A SOUTHERN WRITER LIVING IN THE WEST

Today I'm blogging at the southern authors blog, A Good Blog Is Hard To Find.

You can read my post, titled A Southern Writer Living in the West, by following the link below.

A Good Blog is Hard to Find

DESTINATION UNEXPECTED

A few years back, Donald R. Gallo asked me to contribute to a short story anthology, Destination Unexpected. The story had to be a journey. In a sense, every story is a journey. My story, August Lights contains two--a walk around the golf course and a boy facing his feelings about his adopted sister.

Yesterday, Don informed me that the anthology was chosen as a YALSA Popular Paperback for Young Adults in the category of Journeys. The writers who contributed stories can be found below.

TALES OF THE BOSSY, BOYCRAZY, NO FUN OLDER SISTER

Today I'm guest blogging at TeachingBooks.Net. You can find my post, Tales of the Bossy, Boy-Crazy, No Fun Older Sister there.

Thanks, Danika Morphew-Tarbuck from TeachingBooks.Net for the invitation.

SCHOOL VISIT UPDATES

I've been visiting schools for eleven years and I still enjoy them. That's why I'm sorry to say that as of today, I'm booked for the 2009/2010 school year. The only exceptions are October 26 and 27, 2009 for the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

If you are interested in booking me for the 2010/2011 school year, we are currently penciling in dates. You can contact me at kwhevents@suddenlink.net.

I'm still available for conferences and events during 2009/2010 and beyond.

CONGRATULATIONS!

What a morning! Whoever made it possible to watch the ALA awards live by computer, thank you. I'm happy for everyone. It's difficult to write a book and even more difficult to write a great book. Sometimes you feel like slices of you have fallen on the pages. How fabulous when excellent work is honored. That's why I'm glad there are more awards given. It gives more books a chance to be recognized.

Congratulations to everyone that heard their names called this morning. Kathi Appelt is a dear friend of mine. Those of you that follow this blog know she's the reason behind the writing retreat I attend every year. So right now, my buttons are popping, I'm so proud of her and having her book, The Underneath awarded a Newbery Honor.

If you missed my posts where Kathi talks about the process, you can read them again here:

Writing the Underneath: Part One

Writing the Underneath: Part Two



I also want to send a special shout out of congratulations to Laurie Halse Anderson on winning the Margaret Edwards Award. Aside from admiring her work, I will always appreciate Laurie for being so generous with some advice a few years back.

And to Hope Anita Smith for winning a Coretta Scott King Honor for Keeper of the Night Watch. I met Hope years ago because we share the same editor, Christy Ottaviano. I loved Hope's first book The Way a Door Closes. It's so exciting to see what she will do next.


To find the complete list of winners, go to the American Library Association's website

YOUNG ARTISTS ON THE RISE: EVANGELINE

My daughter introduced me to the music of Evangeline a few months ago. I think they have an incredible sound that pulls at my heart strings. According to their bio, Jeffery Armstreet and Jonathan Barrick met in the summer of 2005 and soon developed a close friendship around their love for songwriting, storytelling and the beauty of melancholy. I have a feeling we'll be hearing more about these talented guys.

We're Alright Down Here


To learn more about this group, visit their My Space page:

Evangeline

QUOTE OF THE MONTH