Summertime!

At long last, school is over for another year. This was my first year full time teaching, and while I love my job, it is equally nice to be able to get up to the chirping of birds and not the blaring of the alarm clock, and have my coffee while sitting in my loft and writing for however long I wish.

It might get old by August. But I doubt it. I have at least three projects on the table right now -- a short story and two novels. Plus my final project for Grad School. And a 9 year old boy to entertain with day trips and whatnot.

Summer will fly by.

Meanwhile, I DO have a new book out. Please buy it, Like it, add it to your Goodreads to-read list. I'm doing a Goodreads giveaway for two signed copies. So on top of writing new material I have to promote the new title. No rest for the wicked.

But I'm going to pass on some writing advice I got from Kate DiCamillo recently. She was the keynote speaker for the NJSCBWI conference, which I attended AND was on faculty (doing a workshop on Worldbuilding, which you can see here, if you really want to know). It is an AWESOME conference, and I have made many friends and networked with some of the names in NYC publishing to the point where we hug and kiss when we see each other and know each other by name. One of my favorite events of the entire year. Anyway, Kate said she only writes two pages a day. That's all. She gets to the end of the second page and stops. Now, I don't know if that's two pages per project, or just two pages, but however she gets it done, the Great Kate is getting it done, and so I will take her advice. I have been trying all week to write just two pages.

I am working my way up to it. Just two pages, some days, is hard.

Have a great summer!