"A laundry basket of cheese"

It's a scramble around here. My tasks:

1) Reading classic middle grade fiction, both for fun and to prep for MG Book #3, which has its own notebook, but not its own title or much else yet. Latest titles:  What Would Joey Do?  The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (a re-read which may spur me to re-read all of Aiken in one gothic gulp.)  

"It's a horrible place! But don't let anyone hear you say so! The school is full of tale bearers. Everyone is always hungry---and Mrs. Brisket rewards anyone who carries her a tale against another person. She gives them a bit of cheese. She has a big laundry basket in her room full of bits of cheese, ready cut up."

2) Preparing to host Poetry Friday this week. This was the kick in the pants I needed to write a new poem and practice the "just get something on paper" I've been preaching to those who've asked me about writing lately. The biggest writing sin? Ignoring the impulse to write. Second biggest? Judging what you've got before you've got it.  Train yourself not to cringe. ;)

3) Completing an author bio/publicity questionnaire for Scholastic, which involved tracking down contact info and forcing myself into marketing mode. Actively ignoring the fact that ARCs of Operation Yes have been sighted and in some cases, read.  (Why, oh why, do I always suddenly realize with a stab of terror how public my work is?) Which relates to the next item....

4)  Daydreaming about being invited to the National Book Festival.  PLEA FOR HELP!!!  Does anyone know how authors are invited?  I know I'm small potatoes, but Michelle Obama has a stated mission of support for military families, which would dovetail perfectly with the story of Operation Yes.  But I have no idea how the Library of Congress draws up its lists of authors. Any help would be appreciated. 

4) Brainstorming ideas to pre-write posts for the Operation Yes blog I'll be launching in September---I want it to be a place for teachers and kids to find out more about military families, improvisational theater, cool kid projects, and the story behind the book. Also, prizes!

5) Keeping my senior on track to graduate. Today, his car wouldn't start and he didn't have lunch money. But I think the ten lines of iambic pentameter he wrote for AP Lit last night were in his fist as I dropped him off. (He said "fare thee well" as he left, so something is soaking in.) Maybe I should put out a laundry basket of cheese, both for him and me.

6) Oh, and I almost forgot: for the Bridgett Zinn benefit auction, I bid on and won a custom teacher's guide for Operation Yes, prepared by Natalie Lorenzi.  She and I have been emailing back and forth to start that project rolling. Whee!