redbud in bloom

Today I’m enjoying a beautiful spring day: sunny, cool, low humidity. These are the types of days when I’m especially thankful to be a Texan! Redbuds and fringe tree are in their glory right now. I hate to gloat because so many of my friends are in misery with Old Man Winter breathing down their necks. In celebration of this spring and especially the EASTER season,

Gus, the Wonder Cat, peaking out to see if it’s time to draw a name from the box yet.

I’ll be getting a book in the mail to you tomorrow, if you want one. That is, if Gus the Wonder Cat  wants YOU to win one. (He’s open to bribery, if you happen to have any fish flavored treats on you…..)Head over to my author FaceBook page to get in on the fun.

Baby E’s upcoming baptism has me wanting to diss work and head out to Abilene ASAP, however I’m speaking to the Houston SCBWI next Monday (come and join us for the FREE event!). I’ll speaking to the group about my summer spent at The Publishing Institute at University of Denver. It’s a difficult task to write or illustrate a children’s book and almost as hard guessing what those “books” might look like in the next couple of years. I’ve been trying to get a handle on the direction of publishing, looking at which format my readers might be meeting me with in an every-changing techno-world. That’s one of the reasons I went to grad school last summer. I’ll have out my crystal ball for the Houston writers and illustrators at their regular meeting, hoping my literary prognostications are more accurate than our weather forecasters lately. I realize in looking over my notes and photos just how much I’ve missed my friends and instructors in Denver – especially roomies Emily and Jen.

A room mate sandwich with me in the middle. Miss you, Jen and Em-dash!

The other reason I went to Denver turned out to be a lie…Colorado in summer promised a respite from hot, humid Houston last summer, but promptly reneged on the deal. After a FREEZING 1st week of spring, I’m betting Colorado’s wishing she were a Texan right now, too!