What a Week!

Wow, what a week! Lots to report, so probably no musings this time, just an update. Top of the news heap: Mark & I have been invited to the cast and crew reception and screening of Flipped. It's happening next week (!) at a theater on the Warner Brothers film lot. So next Sunday I'm hoping to have a fun report to post about that. In other "Hollywood" news: The screenwriters who were interested in Swear to Howdy have sent me their first-draft script--they did a great job! We had a conference call today, which went really well, and I'm feeling very optimistic about the potential here. Key to me is that these writers really love this book, and it shows in their script. AND you Sammy Keyes fans will (I hope) be happy to hear that I got a call about having Sammy as a series on a new network (that focuses on family programming). Ordinarily I'd be very skeptical about this (and worried that the process would morph Sammy into someone I didn't recognize or like), but the key here is that the CEO has read the books and is a woman who likes Sammy just the way she is, and I've been told that the network would want my input. So I'll keep you posted on that, too! In book news, Sammy Keyes and the Wedding Crasher is back off my desk and on my editor's. She had some good suggestions (like she always does) and then going through it again, I had a couple of extra ideas, too. And after our "Think Tank" entry and comments, I was sure to mention Sammy's shoe charm :-) Which brings me to the result of the "Think Tank" -- I've consolidated the best ideas and submitted them to Random House for consideration, really focusing on the idea of a shoelace charm. And since this is the 13th book and Sammy is 13 years old, I'm thinking a horseshoe charm just like Sammy's would be the perfect item. (Good luck to offset bad?) I'd wear one, and I know a lot of you would, too! Our own fashion trend :-) Also, I've seen the rough sketch for the book jacket, and as soon as it's done and I have permission, I'll post it here for you to get a first look at. Right now I'm working on the rewrite for The Running Dream (which is a stand alone book, and the reason I'm late with Wedding Crasher). It's going very well, and I've seen (and LOVE) the preliminary art work for the jacket. We also came up with a new "family band" song this week. It's rough still, but smokin' hot! Tssss! (Sorry I'm being a little hyper. Band practice always amps me up.) Anyway, here's the link to the "secret" site, if you haven't already been there. http://www.myspace.com/thing2pismo (If you're at a school and myspace is blocked, try: http://www.purevolume.com/thing2 --fidelity is not as good.) And last, but certainly not least, ETRTR news: My trip to Oklahoma for the ETRTR winner is shaping up, and aside from the usual school visit activities, they've asked me to put on a mini concert for them. I said I would IF some kids from the school played with me. So they're putting together a little rock band to help me shake the rafters off the gym. It should be a blast! (The principal and librarian there are SO cool...!) And I'm happy to announce that my contact at First Book had TWINS. Boys. I used to think I wanted twins, but then I had a child and realized one boy at a time was plenty overwhelming enough for me! But I'm excited for her and her husband, and the kids, too -- they've obviously come into a great family. And that, my friends, is the news for now. Thanks for checking in--I'll see you here next Sunday!