There have been lots of great developments and goings-on lately.

I've taken over as the director/leader/coordinator (what is the title, anyway?) of the Young Willamette Writers. I'm very excited about this position. The Willamette Writers is the largest writers' organizaton in Oregon, and one of the largest in the United States. Its purpose is to provide support and encouragement for current and aspiring writers. Young writers are not overlooked!

The Young Willamette Writers meets at the same time as the adults (7pm on the first Tuesday of every month) to hear from professional writers about topics related to craft and the industry. Upcoming guests are Tom Hallman, Jr. of the Oregonian, Lisa Nowak (Running Wide Open) on outlining, Amber Keyser (Angel Punk) on transmedia, Anne Osterlund (Exile) with a topic yet to be decided. What a great year we're going to have!

I'm in the middle of teaching a workshop at the Lake Oswego Library for 4th-6th graders. We've had lots of fun with my And then... stories as well as Chris Van Allsburg's book The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. I'll be doing a one-time workshop at the Albina Library in December.

SCBWI is hosting the 4th annual authors and illustrators gala, "Flap Flap!" on November 3. At this event, 15 authors and illustrators (including yours truly) will have four minutes to tell about their books. Come hear backstories and good tidbits from the authors themselves. This is a great time to get some Christmas shopping done as well.

Finally, I was honored to have my book discussed on Dan Patterson's blog after he used it subbing in a 5th grade class. Thanks, Dan! Glad you had fun with it!

Alien Ants?

This spring I began taking my manuscript for "And Then..." into third, fourth and fifth grade classrooms for some storytelling and creative writing activities. It was such a blast! I visited Middleton, Hopkins, Archer Glen and Mabel Rush Elementary Schools. During my visits I told a few of my stories, (they're 200-400 word cliffhangers) and asked the kids to come up with their own endings, both verbally in front of the group and in small groups, and then individually in writing. Listening to their incredibly imaginative stories was the most fun I've had in a long time.


After one of my stories (about a falling star landing in your back yard), I passed by one group of kids and saw a boy doing the John Travolta disco dance. When I asked them what was happening, they said there were disco dancing alien ants in the back yard. I love the mental image that conjures up.

I'll be scheduling more author visits this fall. Let me know if you'd like me to visit your school!