Hey, Julee and Cyndy! So glad to hear from you. I get so lonely when a class is over. It's great to catch up. Cyndy, I don't know if Amazon has my books yet, but you can order them directly from my publisher (and cheaper) by clicking on them at the beginning of my blog.

I'm so exhausted today that I don't know if I can even make sense. Jim and I helped our daughter move from a second story apartment to a two story townhouse this past weekend. I wish I had counted how many times I went up and down stairs.

As usual things are busy. I've started doing promo for my two new books; I've promised my agent that my YA novel will be in her hands before my new UCLA class starts at the end of June; and I've chosen an entirely different group of novels for students to read in this class, so naturally I have to read them before I plan lectures to fit them. I'm deep in THE BOOK THIEF right now. It's terrific. Just finished LOOKING FOR ALASKA. It's one of the best YAs I've read in a long time.

I'd really love to be planning a trip to SoCal right now. I had hoped to come out for the SCBWI conference in Aug., but it's a bit expensive. Don't know yet, but I'll keep you posted.

Congratulations on your win, Cyndy. Those are so important in keeping your spirits up. I think that the thing that kept me going was the fact that Jim promised me a house cleaner when i started making money. I'd do anything to keep from cleaning toilets! Seriously, though, I wanted to make it badly enough that I wouldn't let myself be discouraged.

I could write this all afternoon, but I'd better get some work done. Again, I love having you aboard!
Betsy