Two Things I LOVE About What I Do

1. Guess who got her FIRST fan e-mail for How to Survive Middle School?

"I JUST FINISHED READING HOW TO SURVIVE MIDDLE SCHOOL IT WAS THE BEST BOOK EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Thanks, Ben! That was the best e-mail EVER!!!!!!!!!


2. The sold-out Michigan SCBWI Conference this past Saturday rocked!

As soon as I opened the door to my hotel room, I was greeted by this gift and a goody bag, filled with homemade baked treats. (Thanks, Janice!)


The fabulous volunteers made me and the other speakers feel welcomed. They thought of every detail during the conference. Really well-run.

I gave two workshops -- "12 3/4 Ways to Tickle Young Reader's Funny Bones" and "Creating Quirky Characters."

Here are the some of the gang from my first workshop.



I'm sure the fact that I was wearing a rubber chicken necklace had nothing to do with their smiling.

Here are the peeps from the quirky character workshop. I was so impressed with the creative ideas participants came up with during both workshops.



When I was done, a man came up and said, "I just wanted to tell you . . . you kicked butt!"

I loved that comment. And I loved the conference. I met lovely and interesting people, who are passionate about writing and illustrating.

And even though I was unable to hear Jay Asher's keynote and workshops or take a photo of him because the batteries in my camera died . . . twice, I had the pleasure of signing books next to him. And I stole this photo from his blog. Thanks, Jay!


Thanks to the fun and fabulous speakers: Jay Asher, illustrator/cartoonist Dave Coverly, author Jim Tobin, agent Beth Fleisher, editor Lisa Yoskowitz and editor Ruta Rimas. And a great big thanks to the wonderful folks in Michigan who worked their tailfeathers off to create a fabulous experience!

Places To Go And People To Annoy . . .

UPCOMING EVENTS . . .

April 24th -- FAMILY READING FESTIVAL at the Mets Stadium (Digital Domain Park) in Port St. Lucie from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. (I'll be speaking from 11:30-noon and will be signing books before and after.) The first 300 kids get FREE tickets to Saturday's game. (Baseball and books -- What could be bad?)

April 28th -- Storm Grove Middle School sixth graders, look out. Here I come! And my hamster, Hammy, might be coming with me. (This event is not open to the public.)

April 28th -- VERO BEACH BOOK CENTER will be hosting me in their Teen Loft at 5:30. I'll be meeting and greeting and having a fun time at an amazingly cool independent bookstore! Please stop by at your earliest inconvenience.

April 29th -- SUNFEST!!! This has nothing to do with books, but I'm super excited to go to this awesome venue -- "Where music meets the waterfront" to see and hear THE FLAMING LIPS perform. The whole family is going -- Whee! (Thanks Melissa. You are filled with wonderful!)

May 1st -- Hello, Michigan! SCBWI MICHIGAN'S SPRING CONFERENCE sounds like it will be a blast. I'll be talking about writing humor for children, creating quirky characters and my rubber chicken necklace. I'm just sayin'. There are oodles of cool presenters, like Jay Asher, Ruta Rimas, Jim Tobin, etc. (I think registration is full now. Are you going to be there?)

May 12th -- I'll have the great pleasure of speaking to the 5th grade students at GREENACRES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. (This event is not open to the public.)

May 16th -- BOOKS & BOOKS in Coral Gables! Stop by and browse this amazing bookstore. Grab a drink and snack in their cafe and enjoy it at their outdoor seating area. And if you happen to be there at 3 p.m., stop by and say HELLO! I'll be speaking and signing, but not singing because that would drive people from the store.

May 17th -- I'll be speaking at INDEPENDENCE MIDDLE SCHOOL, which has a special place in my heart. (This event is not open to the public.) It's just going to be me, a few teachers and, oh, 400 sixth graders. (And I'm going to tell them a secret.)

May 18th -- Collapse, with a big smile on my face!