Went to the Rabbit Hill Literature Festival Author Dinner tonight at the Red Barn restaurant. The travel was nasty -- dark, rainy, horrendous traffic (took me an hour and ten minutes to get there instead of a half hour). However, upon arrival, I sat down with the Mad Hatter and the Queen of Hearts, and had a lovely bit of conversation before Eeyore showed up. Our table was graced for the evening by none other than Neal Shusterman, author of my fave twisted fairy tales/myth series (Red Rider's Hood, Dreadlocks), The Schwa, and Everlost. He lives in southern California, so we discussed the fires there (his house is fine, the ones I lived in in Poway and Escondido are gone), families, life of an author, his newest book that is just out. I think we are going to try to get him to come for a visit late this year -- there is someone from NY (around Rye) working on doing that, so if we can dovetail into that we're golden. We might be able to split him for a day with Central, and get Just Books in on it also.
His new book, Unwind, sounds incredible. I can't wait to read it! A second civil war has happened (over the issue of abortion among things). The civilization that has survived has decreed that there are to be no abortions -- life at conception IS. However, between the ages of 13-17, children can legally be terminated by their parents. What a dilemma -- the Drama Queen is three and frankly I am dreading 13 like it's going to be the start of an incarceration for me. I can see why this would be a question an author would want to write about!
Neal said that he wanted to address the issue of abortion, but do it in a way that had not been done before, and do it in a way that would present both sides with an opportunity to discuss. What a thought -- delve into a violently divisive issue and give both sides a piece to argue for and against using fiction as the vehicle. His intended audience is high school, so I will be interested to read it. He said he expects it to be on the Banned Books list!
I didn't get around to the other tables to schmooze with the other authors, but hopefully I will see a couple tomorrow. Met the director of the Westport public library, and an editor for Simon and Schuster also -- will revise post tomorrow later with their names which are on a card with the book on CD that we got as a dinner gift tonight (Gail Carson Levine). :)
Lovely, lovely time. I should have gotten my favorite princess and Wonder Woman to come... maybe next year!
Friday, October 26, 2007
Thursday, October 11, 2007
13th Tale Update
Second note to WW and my favorite Princess: You should have threatened me with shovels, shotguns, whatever you could get your hands on to make me read this!! Thirteenth Tale is amazing, I loveitloveitloveit -- and of course wish I'd started it sooner. Damn real life -- it gets in the way of so many good books.
I have two booktalks tomorrow so don't know if I will finish tonight, if not then definitely this weekend. I'll post when I'm done. :)
I have two booktalks tomorrow so don't know if I will finish tonight, if not then definitely this weekend. I'll post when I'm done. :)
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Note to Wonder Woman
WW,
I have FINALLY brought home Thirteenth Tale. If my children don't absolutely drag me under tonight, I will start reading. Unfortunately the Dallas/Buffalo game kept me up late last night (yes, occasionally I do put myself through the football paces), so looks like passout time will come earlier than usual. Promise I'll get moving on it, though!
The Hundred Acre Wood was relatively calm today. Scheduled a bunch of booktalks through the rest of the month, and got my paperwork done for the two big conferences this month and next. I'm headed to Hartford for the annual CECA tech/education conference late this month, and then off to NYC next month for a two day authors and reading workshop in conjunction with the NCTE annual conference. FL told me today that I am getting expensive -- told him I am worth every nickel and he knows it! Turned in my annual TEP plan for him to approve today. Changed my description titles (the what are you going to do parts) from last year's very simple "Weed, Feed and Learn" to this year's "Duck and Chuck, Spend the Money Honey, and On to the Fun Stuff". That's basically to see if 1. anyone actually reads this, and 2. if they do, did they notice? We'll see. Not a big deal if I get told to change it -- I don't care. I just get so bloody bored with doing things the straitlaced way.
I have FINALLY brought home Thirteenth Tale. If my children don't absolutely drag me under tonight, I will start reading. Unfortunately the Dallas/Buffalo game kept me up late last night (yes, occasionally I do put myself through the football paces), so looks like passout time will come earlier than usual. Promise I'll get moving on it, though!
The Hundred Acre Wood was relatively calm today. Scheduled a bunch of booktalks through the rest of the month, and got my paperwork done for the two big conferences this month and next. I'm headed to Hartford for the annual CECA tech/education conference late this month, and then off to NYC next month for a two day authors and reading workshop in conjunction with the NCTE annual conference. FL told me today that I am getting expensive -- told him I am worth every nickel and he knows it! Turned in my annual TEP plan for him to approve today. Changed my description titles (the what are you going to do parts) from last year's very simple "Weed, Feed and Learn" to this year's "Duck and Chuck, Spend the Money Honey, and On to the Fun Stuff". That's basically to see if 1. anyone actually reads this, and 2. if they do, did they notice? We'll see. Not a big deal if I get told to change it -- I don't care. I just get so bloody bored with doing things the straitlaced way.
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