When I was 8 years old, we played House and School (I loved being the teacher). We made do with items we found around the house. Or we went outside and played tag or hide-and-go-seek, which didn't need props. And we built forts.

This morning, my 8-year-old twins were conspiratorially lurking in the hallway:

Me: What are you two doing?
Them: Playing. (giggle, giggle)
Me: What are you playing?
Them: Nothing. (giggle, giggle)
Me: It doesn't look like nothing...
Them: Okay, we're playing Spy. We have gadgets. A motion-detector, a listening device, walkie-talkies and a laser light. We're going downstairs to get DNA samples from Milo (the dog) to see who did it!
Me: What's DNA?
Them: Don't know. But it helps you catch the crooks. It's in the dog hair. Bye, Mom!

Do you write books for kids? Do you write books for TODAY'S kids or the kid you used to be hundreds of years ago in a simpler time?

It's a very important distinction to keep in mind.

:)

p.s. Yeah, I'd be kinda worried about my kids too, but they still build forts...

I am a writer. I am a mother. And it is summertime.

If one of my children (the one who talks the most and considers Younger-Sibling Torture to be part of his job description) goes away to Boy Scout Camp for a week, resulting in an extremely sad mom, but also 33.3% fewer at-home children than normal, will I then have 33.3% more writing time than I usually have in the summer, even if that usual time amounts to zero hours per day?

And if the answer is yes, how much more writing time is 33.3% more than zero?

Hmmmm........

Look what just landed on my doorstep!

Today is like Christmas for me, as it is every year when I get this book. But especially this year because...

I'm in it!! And it is so full of good stuff. There is a definite picture-book slant this year, which is so nice to see. The First Books article, which (ahem) I'm in also has Debbie Diesen and Dan Hanna (The Pout-Pout Fish) and Sue Thoms (Cesar Takes A Break) and Sarah Brannen (Uncle Bobby's Wedding).

There is a terrific article on picture-book opening lines by Lisa Wheeler.

An awesome interview of Allyn Johnston in which she hilariously interviews herself and talks about picture books. Ms. Johnston is simply a picture-book genius and I'm committing everything she says to memory.

And there's a fab and funny article on publisher research by my crit partner, Deanna Caswell. How does she make this topic funny?? I don't know, but she does- I wish I could write like her.

And there's a ton more, but I have to go read....

:)

Do I get the mail today or wait until tomorrow?

If I do, there might be a rejection. I don't want to get a rejection on my birthday. Especially this birthday. Yuck. Better not get it today.

On the other hand, there might be a request for a manuscript. Or a revision request! That would make the day awesome and I'm all for anything that makes it better. I should get the mail.

Or, I might get a rejection. I better not.

Here's the mailman. Oh, the mailman put mail in there!

There's mail just sitting there in the mailbox.

Probably a rejection.

Or maybe there's a manuscript request!

Nah, it's probably just bills anyway.

But maybe....

Yeah, be grateful you're not in my head today!!

(What was that? You think I go through this every day? No, that would be neurotic...)

:)

A lot of the comments I get on my website are about the pictures from my childhood on the "About Me" page. People can't believe there are that many pictures of me with books! Well, there are, and there are even more, um, less flattering pictures that I didn't include in which I am- you guessed it- reading! The existence of these pictures is not surprising to my family. My dad knows exactly how hard it was to get me to stop reading long enough to do anything, let alone smile for a picture. But thanks for making the effort, Dad :)

So, just in case Lily makes good on her promise to become a writer, I took this photo the other day:



She doesn't read as obsessively as I did as a kid, but she does enjoy reading. Take pictures of your kids doing what they love to do. You never know when they might come in handy!

:)