A few days ago, one of my friends had her daughter — two months early, but doing well for a preemie. My next-door neighbor died in an accident the same day.

A long week.

I may have mentioned before that I worked in churches long enough to qualify as a Professional Church Lady. One of the quirks of Church Ladies is that, when faced with great celebration or great tragedy, our response is universally the same: Casseroles.

To the Church Lady, there is something almost holy about the combination of pasta, meat, cheese, and vegetables, a deep ritual in the preparation of meatloaves and lasagnas. The mixing of salt and pepper, chopped onions and garlic brings a calm, taking over the hands with sacred routine, like speaking the Lord’s Prayer, or the Twenty-Third Psalm.

A casserole takes work, but it’s a very forgiving dish. If you mix too hard, angry at the chance that took away a friend, or cry with joy at the thought of a new life, a new baby — the casserole will come out pretty much the same. And if you really goof up, you can always grate cheese on the top, even add some crumbled Ritz crackers if you want to get fancy. Nobody will notice the tumbled layers underneath.

So many times in life, I don’t know what to say to mark the great events that occur, to comfort, or cheer. But thanks to all those years in church, I know exactly what to do: brown the meat, cook the pasta, stir the sauce, mix it together, grate the cheese, and pray for one hour at 350 degrees.

I don’t even want to talk about all the things I did. I’ll just post pictures instead.

First on the agenda: Hanging out in the local cemetery with author Jenny Moss.

Wait - is that Anne Nesbet's debut? I already bought it last week! Hardcovers rule.

Hannah Moskowitz's AMAZING book Zombie Tag was front-and-center. Hmm... I already own this one, too.

Hooray! An ARC I'm dying for! Savenaz Tash's The Mapmaker and the Ghost! But... it's not being handed out yet? *sobs*

Eureka! I finally hit ARC gold with Greg Leitich Smith's upcoming The Chronal Engine!

Time to hang out with the literati: Jenny Moss, P. J. Hoover, and Jessica Anderson Lee. (Maybe their talent will rub off if I squeeze in?)

Could I smile any wider? I just got two books signed by Michael Buckley!

And then... an ARC of Tom Angleberger's upcoming Fake Mustache. Which came with - you guessed it - a fake mustache.

And then the cows came home. With so many ARCs they could hardly lift the bags.

My kids think I am a Magical Book Fairy now, as I snagged the Very Best books from the actual HANDS of their most favorite authors. I’ll have to admit, it was a very Cinderella-ish weekend for me, between the books and the author-idols, and meeting all the sweet Penguin fairy-godmother-type marketing and sales folks.

Now, off to read!

I wish for you, an ideal listener. Not reader, although ideal readers are out there, and when you find one, it makes you want to write faster and better, thinking of your words flying across the page in front of their wide, hungry eyes.

I have an ideal listener, and I think it’s possibly the best part of my writing life.

My ideal listener sits on the bed behind me as I read the chapters of my WIP aloud, wating patiently as I correct typos on the fly, listening intently to every word. He laughs and hoots and kicks at the covers when I read the funny bits. When the tension mounts, he stands up, crosses the room, and stands right behind my chair, his quick breath on my shoulder, tense fingers gripping the back of my chair.

He sneaks out of bed sometimes at night long after I’m done reading, tiptoes downstairs, opens my documents file, and steals an illicit next chapter because he can’t wait.

He tells me, at bedtime, that the book I’m writing is the best he’s ever heard, better than anything.

“Rick Riordan good?” I ask.

Yes.

“Better than… The Ranger’s Apprentice?” I ask.

Yes.

“You’re crazy. How about… Harry Potter?” We laugh. It is *almost* sacrilege.

Different, he says. Just as good.

Then: Can I hear just one more chapter tonight? Please?

I know it’s not all true, Friends, but it doesn’t matter. You need at least one cheerleader on the sidelines at the early stages of the game. And if your cheerleader will sit quietly as you read aloud (the MOST important part of revision, in my estimation), it makes even that part of the process deeply rewarding.

Now I have to go write about wishes, and ideas, and seeds. Just a few more pages…

Write well, Friends!

Not just because I’m a calendar girl, although of course that would be a good reason. (I’m pretty sure I’m August, but I haven’t gotten mine in the mail yet. I’m thinking August will be a month to remember.) It’s a great calendar, chock full of inspirational stuff and handy references… check it out!

I should add, if you’re family, you’re required to get one because it has my kids’ pictures in it. Seriously.

If you’re a writer, go ahead and submit a short essay for next year’s calendar. Who knows, you might be Ms. /Mr. August 2013. (But you’ll never be as amazingly cute as those kids from August 2012, don’t even try.)

Happy New Year, Friends. I’ll see you next week with word on my broken resolutions!

Those of you who have known me for a while know that I signed with the supertalented, ninja-agent-of-awesomeness Suzie Townsend in late 2009. At the time, she was an agent at Fineprint Literary Management. I “found” her – or rather, she found me – when I entered my query and first pages in a contest for the Backspace Conference in New York.

When she called, I had no idea who she was. She’d read my pages (since she shared an office with the contest judges), she was just starting out as an agent, and would I pretty please send her the full manuscript?

I think you can guess the rest of the story. But it all started with that query, and a contest.

Now, thanks to my Agent Extraordinaire, you have the chance to get her attention JUST LIKE I DID. Or, almost. She’s having a query contest to celebrate her move to Nancy Coffey Literary. (And, yes, I “moved” with her. Of course!) So, Writer Friends, polish up your queries, and hop on over to Suzie’s blog. But be quick! You only have one hour on Tuesday morning to get your query in.

Be brave! Enter!

Also, check out Jill Corcoran’s blog post on How To Get An Agent. Lots of great info there.

Let me explain. This weekend was the Texas Book Festival, the most wonderful, free, fabulous event ever in Austin. I did it right this year.

I sat in on panels with authors I know and love like Elaine Scott, Varian Johnson, Jeanette Larson, Chris Barton, and Jennifer Ziegler — and authors I don’t know as well, but still love, like Rosemary Clement-Moore, Jill Alexander, and Joe Schreiber. I had lunch with the amazing Mary Johnson and other writer friends at Z’Tejas on Saturday, then took the Texas State Cemetery tour after dark.

At the cemetery, I shook Louis Sachar’s hand (then couldn’t wash it until I got home and rubbed the talent germs on both my sons, not kidding, I KNOW), then hung out with Cynthia Leitich-Smith, Jessica Lee Anserson, Shelli Cornelison, Jen Bigheart, Emily Kristin Anderson, oh and let’s not forget freaking Libba Bray and Sarah Dessen and… I can’t remember them all.

On Sunday, I listened to Rebecca Stead and Kate DiCamillo talk about their writing processes and what it’s like to win a Newbery (frightening and wonderful and dangerous if you believe it means you are the bomb because of it, according to these two). They were hilarious. I skulked around their signing tent with my husband and son until we were able to snap these pics.

Kate DiCamillo talks about books to my kid. Seriously. *flails*

I love how D. can't stop looking at Kate. I'm wondering whether Newbery Germs are contagious. Hoping so.

Afterward, I went to MORE panels, bought books, visited with magazine editors – ones I’d worked with before who I’d never met (which was so cool) and ones I may work with in the future (yay!) — librarians, booksellers and even some official Penguin people. Squee!

That night, after dinner, I was exhausted, but so happy.

Then I heard that Johnny Depp was playing an unscheduled gig (who knew he played guitar?) at the Nutty Brown Cafe, a hot hill country music venue at the end of my street. (I knew he really was in town, since a bunch of my friends had their pics of him from the night before up on Facebook.) We were driving past the Cafe, the music was going, and Dave said – “wanna go?” It wasn’t even that crowded.

I thought about it.

I mean, this guy?

But then I thought – no big. I’d already been in the presence of my rock stars all weekend- the authors who write so well, feel so passionately, and are so incredibly generous with their time and energy. Johnny Depp has nothing on Kate D. or Louis S.

And it was a school night, after all. And… I *did* have a new book I’d gotten at the Festival to read…

So we drove on.

And that, my friends is how I know I am the Biggest Book Nerd Ever.

Now, I’m off to write another thousand words on my Shiny New Manuscript. I might stare at a few Johnny Depp pictures later. You know. Just for inspiration.

Since I live in Austin, I have the happy coincidence of moving in the same circles as some of the most supportive kidlit writers anywhere ever. So when you go to a signing/launch here, you WILL run into at least a dozen other writers, and usually plenty of regular non-writerly reader types, too.

As I was sitting at one such launch party in Bookpeople yesterday, listening to my dear friend and amazing author Jessica Lee Anderson speak about her new book, CALLI (Milkweed Press), I had a thought about funerals.

They’re just like book launches.

Only funerals are slightly less important.

Let me explain. Jessica remarked on how amazing it was so have all those people there to support her, her family and friends, and all these wonderful authors, and I thought — it’s just like a funeral! The people who love her most in the world are all there — and they wouldn’t think of being anywhere else. They know how important this day is in her life — like, one of the biggies. You know the ones: births, deaths, graduations, divorces… and book launches. (Did I miss any?) The coolest thing is, at your book launch, unlike your own funeral, you get to SEE who showed.*

Maybe only other writers will get this. Maybe the rest of the world will think I’m being glib, or dismissive of the whole mourning process. I don’t mean to be — it’s just, I’ve had a few “big” funerals to deal with in my life, and I remember vividly every single person who came to them.

I have a feeling a book launch would make the same kind of memory.

Am I wrong, Writer Friends? Those of you who’ve had one already, feel free to chime in!

(I don’t know what other authors would say, but Friends? I want you to know this right now. If you have to pick one of the two to attend — my book launch or my funeral — please, I beg you, pick the launch party. At the least because I can’t promise you’ll get chocolate at my funeral. But at my launch? Heck yeah!)

Now go write! Or read!

* Or you get to read their facebook and blog posts about how sad they were not to be able to attend — not everyone can make it to every event, I get that. .

Today, Writer Friends, I’m beginning the road trip to New Mexico. Where, exactly? To Ghost Ranch, the place that inspired Georgia O’Keeffe to do this:

I’m hoping it inspires me to do a lot of this:

The conference/retreat this time (AROHO — A Room of Her Own) is named for a small book I read WAY back when – and I re-read every once in a while just to remember to be fierce about this whole writing thing. Check it out.

I’ll be back in eleven days or so. And yes, I do know how cool this all is. Thanks to my mom for the “grant,” my husband for watching the kids solo, my colleagues at work for covering my classes, and my Writer Friends for all the encouragement! Oh, and the Muse, too, for sending the idea that I’m taking with me. Gotta pack now!

Congratulations to Karen Grencik, of Red Fox Literary. You probably don’t know yet how lucky you are to work with Shelli Cornelison. But you will.

Oh, frabjous day!

In Other News: As if that weren’t enough, I got home to an email from my own darling agent, with positive notes on my Next Manuscript! The Dark House will be on its way to Editor L so very, very soon.

And, um, while I was on that cruise? I snuck in some writing time. I’m in love again, Writer Friends. In love with my own words.*sigh* and LOL

This one will be tragic and dark, fairy-tale-ish and magical realistic, beautiful and heart-breaking. I. Can’t. Wait.

But I will have to. I’m leaving for the AROHO conference in New Mexico in four days!! Laundry, laundry, laundry…

I had a wonderful dinner last night with a Writer Friend* who was unstinting with her ideas, encouragement, and advice. I think one of my favorite pieces of advice was this: Use your super powers.

At first, I wondered how she’d heard about my ability to hear my children plotting mischief from two miles away, but that wasn’t what she meant. We were talking about the individual skills each writer brings to the process –  touching on the fearsome topic of publicists and book “extras” like curriculum guides — and I mentioned that I had been a teacher. And that I had written curriculum for years.

Oh, yeah! THOSE superpowers.

It started me thinking. I spent a long time NOT being a writer. I was a GT and a music teacher, a salesperson for expensive glass art and jewelry, a Director of Family Ministry (which meant weekly public speaking, curriculum planning and SO much more), and a mom. (Well, I still am a mom, which entails a whole host of superpowers, but that’s not the kind I’m talking about here.)

I’m used to my life experience creeping into my work — if I hadn’t been a musician from the time I was four, would I have written a main character who loves to sing? If I hadn’t taught music to kids, would I have written a witch-like music teacher who loves to kill defenseless children? Oh wait. — but I hadn’t really thought about how those experiences would pertain to the publication/publicity process.

So I’m taking inventory this week, Friends, of what I have in my Bag of Tricks that I may not have thought about. Wondering how my acting credits might come in handy at school visits, for instance.

And even how I could use my hip-hop dancing skillz ** to move copies.

Break it down, Peeps. What do you have in your shady pasts that might help you onto the NYT list?

* The NYT best-selling type of Writer Friend, from whom advice about the pre-publication process is invaluable. And who happens to be one of the nicest people I’ve ever met.

** No, that’s not me. But it could be. It could be.