakfast with my agent.

Daytime - hanging out at ALAN and meeting with an editor

Evening - a party and dinner

Tuesday, November 20th
10:30–11:05 a.m. ALAN Program: “Brown-Bagging It with Mattie and Hank: What does Testing have to do with lunch?” Marriott Marquis Times Square, 1535 Broadway | West Side Ballroom, Salon 1, 5th Floor

This should be really interesting. Professor Denise Ousley will demonstrate a fascinating classroom technique - giving students brown paper bags that are filled with objects that relate to a historical novel, and allowing students to respond to the objects. L.M. Elliott will talk about how this technique works with her book, UNDER A WAR-TORN SKY. I will be talking about it in relation to FEVER 1793. I'll also be talking about the research for my new historical CHAINS (it will be published September, 2008). Please join us!

11:15–11:45 a.m. “Silent book” signing (as other authors will still be speaking) Marriot Marquis Times Square, 1535 Broadway | Room TK

Afternoon - fight the mid-town crowds trying to escape the city for Thanksgiving. If the Turkey God smiles on me, I will make my train and I will get a seat and I will trundle on home where our brood and all of their beloveds and the dog and my husband, who is the bestest Thanksgiving cook ever, will be waiting.

When other blogs make posts like the one I'm about to make, I normally find them kind of self-congratulatory in a "Look how awesome I am" kind of way. However, I don't know of any other way to say it, but look how freaking awesome we are. Blooming Tree Press has finally hit the big time. You will be able to find Blooming Tree books in any Barnes & Noble you happen to drop into.

Yes, that's right. Septina: Penguins of Doom and Bad Girls Club will soon be available at any Barnes & Noble in the whole country. Need a copy in Des Moines? You're local B&N will have one. And if you happen to live in a market with one of the top 20 B&Ns, you'll be able to find Jessica McBean there too.

Breaking into the chains is a huge leap for a small press. It can make the difference between a profitable book and a dud. A majority of people still purchase their books in person from the available stock at their local bookstore. And whether we like it or not, the chains have a huge portion of the market. So, congratulations to Greg, Judy, and Carole. And keep a look out for their books on your local chain's shelves.

My father-in-law is responding to the meds and is awake and aware. Grandmother Death seems to have given him a pass this week.

I am at the end of the revision of my historical - huzzah - and am looking forward to getting back to the new WIP.

Our problems with Time Warner Cable - messed up cable, internet and phone - continue to drive us crazy and make their technicians curse and kick the ground. This has been going on for a month now. I am about to cancel all of the services, permanently, and see this as the Universe's way of giving me more time to write and read.

A couple of people have asked me what I think about J.K. Rowling's announcement that Dumbledore was gay. I think she misses writing, that's what I think. I suspect that now the pressure is off to finish the series, and the hoopla over the last book's publication has died down, she finds herself thinking about her characters a lot. And I wouldn't be surprised if she's writing about them, but she doesn't want to tell anybody until she'd finished.

What do you think?

We were looking for some outdoor lights last week (ready to enter the 21st-century world of motion sensing), and we were at a Lowe's or a Home Depot or something. They had some to choose from, but nothing that knocked our socks off. But they were fine. So we picked out our favorite available one, bought three of them, and left, perfectly satisfied with our accomplishment.

On the way home, I had a brief image in my head of some lighting artist, creating beautiful and functional lights in her studio, selling them online or through specialty lighting stores, and bemoaning the huge chain DIY stores and their corporate greed (all the while wishing they would decide to distribute her fantastic lights). And I felt a pang of guilt for not at least going to a specialty lighting store.

OK, here's the thing. Deep breath.

I love Barnes & Noble.

There. I said it. This is not a popular thing to admit as a writer. I know that chain stores are a problem. They have way too much influence over the children's publishing industry now, as editors will actually make design and publishing decisions based on edicts from the B&N's or Borders' children's book buyer (two of the most powerful people in the children's publishing industry, from what I hear). The children's poetry section at my local store is appalling. The staff recommendations, endcap displays, and themed tables are paid ads from publishers. I could go on.

There are two reasons I end up at Barnes & Noble all the time. First, it's 5 minutes away. I'm a person whose life is built around convenience and efficiency. I get lost easily and hate heavy traffic. With job-juggling, two kids, a million errands to run, and writing to do, I go for the easy route every time. And for book-browsing, that's Barnes & Noble.

I don't actually buy much there, because I get most of my books from the library. I constantly have 30-40 books checked out, and another 10-20 waiting to come in on reserve or on interlibrary loan. I get my book recommendations from Horn Book, bloggers, teachers, and other writers. I wouldn't let Barnes & Noble actually shape my buying preferences. In fact, when I do buy a book from them, I have to have them order it. It's rarely anything they stock.

The second reason is that it's an escape. There is nowhere else close to my house where I can buy a caramel apple cider and sit down and read magazines. There is nowhere else close to my house with big, cushy chairs where I can take a stack of books and curl up and enjoy flipping through them. There is nowhere else I can get a hot tea and just enjoy walking through aisle after aisle of books, my favorite thing in the world. 

Randy and I often stop there and play Scrabble (kept in the trunk of our car) after going out to dinner. It's a sane place where books feature prominently, and I just like being there.

And while I get 98% of my books from the library, I can understand why the chain stores are so hugely popular. Maybe they don't have the best selection (like Lowe's with my outdoor lights), but it's good enough, at least for people who don't know there are other, better options available. They're always close by (a blessing or a bane, depending on your viewpoint). And they are comfortable places to pass an hour or two, by yourself or with your kids in tow.

I love the idea of independent book stores, and I'm grateful they exist. And I know they need my business to keep existing. Although I don't buy many books (compared to the number I read, anyway), I've decided I need to make more of an effort to keep lists of the books I do need to buy and take those lists to an independent bookseller when I'm ready to plunk down cold cash.

But meanwhile, I'll still be at my Barnes & Noble at least once a week, soaking up the book-mosphere and sipping a yummy drink. 

Shhh...don't tell!

I have figured out why our computer system, cable, Internet and phone have been messed up for two weeks. My Muse has transformed herself into the Ghost in the Machine and is haunting all of the electronic communication devices in our house so I have more time to write. I love her. We have had guys with trucks from the cable company out nearly every day, with more coming on Monday.

::musecackles::

But email waits for no Muse, which is why I am typing this at the Oswego Tea Company in Oswego, NY. (They are working on the redesign of their page. Anybody from SUNY Oswego want to lend a hand? Maybe they could pay you in cookies or coffee.) Seriously, this is one of my favorite places around and they have free Wifi. Thank you, Lisa who own the Tea Company.

I have recently had many requests to speak at schools. I am still turning all of these down and will be doing so for the foreseeable future, though I do hope to get back to school visits eventually. Teachers, I have name for you, for professional development purposes you want to invite Dr. Joan Kaywell to speak to you. Trust me on this.

We went to the hometown homecoming football game last night: our Mexico Tigers vs. the Fulton Red Raiders. I swear EVERYBODY in our community was there, from new babies to great-grandparents. Mexico lost, but it was a hard fought game and lots of fun to watch. And we beat ESM at their homecoming last week, so the karma is balanced now.

This morning BH and I got up early and headed for the Syracuse Regional Market in search of the season's last tomatoes (yes, I am roasting them again), fresh cauliflower, enough garlic braids to get us through the winter, fresh bread, and other goodies. One of my favorite local blogs told us about Wake Robin Farm, so we bought heavenly yogurt from them. We also picked up pasture-fed, traditionally raised beef, pork, chicken, eggs and butter from Wendy at Sweet Grass Farm. I swear I will never eat corporate-farmed butter again.

I have been wrestling Chapter Eight of my revision of the historical novel for two and a half days. The dang thing almost had me in a choke-hold, but I finally figure out how to take it down. Kevin, if you are reading this, Chapter Eight just split into two chapters. So yeah, the book is a little longer. Sorry about that.

My alma mater is the coolest.

Great quote heard on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me today: "Blackwater is Enron, but with sub-machine guns." If you don't know what that means, please do some investigating into the affairs of Blackwater.

That's enough now. Back to work.