If only you could peek inside my brain and see how far I've come in the speaking-in-front-of-people department, you would stand up and give a little cheer. Or, at the very least, a tiny high five. 

Just a year or two before The Secret Circus came out, the thought of getting up in front of a group of folks and speaking for an hour, (an HOUR), was unthinkable. Totally impossible, like eating fourteen saltines in a minute. Slowly but surely, when more and more bookish opportunities started popping up, public speaking became something for me to consider. I started doing events, and did just fine when it was just kids. But once a few adults were in the mix,  I transformed into a sweaty and nervous ferret with a shaky voice. 

Me and my sweaty-public-speaking-ferrett ways have come a  long way over the last two years, and I have the fine folks at Toastmasters, to thank for it. For those of you who don't know what Toastmasters is, you can read more about it right here. Basically, it's a really supportive and gentle place to practice public speaking. You get better and better at talking by assuming different roles within the meeting every week, speaking spontaneously on different topics, working your way through various speech manuals, and being evaluated by others in the group. 

As a matter-o-fact, a few weeks ago I actually finished my first Toastmaster's manual, and got a signed certificate that said I was a Competent Communicator.  Me! ME! A Competent Communicator. Yes!  How many times in your adult life do you get a certificate for something big and scary that you've faced and become better at? Not many, my friends. Not many.  So here's the thing, I want to make you a certificate, for anything at all. Seriously. Email me your achievement and mailing address, and I'll make a special certificate just for you. You can hang it on your fridge, or wave it in the air, or stuff it in a scrap book, or recycle it with your cereal boxes. Whatever you want! You deserve it! Happy last days of July!

Now, on to some business items! And what do we have here? What is this spooky hand doing? Looking through the proofs for my new book, Bandits (Roaring Brook, Spring 2011)! Oh happy day! I actually received these before we went to Chicago, but didn't have time to shout about them before we left. 

Oh, but the flu is going away and I'm returning to the world of the living, only long enough to tell you all that it's officially summer, and I was an incredibly busy and lucky lady this spring. I haven't even mentioned half of the adventures I've been dabbling in over the last few months..camping, beach trips, more beach trips, friends, dance parties, airplanes, yurts, tents, dinners, hikes, campfires, speeches, work stuff...it's all a blur. So, here is a photo montage of just a sprinkling of the fun times and good company. I'll post new art soonish, but for now... I'm off to slurp some chicken soup.

I'm also going to start on Bonnie O' Boy Rides a Bike (Dial, 2012) in the next month or so, and I'm really, really, really, (really)  thrilled about that as well. I had the best time hanging with Jessica Garrison and Jenny (amazing editor and fabulous book designer) from Dial, when I was in New York. 

And I STILL have some super exciting book news that I haven't been able to share with you yet. But, alas, secrets must be kept. Good secrets! I LOVE good secrets!! And I kind of hate them. They are, (after all), really hard to keep...

More soon.

I was lucky enough to spend time with lots of old friends while I was away, (sorry to those I didn't get a chance to see..) along with the fantastic folks at Roaring Brook Press, and Dial Books. Also, my amazing super hero agent, James Proimos, who was kind enough to take time away from his farm in Baltimore to come to NYC and hang at some fun editor meetings with me. So much love! Amazing. I can't believe this is my life sometimes....

I have lots of good book news that I'm bursting to share, but I have to contain myself a little bit longer. Sorry to tease, but there we are.

One more thing! The lovely Jenn over at the Mixed Up Files, posted a studio peek and interview of yours truly, yesterday. You can check it out, right here. Thanks, Jenn!

A baby bump! 

Yes, it's true! Gabe and I are totally expecting a baby! It's getting harder to keep it a secret,  as the bump grows and grows...we are crazy excited about it all!

Happy springtime!  

Back from one of my most favorite conferences of all time! The SCBWI Western Washington conference was all I could hope for, and more.  I was completely blown away! Nicely done, Western Washington SCBWI! Totally, nicely done. 

How do you sum up such an amazing weekend? In one word...fabuloso. I spent my time flitting between break out sessions, taking crappy pictures that I will not even dare to post here (thanks Laini, Jim, and Suzanne for these very un-crappy photos!), hanging out with friends and making new ones, hearing amazing speeches by Laini Taylor, Jay Asher, Peter Brown and Mitali Perkins. (Really. Amazing. Great job, everyone!).  You can read all about the conference happenings, right here. Pictured in the top photo, from left to right: Suzanne Young, me, Kim Baker

My camera is on its last breath, but I'll be sure to take as many photos as I can before it dies a sad little camera death. I would vow to take good notes to share, but some of you probably know by now, that my conference notes are basically worthless. They are generally filled with sketches and kidlit related scribbles to myself that make no sense out of context (dragons are what pigs could be!) and thus, are no help to you. But I've always been very good at sitting next to someone with great note taking skills, making them my friend, and copying from them later. This is what got me through high school and is just what I plan to do this weekend! Mwha-ha-ha. Stay tuned...