Is it just me, or do the holidays just sneak up on everyone.  Every year it feels like I say the same thing. . .I am not ready for the holidays.  And yet they come the same time every year, late December, a few weeks after Thanksgiving (which also seems to always sneak up when I least expect it).  It's not that I'm not glad the holidays are here, it's just that I'm always so busy with everyday life that the special moments seem to pop up without me having time to play for them.

Is it just me, or do the holidays just sneak up on everyone.  Every year it feels like I say the same thing. . .I am not ready for the holidays.  And yet they come the same time every year, late December, a few weeks after Thanksgiving (which also seems to always sneak up when I least expect it).  It's not that I'm not glad the holidays are here, it's just that I'm always so busy with everyday life that the special moments seem to pop up without me having time to play for them.

I really have to get better at blogging.  It seems there's always something else I have to do first--which is nuts because writing is what I do.  But I've been so busy with a brand new series (you Katie Kazoo fans are gonna love this!) that it's all I can work on.  Oh, and Amanda left for college, which meant the whole month of August was spent buying dorm gear. Did I mention she's a creative writing major?  How cool is it to have two writers in the family.  Ian started school  Monday.  Since when is there homework (and lots of it!) the first day of school.  I mean it's high school and all but sheesh.  Already we're missing those lazy, crazy days of summer.

Okay, I admit it.  I haven't blogged in, like, forever.  But I have an excuse.  I've been really busy getting books onto the shelves.  This summer I had three launch within three months.  There was Katie Kazoo Switcheroo: Tip Top Tappin Mom, How I Survived Middle School: Into the Woods, and Appleville Elementary: First Day.

Spring can be great, don't get me wrong.  I love the flowers, and the pretty clothes.  I like the way people start coming outside again, as though, along with the bears, we've been hibernating all this time.  But what I don't like are the stressful things spring brings, like my kids final projects and final exams.  What I'm living for are those lazy, crazy, hazy days of summer. 

Now I know, when you're a grown up, life doesn't change that much in the summer.  You still have to work (in my case that's writing), walk and feed the dog, and make sure everyone is where they need to be when they need to be.  But somehow, when you take the schoolwork out of the occasion, the whole family is calmer, and the writing comes easier.

This summer brings a lot of new events for me.  First off, there's the launch of Appleville Elementary, a brand new series for first graders from Scholastic, written by yours truly.  I can't wait to see that first book (entitled First Day) in stores.  And then there's the new How I Survived Middle School book, Into the Woods, which also comes out on June 1.  And then in August, there Katie Kazoo Switcheroo, Going Batty, which will is a totally crazy book.

As for reading, I'm hoping lots of you will join the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge.  The How I Survived Middle School Series is part of the challenge, and I'm hoping it brings new readers to Jenny's World.  You can get all the details at scholastic.com

Good luck with exams, papers, and packing camp trunks, and anything else spring brings.

xo

N

Spring is definitely the time to be starting something new. In my case, it's a new book. Of course, in my case it's always a new book. With three series running simultaneously (and a fourth in the offing --shhh... don't tell anyone), I'm always just days away from starting something new. In this case, it's a Katie Kazoo that will be out next Spring (I always work at least a year in advance).

That first day is always really scary. Blank screen; blank mind. The fear that this may just be the moment it isn't going to flow. And then, suddenly, a character says something, and you just type it. And then another character responds. The first character argues and. . .tada! You have just written a conversation. It literally just springs forth.

Get it? Spring. Springs? It's a theme here.

Anyway, I hope this spring is wonderful for all of you budding writers, artists, and otherwise normal people out there.

Wishing you much love and happiness.
N

Be on the lookout this month for a brand new Katie Kazoo book! It's called Tip Top Tappin' Mom, so I have a feeling you can figure out just who Katie switcheroos into this time. I have to tell you, it's amazing to me that I never get tired of writing about the kids in Cherrydale. But maybe that's because to me, the characters are very real, and I look forward to being able to tell their stories several times a year.

Also new this year will be several How I Survived Middle School experiences. Look for Jenny, her friends, and those evil Pops to hit science camp, the web, and Christmas parties. The Pops have come up with some pretty sneaky ways to try and sabotage Jenny's middle school adventures, but somehow she manages to outsmart them every time. How does she do it? I'm not telling.

And if any of you have younger sibs who are just starting to read chapter books, come the summer, a whole new universe of kids will hit bookstores--Miss Popper's first grade class, the stars of the new Appleville Elementary. The first book which is called First Day, hits stores in August.

Happy reading everyone. :)

Okay, I am supposed to be working on the next book in the How I Survived Middle School series. And I did some of that today--which is a huge deal when you consider that my kids and my husband are all on break. But right now I'm taking a break to blog, which is a lot more fun. I can go all stream of consciousness and not have to worry about an editor freaking on me (or calling it filler, which is never a compliment!)

It's been especially hard for me to write this week because it's Amanda's last February break. She's a senior, and next year she's off to college, and they don't have a break for President's week. So I thought I would want to spend some of this break with her. However, other than a quick jaunt to the mall, she's been nowhere to be seen. Friends, fashion, auditions etc. have all been her focus. She's just a flurry of excitement all the time. Which is as it should be.

Ah, but you still have Ian, you might say. And I do. Sort of. But I have discovered boys are different than girls. (No, not in that way, I mean in the personality sense). When Ian is home, he's usually locked in the man cave (that would be his room) making plans to go out with friends and theoretically doing homework. So what little time he spends home, he spends alone. Again, as it should be.

My kids are growing up and moving on. I guess you could say I'm lucky though, that Katie, Jenny, and my other characters will stay with me for as long as I want them to.

Which is why I should probably get back to them now. Gotta keep the kids (and the editors!) happy.

xo

N

America was hopeful yesterday. And we should be. We have a new president who is bright, insightful, and understanding of the task ahead. It's nice to know we've elected someone who is really, really smart, and not just someone you'd like to have a beer with--although I'd have a glass of wine with Barak and Michelle any time they'd like. But we have to be careful to put too much faith in one man. The truth is, we're in a big mess right now, and we have to have faith in ourselves, and a willingness to suck it up and take on tasks we don't like, but have to do. And if that means giving up on a trip to the baseball stadium to help out at a shelter or foregoing a pair of shoes so you can give the money to folks in need, so be it. (Let's face it, baseball tickets are insanely expensive, and the players make far too much anyway!) ANd you might be surprised at just how much fun helping out at a Community Service event can really be. I've done signings at many such events for kids, and I can tell you, there's nothing better than seeing a kid's face light up when you hand them their very own book. For some of these kids, it may be the first book they've ever owned. (Thank goodness for public libraries!). And walking in a walkathon not only raises money for a good cause, it gets you out and moving, which is good for you too. So goodmorning America, it's a brand new day--let's make it a brighter one.