This and that and a riddle

Hi everyone,

Yesterday I received the contract on one of the books I’m working on so it will be nice to sign it and slip it into the mailbox today. This one was turned down some time ago but the situation changed so my editor was able to accept it after all.

I wrote two 650-word segments for next month’s WRITERS AT WORK episodes with Sandy Asher. The name of the series is “Loving Libraries.” These are the posting dates. November 1 (Sandy), 8 (David), 15 (Sandy), 22 (David). We’re in discussion now about how to make the most of that fifth Tuesday in November.

Kathy Temean announced on her site the winner of a free copy of NOW YOU SEE THEM, NOW YOU DON’T is Kristi Veitenheimer. Congratulations, Kristi. I’ll sign your book and mail it today.

Here’s a riddle for you. Our dehumidifier in the basement is working again. The garage door keypad is working again. The booster router is installed in the living room to make it easier to work on a laptop in the breakfast room. The answer? No, not James Bond. But close.

Summing up

ANNOUNCEMENT: In case you missed it yesterday, I apologized for failing to change the Word of the Month word for August. The new word is MEN. See what you can do with that. Again, I’m sorry for going to sleep at the wheel this month. Blame it on overload, not my age!

Hi everyone,

Good week at Goose Lake. I finished a manuscript, which is always a good feeling. Before I went to sleep Sunday night I planned how much I could expect to get done each day this week. I decided that by Wednesday I should be able to sigh and send, and it worked as I’d hoped. This is the manuscript I mentioned recently that began as a collection of poems about one thing and eventually evolved into something quite different. In the end I removed most of the original poems, revised others, and wrote several new ones. Now it’s wait to see.

On Monday the contract arrived from Scholastic for the educational book that Mary Jo Fresch and I proposed. We’re both eager to get back on task. I think we can finish this one sometime during the winter.

Yesterday I received a contract offer from Holiday House for a nonfiction picture book story. I love working with Grace Maccarone so I look forward to that too!

By the way, I thought I had ten signed up for my poetry workshop starting the 21st but one decided not to make it. Anyone want to jump in at the last minute? I love the number ten.