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I like to have something to look forward to at the beginning of the year to help get me through the ordeal of the holidays. If you're a member of the New England Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, looking forward to the 2008 Whispering Pines Writers' Retreat on Feb. 29 through March 2 could be what you need to make the month of December bearable.

The author mentor at the 2008 event will be Mark Peter Hughes. You remember Mark Peter Hughes. I was obsessed with him this summer, not because I'm a fan of his books (I've never read any) but because he quit his job this year to focus on writing full time and then took off on a cross-country promotional tour with his family. I was expecting trauma, if not on the trip, then when he got home and had to face writing full-time without a visible means of regular support. If that's the case, he's been keeping it to himself. No sobbing or chest pounding at his website. Maybe he'll talk about it at Whispering Pines.

Ilene Richard will serve as the illustrator mentor. Kaylan Adair of Candlewick Press and Emily Mitchell of Charlesbridge Publishing will attend as editor mentors.

Another Thing That Could Make December Bearable: The prospect of winning a book. Forget about finding jewelry, stock, iPods, or computer innards under your tree. You could find an e-mail from me on Christmas Day telling you you've won My Life Among the Aliens.

Mark Peter Hughes is continuing his roadtrip across America. If his blog is to be believed, he knows people everywhere. Right now he appears to be partying his way into the western sunset.

His NPR commentaries about his roadtrip, however, were cancelled by the network. The producer involved was going on leave for a month. Really, I would have enjoyed listening to those.

On the other hand, his book Lemonade Mouth was included in Colleen Mondor's July column at Bookslut.

You'd think from the amount of space I'm giving Hughes' trip at this blog that I absolutely loved his book. I've never even read it. I just love what he's doing this summer.

Not that I'd consider doing it, myself. I'm somewhat anti-social. Something very ugly would happen if I stayed on the road as long as he has. And he isn't even done yet. But I'm perfectly happy to read about someone else doing it.

It's Almost Like Traveling Myself

Having made a road trip into the south a number of years back, I particularly enjoyed catching up on Mark Peter Hughes' Lemonade Mouth Across America as he made his way as far as Atlanta and then headed west. The mere mention of South of the Border made me crave a pecan log, which, of course, comes from Stuckey's but those southern roadside stops are all glorious to me.

Blogger is refusing to let me make titles this evening, so I had to rig up a fakie.

Mark Peter Hughes, author of Lemonade Mouth, recently had a commentary broadcast on NPR. He also recently quit his day job. He's also getting ready to take off on a cross-country tour.

I find the tour part, in particular, fascinating because, remember, I got lost in Worcester, Mass., which is only a couple of hours from home.

Mark will be setting up a blog relating to the tour. I'll be checking it out because I am both masochistic and into drama. If the tour is a big success, I want to know so I can suffer in comparison and feel miserable about myself. In addition, we're talking about a guy with a family to support who just walked away from a paying job to make a living writing. This is the kind of thing people build reality series around, folks.

High drama. I'm getting pumped.