Snow! A storm blew through on Sep 23/24 and left us with a coating of the white stuff. Pretty to look at. Cold to feel. Not fun to shovel.

The biography talk is complete...there's even a PowerPoint version of it, although I'm not found of PP. Now I will focus on updating my picture-books-with-older-readers talk. If anybody had told me when I left teaching and teacher-training to write full-time that I'd be spending a great deal of my effort on developing and delivering talks (as in public speaking), I'd have found another avenue to invest myself.

Sudden Aspen Die-off will likely impact the color this fall in the San Juans. SAM (Sudden Aspen Mortality) or, my own acronym, SAD (Sudden Aspen Death) is likely caused from years of drought. Beyond that, researchers seem to be at a loss. It is striking to drive down the highway and see whole stands of aspens withered and brown, most with no leaves at all. Various measures are being tried to remedy the situation, but at this point everything seems to be experimental. Whatever is tried, I just hope and pray that it isn't another case of man sticking his spoon into Mother Nature's pot and creating something ghastly. In spite of this news, don't think that fall in the San Juans will be lackluster; there are plenty of healthy specimens to give one the sense of fall and they are beginning to turn golden with shorter hours of daylight and cooler (much cooler) nights.

There was frost this morning. That's the second time this month, so soon there will be snow. The earliest I recall that it snowed here was on September 24th--a light dusting that was picture perfect. Soon it will be time to fold up my tent and head south--just in time to head north to northern California, then east to New York (two weeks in a row) and west to San Diego.

The novel is complete, although I'll let it rest a few days and give it another pass before sending it off to my agent for submission to my editor. Have to log off at the present time because lightning is zooming all around.

Sorry about that interruption. It's just that I've learned--the hard way--to disconnect my computer when lightning is flying around. Even with surge protectors, I fried--quite literally--a modem by simply turning off my computer during a lightning storm rather than disconnecting everything. Anyway, as I was saying, the novel is finished...20,000+ words. It's a mystery, and with any luck it will keep my agent's and my editor's interest through to the end.

Local friend Laurie stopped by this morning--midwork, midlaundry--to say hi. She'll be leaving for Utah in a couple of days to teach a class in dance. A Tucson friend, Sloan, e-mailed to tell me about "losing" her dog, Princess Maggie. Her story has the makings of a perfect young mystery--so I'm thinking about it.

Now I need to turn my attention to two upcoming presentations--one on biography at the Arizona Reading Association at the end of October, followed by one on picture books with older students in New York in early November. That will do it for presentations this fall. The spring is another story; I'll be living at the airport.

There's a little bit of Sibert buzz about We Are One, which would be a hoot and a half. But as with publishing contracts, I never hold my breath or get excited until the ink is dry on the contract or official announcements are made. With some 5,000 books published annually--I don't know how many of those are nonfiction--I figure it's a long shot at best. Even so, it's nice to hear my title and the word "Sibert" in the same sentence, at least on some fronts.

One rainy morning. Dirt roads. One white dog. They don't mix well.

Have been busy with the revision of the mystery, and it's almost done. Then we'll see what I have.