1. I've been working on my 2015 novel, A Handful of Stars. My editor and I are doing a fast pass through to get it ready for copyediting. Milo, my little assistant, is always ready to work!

2. Yesterday I went up to Camden, Maine to meet with Nancy Johnson and Scott Riley, with whom I'm presenting at the National Council of Teachers of English conference in November. Our program is about my books and keeping the ARTS in Language Arts. They are such amazing and inspiring teachers. It was great to meet them in person and spend the day with them.

3. I had another special treat yesterday, too. Author/illustrator Chris Van Dusen is Scott's neighbor. Chris and I have done lots of events together, but I'd never seen his studio! He gave us a tour and showed us what he's working on right now.

I got to see the sketches for the second "Tales from Deckawoo Drive" book by Kate DiCamillo (Wow!) and a book called Hattie and Hudson that Chris both wrote and is illustrating about a girl and a sea monster (publishing date 2016), which I think is already my favorite book of his! I absolutely loved it! Here's Chris with the original art for President Taft is Stuck in the Bath.



4.  For the 10th Anniversary of the Schneider Family Book Award, I was interviewed on The Late Bloomer's Book Blog. Rules won the Schneider back in 2007. I talk about the award, my purple dress from Goodwill, and a surprising and lovely moment at the Schneider luncheon with Katherine Schneider and her seeing-eye dog.

5.  This week, I am visiting a girls' day camp in Wilton, Maine that has read Half A Chance. The program meets at a local park on a lake with loons. How perfect!

6. Yesterday was also the official loon count day in Maine. It makes me smile to think of all those people out doing Loon Patrol!

"Since 1983, citizen scientists have gone out to their favorite lakes and ponds on the morning of the third Saturday in July to count loons. . . .With more than 900 volunteers statewide, their observations help us promote policies that protect loons and their lake habitat in Maine. Volunteers make their observations between 7:00 and 7:30 a.m. – this early morning time provides an excellent snapshot of Maine’s loon population."