Maine Refills

Sometimes 

you need to tilt your head back

and breathe in 

clean air

and see

blue sky

and touch

clear water.

I'm in Maine

beaming

all of this

to

all of you.

xx

My Father's Garden

We're coming to the end

of the peas and beans:

they ripened early

in a grand fanfare

so perfectly perfect

crisp and sweet.

My father liked to garden:

our yard was lush with peonies and roses

corn, tomatoes, beans, peas and cucumbers.

He liked to lean down and smell a yellow rose

on his way to weed the rows

He liked to lift a tomato to his nose

and smell its warm ripeness.

My small garden honors him

just as the homemade pasta sauce

I ladle into my mother's bowl honors her.

Is there something you make or do

that owes its origins to your parents?

xx

Creech Week

We're winding down from

Creech Week

here at the lake

an annual 'normal chaos' gathering

of family

smaller in number of people this year

but 

more dog guests.

We laughed a very lot.

xx

Names (and Fan Mail, continued)

Amid this latest batch of mail are

handmade postcards:

on one side a scene from one of my books

and on the back a note to me.

Love these

 glimpses into the head of a reader

to see what he or she sees.

In this mail pile

are hundreds of signatures:

the expected Sarahs and Mikes and Davids

and Kates and Johns and Jills and Abbys

With spelling variations:

Natalie, Natalee, Nataley

Rachel, Rachael, Raychil,

Kaitlin, Kaitlyn, Caitlin, Katelyn

And these more rare, but beautiful names:

Alaina, Alondra, Amiya, Angelica, Abraham, Ameer, Ariel, Aristan, Arda, Alaura, Alouette, Ariana, Aejah,

Brooklyn, Chaun, Camden, Cole, Caleb,

Delia, Della, Delaney, Devron,

Emmanuel, Eunice, Eva, Estefania,

Gabriella, Gianni, Hadia, Haley, Hunter, Isela, Izzy,

Jade, Jayden, Jazzmyn, Jerred, Jesse, Joman, Jevarius, 

Kara, Kadamma, Kazuma, Kaleb, Karlee, Kei, Keani, Khyrea, Kira, Kori,

Leighton, Lariah, Lily,

Mei, Maximillian, Marika, Mallory, Morgan, Mackenzie, Macalistair,

Nellie, Nile, Nora, Oshen, Olivia, Paris, Peyton, Paige,

Rainey, Roya, Radhika, Rose, Reeve, Rahul, Rocene,

Sydney, Sofia, Sierra, Sami, Shayna, Shareka, Serena, Sidalie,

Trinity, Tristan, Tatem, Tate

Uziel, Vega, Veronica, Whitney, 

Xavier, Yzsabella,

and

 Zizy.

I've long been intrigued by the ways in which

we are shaped by

or perceived by

our names

and

cannot move forward 

with the writing of a story

without names.

I've already chosen two from the above

for a future book.

Those names will not only shape

the character

but also suggest

the plot.

So if you're ever stuck

in beginning a story

try choosing two random names

and let them

(the characters with those names)

go at it.

xx

Fan Mail

Sometimes mail becomes stuck in the cogs

of the mighty publishing wheel.

Sometimes it falls off a desk

or sticks to someone else's mail.

Sometimes the handwriting on the envelope

is illegible

and it has to wait for a code-breaker to decipher it:

Is this for Ms. Cleary or Ms. Cushman or Ms. Creech?

How else to explain that the most recent box of mail

forwarded from the publisher

(a small portion of which is shown above)

contains letters written as far back as 

September, 2011?

Ack!

I feel badly that readers have had to wait so long for a reply.

I need fortification as I tackle the pile:

This batch comes from these countries:

USA, Belgium, Canada, England, Israel, Japan, Taiwan

and 38 states 

from Alabama to West Virginia

and from towns with such great names as

Big Spring, Eagle, Minnetonka, Washougal, White Salmon

 Little Chalfont, Brussels, Coquitlam, Taipei

and these streets

King Albert Avenue, Cokes Lane, Ivy Flower Loop

Grassy Lick Road, St. Pippin Road, Sugar Avenue

In my next post, I'll treat you to

wonderful names

of readers 

a beautiful

collection

of

beautiful

names.

xx

ALA, part 2

Some 20,000 librarians, publishers and writers

descended on Anaheim, CA, 

for the annual American Library Association conference

June 21-26, 2012.

This was a crazy, good time to celebrate books

and to meet twitter/blog/facebook followers

and librarians

and colleagues

 

(Judy Zuckerman)

(Katy Horning, Emily Kokie)

(Randy and Karen Hesse)

(me, Ed Spicer, Katherine Applegate)

(Joanna Cotler, Susan Katz, Kate Jackson, Lisa von Drasek)

(Newbery winner Jack Gantos and daughter Mabel)

Such a week!

Such good folk!

Wish I had been able to take more photos

. . .

next time 

. . . 

xx

Away and Back

I've been away

in California

for the annual 

ALA (American Library Association) Conference.

Thousands of librarians gather

along with publishers and authors.

We all celebrate books.

Great energy.

Above, at the HarperCollins Breakfast

from left to right:

Me

Susan Katz, President of HC Children's Books

Kate Jackson, Editor-in-chief 

What a fine, fine time. 

More to come 

after I unpack.

xx