“That freaking groundhog better see his shadow. If I have to spend the rest of the school year without a snow day, I’m going to lose my mind.” –Fairy Goddaughter the Elder

Posts are going to be sparse. I’m working like crazy. And not writing…which is *making* me crazy.

Here is a deep thought for your day. xox

Today is the SOPA/PIPA internet blackout.

Censorship is uncool.

Sign the petition here.

I’m working hard on getting the outline for Saturday’s book into my publisher. In the meantime, this song has been going through my head since my birthday — my friend Lauren posted on my FB wall and told me it reminded her of me.

You know, it reminds me of me, too.

I have always admired artists with a sort of fangirl squee appreciation. I’ve had boyfriends and best friends who were artists. I have a wish list of artists I’d love to have design my book covers…and some have! I can stare at paintings for HOURS. Everyone who brings me to art museums eventually regrets it. (I’m SO GLAD I went to the Tate Britain BY MYSELF.) I adore these people because they possess a coveted skill that I do not.

At least, I never thought I did.

Sure, I’m passable at Pictionary, and I’ve done a few really awesome fluke things (like the header on this website). But I’ve always wanted to be one of those kids who sat down and sketched out a picture in ten minutes.

I was kicking back old school (literally) at the afterschool program this week, and some of the girls had a bit of an art club and were drawing manga. Now, I’ve never drawn manga in my life. Sure, I traced Betty & Veronica back in the day, but I didn’t have Sailor Moon and friends to get all excited about. Sure, I said to myself (and them) I miss art. This would be fun!

So I drew these:

and

Yes, I drew them from a picture in a book, but I did not trace them. I showed them to my new middle school girlfriends just like I would have back then, as if I had discovered a newly-acquired magic power. Because WOW, these are awesome! (I mean, for me.)

The little girl inside me is all happy, as if a fairy granted a wish I made twenty years ago.

But lo, I cannot do art right now BECAUSE I NEED TO FINISH THIS NOVEL. You are all allowed to commence with the butt-kicking. xox

I had to post this, due to excessive cuteness.

Love you, Erin! xox

What would all you thirty-somethings LOVE to do for your birthday? Write a letter to your 16 year old self, of course! What warnings would you give? What kudos would you reveal?

And–most importantly–how on earth would you write it so that you would believe it was really you?

I accepted this challenge and the invitation to appear this AWESOME BIRTHDAY MORNING on Dear Teen Me, a fabulous website where authors of YA fiction get to write letters to themselves as teens and post them for all the world to see.

If you don’t know about this site, you should. If you don’t know about me 20 years ago and you’re dying to find out, click here. Be sure to leave a comment, IT’S LIKE SIGNING MY YEARBOOK!

And there are pictures. Did I mention the pictures? Oh, yes. Why did we ever wear glasses that big?

Much love and many hugs to you all — I’ll be back later after writing to update you on further adventures from PRINCESS ALETHEA’S MAGICAL 2012 BIRTHDAY!

xoxoxoxox

As immortalized in poetry by my dear friend Kat Otis, for tomorrow’s birthday celebrations.

As you guys know, my Agent Extraordinaire is the fabulous and fantastica Deborah Warren at East West Literary Agency. It’s an honor to be in her stable…and now you’ll be able to see why. The new site has been a long time coming but the wait is over…it’s finally up!

Click on over to the fabulous and fun new site–check out the other fabulous authors and illustrators that Deborah represents, and dig me up!

Now that I’m hard at work on the sequel to ENCHANTED, there are quite a few things that have moved to the back burner…like fixing up pictures and posting blog entries (the stuff of which keeps popping up in tabs everytime I refresh my browser and driving Joe nuts).

So I promised the Fairy Godboyfriend tonight that I’d FINALLY get together my pics from the Adam Ezra Group Full Moon Show at Martin’s in Roanoke on December 10th. There aren’t too many, but they are officially up in the Picasa album here. We had a wonderful time. As always!

The piece de resistance was when Adam and the boys dedicated a song to a fairly tipsy young girl named Casey, who was celebrating her birthday. Shame on us for not pressing record AT THAT MOMENT, but Joe was pretty quick on the uptake and captured the rest of it for posterity.

It STILL cracks me up. So fabulously perfect.

Enjoy! I hope you all have a FABULOUS weekend. xox