in the sea

Last week was ridiculous. I finally finished my second attempt at a 3000-word story (wrapping up at 14K words) and was absolutely exhausted yet still managed to release Mother of the Sea (read my latest newsletter here). I have a vision for this new book—I could write another 14K words from the protagonist’s twin brother’s point of view, and self-publish as a flip book with different front and back covers to reflect each storyteller. And since one twin goes north and the other goes south, I’d keep the title simple: North/South. The next day I left for Toronto and found I was too tired even to read on the train or plane. I dozed while in transit and then spent the next few days visiting with family and working on…yet another short story! This one really will be 3,000 words; the pitch is more manageable and the scope is narrow. I watched a few videos on migrants crossing the Sahara and epigenetics…and I got a few hundred words written before succumbing to butter tarts and mindless TV. Got back to NYC on Monday night and immediately started organizing my receipts so I could finish filing my taxes the next day. Once that was done, I packed up posters and review copies of Mother of the Sea…today I have a school visit and I want to attend a tribute to June Jordan tonight at the Brooklyn Public Library. Tomorrow I leave for LA! It’s supposed to be 90 degrees out there, so went shopping for something to wear. Really looking forward to our panel, “Fact or Fiction: Activism for Kids in a New Political Era.” We only have 30 minutes but we’re going to see if we can find a way to record it for folks who can’t attend. I’ve got a school visit booked for the day after the book festival and then it’s back to Brooklyn to finish edits for Dragons in a Bag by May 1…

I found out yesterday that Melena’s Jubilee earned a spot on the Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year 2017 list—with a star for outstanding merit! None of my three self-published books made the list, despite being some of the best I’ve written so far (IMHO)…but I’m glad Melena’s there with so many other great books. And it will be great to discuss the specific actions listed at the back of the book to help kids “reboot.” I need to follow my own advice! I’ve traveled and written a lot since January…time to slow down.