A major shout-out to Joyce Shor Johnson and Kristine Asselin, the co-directors of this year's conference. Thanks, too, to all the volunteers who made things run, driving speakers, made sure we were all in the right room, and ran all the evening activities, too.


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Last night I finished readingjoknowleswonderful See You at Harry's.


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jbknowles hit it on the head in her most recent post:

"I am constantly reminded of the roller coaster world we live in. up uP UP one second and DOWN DOwn down the next. Trying to hold on, learning to let go."Roller coaster describes the last two weeks of my life precisely.

The VCFA residency was definitely up uP UP.

This week was down doWN DOWN.

My mom called ( Read more... )

After a weekend spent celebrating the book (Burlington Book Festival, 9/23-9/25), it's been odd to think about people saying no to books. But that's what banning books is. Censorship is also a form of bullying, because it's about applying power to control, or at least to try to control others. That's not what this country is about; that's what ( Read more... )

I've known Jo since the first March Novel Writing Retreat seven years ago, and I loved Jumping Off Swings, so I was eager to read Pearl when it came out last month.

I had an unusual experience when I first opened the book. The first page seemed so familiar, so did the second. Only when I finished the first chapter and moved on to the second did I ( Read more... )

I have oh so much to be thankful for today.

1) Being accepted into the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults.

HH asked me if I had any doubts. Until it's a done deal, I always have doubts, especially where the word "acceptance" is involved. Probably because I spent my earliest years not being accepted for ( Read more... )

This was one of those days when I left the house at 7 am and didn't get back, or go near a computer, until after 4:30.

But that doesn't mean I forgot Thankful Thursday.

I am thankful to have lived in this community for the past 22-plus years. We don't always agree, but we do come together in times of loss and suffering. And when we do disagree, we ( Read more... )

I am most thankful this week that no one was hurt when BD had her first ever auto accident yesterday. Not only that, but it was so low speed that neither car's airbags deployed. Best of all for both young women, the state trooper who responded couldn't find fault with either party. (It was on this one particularly blind corner in this high- ( Read more... )

Cue the Beatles "Here Comes the Sun."


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I've had book challenges on my mind since last week, when I learned that Cheryl Rainfield's Scars was being challenged in Boone County, Tenn. (If you hadn't heard about this, here's Cheryl's original post and her follow-ups 1, 2 and 3). ) If you follow me on Twitter and Facebook, you know I'm a staunch supporter of Speak Loudly, because I believe ( Read more... )