My crit group thinks I should be an agent. This is not surprising as my skill set is heavy on organizing people and schmoozing. Being bluntly honest and having a bunch of knowledge about the children’s book industry is right up there too. If only I could apply my wonderful critiquing skills, agent and editor research, and conference schmoozing to actually write and sell my manuscripts. Then there is living in New York. Hmmm… maybe when the kids grow up I’ll reinvent myself as a chic New York literary agent. Of course, I’d have to wear heels, start at the bottom again earning $20,000 a year, and deal with papercuts from opening the mail.

I keep reading everyone’s good news and unfortunately don’t have anything to report except that it is now 35 degrees instead of 5. That is certainly a change for the better. I hear that the warming trend will continue through next week and this assures me that mud season is close at hand. Things to do:
1. Finish Mom’s postcard
2. Finish My postcard
3. Continue to work on camp novel. I’ve been at 2 pages a day for the past week or so.
4. Continue to work on poem collection. (totally neglected)
5. Update manuscript tracker program and see what needs to go out
6. Be ready for NESCBWI crit submission, that brochure should come any week now.
7. Stop spending so much time on Live Journal

Which is the Jewish celebration of the story of Esther. Queen Esther, to refresh your memory, spoke out to stop the slaughter of the Jews in Persia. The Jews fought back and won. Which brings us to the basic summary of most Jewish holidays (I did not make this up…) “They tried to kill us, we won, let’s eat.”

However, today we started our eating with a fun kid’s carnival which started with a great costume parade. There were many games, prizes, facepainting and — da, da, da, daaaaa… Balloon animals with Anna. That’s me. So you have your choice of a dog, or a giraffe (long necked dog) or a mouse (big eared dog) or an elephant (long nosed dog). Sometimes it is your choice, sometimes not. I can make an airplane too. So now you know another of my many talents. I’m available for Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, birthdays, weddings, etc. You get it.

To add to the birthday breakfast, as started by Jo.

Carrie

Painfully modest
Capturing teen voice and angst
so effortlessly.

One can accomplish when one wakes up at 4:45. I teach aerobics on Mondays and Fridays at this time anyway so I’m trying to make it a regular thing to get in extra drawing and writing time. This morning I woke up after having this realistic dream where the character I played in the dream gave and incredible speech to a teacher who was being a jerk. I opened my eyes, looked at the clock– 4:46 bolted up and started the first chapter of a new novel. Hmmm… you may wonder what has happened to novels #1, and #2. Well, novel one has been completed twice and has been in the proverbial drawer for a while. It is time to take it out and do a serious book altering, life altering revision. (Maybe not today.) Novel two is on chapter three, and this one now has an amazing first chapter. Well, it was amazing to write.

I made lunches and got my children off to school. Then I took my incredibly stinky dog, Sam, to a new grooming and self-service dogwashing business called Unleashed that opened up in Topsham, Maine. The self-service dog wash is on a sliding scale depending on the size of your dog. I have a big dog and paid $16. It was completely worth it to use their professional doggie showers that are waist high, their shampoos, ear, teeth, and eye wipes, nail clippers, and tornado-like blowers that atomize the water and blow away fur and dead skin. Noone will recongnize the new and improve non-stinky Sam. He is soooo clean.

Don’t miss this link. (First seen on the Laurie Halse Anderson site) What a way to live!

This is a redraw of a drawing I made when I was about 5 or 6 and at my Mother’s office. I drew it on an index card in hot pink highlighter. I think she still has it somewhere. I think of it often when I say to my own kids, “Hush, Mommy’s on the phone now.” Oh the angst of it all.

I am alive and well and have been drawing regularly. Found some great sketching at the Botanic Gardens in DC (lovely orchids) and on the subways. I also saw the Library of Congress exhibit Cartooning in America. I’ll post more when I am home and can scan in some sketches and paintings. Right-on toartistq  for sketching every day. It is a noble but difficult pursuit that often takes a lot effort and tenacity.

This one’s for you Tami!

Shopanna

Snow is coming? Think summer and beach! Visit Shopanna.