crunching numbers
Today I went for a run for the first time in about three weeks! I had blood work done this month and finally looked at the results last night; my A1C is fine and my cholesterol—though still over the official limit—dropped about fifty points! That’s after going *off* the medication back in January. Relieved and inspired, I got out early and enjoyed the cooler temperatures; I feel like I’ve been living mostly indoors (and mostly on the couch) due to yet another heatwave here in Philly. Yesterday I braved the heat to get my eyes tested; my prescription hasn’t changed much, and the doctor took the time to show me how healthy my retinas and blood vessels are…good to know! I need progressives but look forward to finally being able to see both my phone and street signs. I haven’t written much lately because I’ve been traveling and then I had company for a few days. While my cousin was visiting from Canada, we went out to Lancaster to meet up with her friends and guess who sort of fell in 
love? We saw so many sweet row houses (the owner of this one came out and gave us a tour of his garden!) that when we got home that evening, I looked online for available rentals. That led to me going back last weekend and then again on Tuesday. I *think* I’ve found the one—a top-floor 2BR in a pretty Victorian property with a garden on the side. It’s just over an hour by train back into Philly and though I hate to leave my lovely neighborhood, I do find myself wanting more peace and quiet. A friend who lives in the area said that between Philly and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania looks a lot like Alabama—very red. Most progressives do live in big cities but Lancaster is full of artists…I think I’m ready to take a chance on a new way of living. Will hold off on buying a car and see how walkable the city is (it’s only two square miles!); I’ve gotten excellent advice from the Lyft drivers I’ve met there, so that’s another option. The population is quite diverse with a large Puerto Rican and African American community. It will be interesting to see if there’s any interest in my books. I reached out to the youth librarian at the public library but haven’t heard back so far.
The paperback edition of DRAGONS IN A BAG comes out on August 13. The cover looks good, though I was disappointed that my publisher chose not to print the golden ALSC Notable seal. I’ve purchased some stickers myself—again—and will put them on my 36 author copies, which I’m planning to raffle off. Two bloggers have offered to host my giveaways and I’m looking into having a local bookstore host the third since not everyone lives online. So if you could use a set of books for your classroom, library, or kids’ book club, stay tuned…
