What's Up Wednesday

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk.  Head over to Jaime's page for links to find out what's up with everyone else. Here's what's up with me.
What I'm Reading

This week I read One for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt. It was a good book, I don't think reading it this week was the smartest plan on my part though. It's a middle grade book about a foster kid. There aren't very many books about foster kids, and One for the Murphys is a very good one.

It's basically a love story about a girl and her foster mom. The emotions are all there, the characters are well developed, and the picture of foster care presented is relatively accurate.

The problem is that I'm currently in the process of adopting two foster kids. They are actually scheduled to move into my house next week. So this emotionally charged story hit a little too close to home in some places. Carly may be a tough girl who never cries, but I cried A LOT while reading it.

What I'm Writing

The Evolution of Emily is set to be released on November 18th, so I have three and a half months to get everything ready for publication. I thought I was doing great schedule wise, but this whole new parenting thing is demanding a lot of my mental energy, so this week I really haven't gotten much done at all.

My goal had been to finish picking up all my latest notes from my copy editor, do one more complete read through, and send the "final" version off to my layout guy to make ARCs before the kids moved in. Um, yeah, they're moving in next week. I don't think I'm going to make that deadline.

Hopefully, I'll be able to find some time to work on stuff after they arrive, because November 18th really is right around the corner. My little guy will be in kindergarten, so I'll hopefully be able to get some work done while the kids are at school. But school doesn't start until September, and I have a lot of deadlines to meet between now and Labor Day if I'm going to keep my November release.

I did write a first attempt at the back cover copy this week. What do you think, is this a catchy blurb?

Emily Charles knows how to run away. Away from her agoraphobic mother. Away from her autistic sister. Away from her quiet sheltered homeschool life. When Emily's escape plan involves starting her junior year at Kennedy High School, she realizes she's no longer running away. Now she's running towards. Towards her cross-country teammate August, and her lab partner Miles. Towards friendship, love, independence, and life.

Thanks to her sister's special interest in biology, Emily knows all about the birds and the bees. Boys are a lot more confusing.

What Inspires Me Right Now

Last week, I talked to a group of aspiring young writers at a creative writing themed summer camp. The kids ranged in age from 3rd grade to high school. A few of them shared samples of their writing with me afterwards, and wow they were talented. Seeing these kids get excited about story telling, and connecting with my characters, was definitely inspiring.

I love writing. And I love knowing that there are so many other people who also love writing, both old and young. There are so many stories to tell, I'm glad it's my job to share them with others.

What Else I've Been Up To

As my previous answers alluded, I'm in the process of adopting two absolutely adorable foster kids. We get to take them home next week! Legally, I can't post their names or photos on the internet, because they are still in foster care. But even after the adoption is finalized, I want to respect their privacy.

In preparation for the kids eminent arrival, I bought a minivan on Saturday. And I just finished putting the final touches on their rooms earlier today. Here are pictures of my kiddo's beds. This is probably the cleanest these rooms will ever be, so I might as well post the photos now.


So what's up with you?