Summer updates: ALA, Mustaches and Book news

Last weekend, I attended my first ALA (American Library Association) meeting. A person can truly become overwhelmed by the amount of books and book people at ALA. Perhaps that is why this is the ONLY picture I took the whole time. 

This picture is special because it was the treat I shared with my amazing editor, Bethany Strout. This was the first time I met her in person.  You really get to like a person who orders Martinis and fries with ketchup AND mayo.

Next up, our family celebrated July 4th. I said to hubby, "Would you please help me make a  fruit salad?" and this is what he created. I need to ask him for more help in the kitchen! I think he's been holding out on me. 

Perhaps my favorite event of the summer so far was celebrating my daughter's
tenth birthday. Ten years? What? Where has the time gone? 

The birthday party had a mustache theme. And books! Lots of books, of course. WONDER by R.J. Palacio, two BIG NATE books, GONE FISHING by Tamera Will Wissinger and a giant collection of classic comics, just to name a few. 

Oh, and when I got all settled back home, my editor tweeted this picture of our
book at ALA. She looks pretty with those new accessories, doesn't she? The book comes out on August 20th, which is almost two years to the day since my agent sold the book to Little Brown Books for Young Readers. I think I'll look back on these two years  fondly. It's wonderful to anticipate a dream coming true. It's like this: You get up. You do laundry. You kiss your kids. You feed the dog. You walk by your local book store and see a picture featuring your upcoming book signing in the window. You wonder if life will ever get better than this. 

So that's what I've been up to. I think I'll take a nap now.