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My Writer's Journal

The Crazy Season

Just when I want to spend all my time working on my new book, BEAUTY'S DAUGHTER, I'm being pulled in several different directions while I try to keep up with lots of projects.

On Saturday I fly to Philadelphia to give an 18-minute talk at a TEDx conference at Arcadia University. I've never done PowerPoint, it's being recorded, and it has to be EXACTLY 18 minutes. Emails fly back and forth arranging for transportation, etc. I'm nervous.

At the end of April I'll be in Chicago to participate in an International Reading Association panel. But some of the other writers have had to drop out, others have been shifted around, I don't yet have travel arrangements or book signings confirmed, or much of an idea on how many people will be attending. I'm to meet this week and next with the other writers to figure out how it will all fit together.

I was invited sign books at a bookstore in June, but the bookseller had the wrong book in mind--THE WILD QUEEN will be available, but VICTORIA REBELS won't be out until January. Then I had to contact the publisher to find out if books would actually be available in time, once we realized which book we were talking about.

Last Tuesday I gave a presentation at Parents Night for the workshop I'm doing in June at the Albuquerque Zoo--but first I had to spend time at the zoo to learn what facilities will be available. I plan to talk about Charley Darwin, his boyhood and his Beagle voyage. After I'd spent an hour or so polishing up my presentation, only one parent showed up.

In July I'm teaching a weeklong writers' workshop in Taos on writing for Young Adults. Yesterday a Taos bookstore contacted me for a list of the books I'd like to have for sale. ("All of them" is not the right answer.) I decided what I thought would work and looked up the ISBN numbers for both hardcover and paperback editions. I haven't even begun to think about what I'll organize to keep students engaged and excited for a whole week .

A few days ago a seventh grader emailed me, asking me to explain my theme and goals in writing PATIENCE, PRINCESS ELIZABETH for her RTL--Response to Literature, she explained. I had to write back that I have no idea what the theme is because I don't think that way. My goal is to tell a good story, and I have no educational goals in mind. This was not what her teacher wants to hear, so I had to cook up an answer. We've now had 4 emails back and forth for clarification. I get a LOT of emails asking for help.

I found out yesterday that CLEOPATRA CONFESSES is coming out in paperback in June with a gorgeous new cover. Nobody had told me! I just happened to see it on amazon.com and quickly got that up on my Facebook page. I'm trying to Tweet 3 times a day, post on Facebook every day, and write a blog post every week that makes some sort of sense.

What I REALLY want to be doing is working on BEAUTY'S DAUGHTER, but this is spring--beautiful and always very, very busy.
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