March 10-April 1, 2012:
Two hacker attacks on my website later, and am trying to post this. I mean–how small can you get, hacking a website where kids to go to to do research for author studies? Hey, guys–go mess with a multi-national arms dealers or rotten credit card companies or super pac political organizations.
During the time small-minded hackers were shutting me down, I wrote about twenty poems, worked up to the next to last chapter on The Hostage Prince (son Adam who is co-writing it is writing the last chapter) and a couple of chapters in Centaur Field (almost to the end of that as well.) Also, I rewrote the Magnus/Unnatural History Museum piece which I'm doing with Mira Bartok and set it into short chapters, which is about a third of the book, I think. I wrote a couple of short (compressed) pieces, the promised essay/intro for a new Margot Lanagan collection, did some work on a picture book called Monster K which Heidi and I are writing. Heidi and I went to Watertown/Boston to work all day on final edits of Bad Girls with the editor and art director. Reveled in the art work by Rebecca Guay. Managed a few final edits on Grumbles from the Forest, a book of poems Rebecca Kai Dotlich and I have written. Got movie contract for the How Do Dinosaur books.
Along the way, sold three poems to Conclave Magazine, one short piece to a magazine of Compressed Lit, had the Lanagan piece accepted.
Books in: first copy of Last Laughs: Animal Epitaphs, ARC of Curse of the Thirteenth Fey, paperback bookclub edition of Pretty Princess Pig.
Other stuff: Regular swim therapy, writers' group meeting, teas and dinners with friends, the Amherst Ballet fete, a poetry reading at Smith where friends read, regular (new) WHMP radio show with Heidi, on a panel of writers for local public radio to raise money, went to hear Alan Reid at the Iron Horse, saw "The Hunger Games", flew to Michigan where I gave a talk at the Battle Creek library (and had a touch of food poisoning), went to a Balkan folk dance evening with a friend where I realized I am not the dancer I used to be, celebrated my granddaughters' birthday with a dinner at the Go Ten, went to the illustrator guild's meeting, and was on four or five panels at an sf/fantasy convention at Smith College, as well as a celebratory party for Mira Bartok who's marvelous book The Memory Palace recently won the National Book Critics' Circle award for memoir.
Am I tired? Yes.
Will I do this sort of thing again?
Of course.
Its my job, my love, my fascination, my enduring passion.
