From my inbox...

The following is a true story.

A loving and caring aunt gave her niece a copy of I SO DON'T DO SPOOKY for Christmas.

The niece sent the email below to the aunt (who forwarded it to me):

Aunt M,

Thank you SO much for I So Don't Do Spooky. I am enjoying it SO much.
I try not to read it too fast so that I don't get to the end too quickly.
Thanks again!

The happy niece. And look how neat and tidy her room is!


"I try not to read it too fast so that I don't get to the end too quickly."
This is the kind of sentence that stops an author's heart.

Thank you for the forward, Aunt M.

I will be basically incommunicado this weekend. Yes, dear children, this counts for you too. I'm going to a writers' retreat through my local SCBWI. We're spending the weekend at the San Luis Rey Mission in Oceanside, CA. I will be writing up a storm. And eating meals prepared by monks. Yes, you read that right. I hope we're not talking unleavened bread and water. I'll post about the experience on Monday.