Five Things on a Friday

Photo by my husband, John

1.  I finished up my line edits and sent Loonsong back to my editor. I think the next stage will be copyediting, though I'm happy to do another line-edit pass if my editor wants to.  The longer we put off going to "track changes," the happier I am! The good news is that even after all these readings and revisions, I tear up every time. That's when I know it's the words themselves that hold the power. Because I've read those scenes and sentences many times and there is no surprise there. I know what it says. I know what will happen. And still, it hits me.

2.  My daughter got a goldfish to keep her company in her apartment. He's beautiful!

3.  Today, the sato puppies that I've worked with at our animal shelter are going up for adoption, so I'm going over there at noon to help with that.  I'm hoping the puppies all find homes soon. 

4.  One of the hard parts of meeting a writing deadline is all the things you've put off while you're working hard on a book are waiting for you when you're done. I have so much mail and email to answer that I'm a bit overwhelmed this morning looking at it. 

5.  I'm so happy for my critique partners!  One Cool Friend, Toni Buzzeo's book, illustrated by David Small won a Caldecott Honor and was named an ALA Notable.  And my other critique partner, Terry Farish's book, The Good Braider, was named a Best Fiction for Young Adults title! I'm thrilled for them both! We'll have much to celebrate when we see each other again!