Want to see something totally exciting and absolutely gorgeous?

Here it is: http://www.ccspca.org/index.php/download_file/view/185/

I am so happy to be a part of the Chester County SPCA's 24th Annual Forget-Me-Not Gala fundraiser.

I've lived with cats and dogs my whole life, and can't imagine coming home to a house where no heart beats but mine. Shelter cats and dogs are waiting for love, for a home. 

One by one. We can make a difference.  

Yesterday was the Millbrook, NY Book Festival and what a great day.

I was scheduled to be on a panel discussing YA books at 3:30 but we headed out early and made it to the Author's tent for book signings by about 9:30.

Once there, we met up with Scott from Merritt Books who gave me the most wonderful surprise, ever: he'd obtained copies of Ordinary Beauty a month before the official release date, for me to sign! Talk about a thrill.


I had a great time meeting some very talented authors including my tablemate Jennifer Donnelly (just finished Revolution and loved it!), Tim Tocher, Joseph Bruchac and Sarah Smith, and later in the day we sat on the YA panel, where my enthusiasm got the better of me and I ended up revealing the climax to How It Ends, instead of teasing othe audience with clues but no pay-off. Sigh. Someday I will learn how to rein myself in. (Probably not, though.)



One of the coolest things about being there was the dogs. There were people with dogs everywhere, and I got to meet a gorgeous pack of beagles, a very large,old dog, and at least eight Jack Russells. Made my day, as did this lovely interview with John Davis of the Poughkeepsie Journal:

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20110514/NEWS01/105140340/Authors-share-words-wisdom-Millbrook-Book-Festival?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CPoughkeepsieJournal.com%7Cs 

So thank you, Millbrook, for hosting me. A deep curtsy goes out to Alexas and Tim and Scott for a wonderful event!

May is always a happy time for me -- my favorite season, my birthday month -- and this year, since my new book Ordinary Beauty comes out on June 14h, May, June and July are going to be busy months for me.

This Saturday, May 14th, we'll be up at the Millbrook Book Festival  in Millbrook, NY. I'll be there signing books and saying hi, and then at 3:30 I'm sitting on a young adult panel ready to answer your questions. And then afterward, more book signing! There are some stellar authors scheduled to be there, so come on out and enjoy.

See you soon!

Today has been a very sad day, and the only way to explain why is to tell you a story.

Before I left New Jersey, I lived in a house backed by woods near the NJ Turnpike and one afternoon while I was out in the garden, I noticed a little white and brown tabby face with big, scared eyes staring out at me from beneath a nearby rhododendron. It was a young, really thin cat, too frightened to come to me, so moving slowly, I stood up, went inside and got a dish of cat food. Went back out, put it down and walked a distance away.

The cat crept out from under the bush, and it was holding one back leg high, and kind of bunny-hopping to the plate, ravenous. I could see an open wound on his outer thigh, and how skinny he was, so I put food out again and again, and each time he would creep out to eat it. After a couple of days I could sit closer while he ate, talking in my nice voice but not trying to touch him, and he would stay a while after he was finished.

He had a funny face, this little cat, sort of long and rectangular, and a deep, penetrating gaze like he was listening to what I said, and could actually understand it. (The first time my sister met him, and talked to him, he listened so intently and stared so deeply into her eyes that she laughed, amazed, and said, "Who ARE you?" because he wasn't like any other cat we'd ever met.)

I gained his trust, and he let me pet him. I picked him up, put him in a carrier and took him to the vet. Had him treated, tested, neutered, given his shots and named him Bunny.



There was never any doubt that he would stay.



Bunny had a great sense of humor, and a kind heart. When Dexter, (an abandoned cat who showed up at my door in PA), joined the family, Bunny was the first to make friends with him and the two became lifelong best buddies, always hanging out, playing and sleeping together.
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Although Bunny was a wiseacre, a lover and a sweetheart, he was never a completely healthy cat, and saw a multitude of vets. He still limped on occasion and suffered from stomatitus, which caused him a painful reaction to his own teeth. He would stop eating from the pain, go on antibiotics and I would syringe feed him until he felt good enough to eat on his own again. And then he would be bright and happy and back to his old, fun-loving ways.



He had several bouts in the last year, went to the vet and came through them all right but now I know that they were beginning to taking a toll on him.
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Recently, he went off his feed again, and so we began the medicine and syringe feeding, mixing up rich, tempting concoctions and feeding him 8, 10, 12 times a day. It worked -- he started eating again on his own, and then he didn't, and then he did again. Hope rose and fell these past weeks, over and over, because this was Bunny and he always made it through, he always tried hard and matched our efforts, he was game as anything and we could make him healthy again if we tried hard enough. We would. We could.

We couldn't.

Today, Bunny went to the vet for the last time, weak and fragile and in the end stage of kidney failure. He fought a valiant fight, over and over again, this little cat who came from somewhere, and gazed so deeply and trustingly into my eyes.
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He was a stray, semi-feral, lost and scared, and then he was found, and much beloved.
He was not just any cat, he was Bunny Wiess, and he was mine.
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Go chase butterflies, Bunny. It's spring, and there's no limping over the bridge.

Wow, what a great weekend!

We headed out to Hudson, NY on Friday, taking the backroad, scenic route and what a gorgeous drive. The houses up there are so beautiful, and so is the scenery. We had a lovely, fun and long-overdue dinner with cousins at a stunning restaurant on a lake (green gazpacho with grapes and lavendar panne cotta. YUM) and the night flew by. Thank you so much, guys, for making us so welcome. (P.S. My cousin Ilona Garcen, on the right, is a noted actress, just in case you were wondering why you recognized her.




Saturday morning dawned bright and beautiful, and we were off early to set up our table and have a hearty breakfast at the Elks Lodge, which was really nice.



I was lucky enough to meet up with some wonderful authors (more photos coming) and here's Jo Knowles, me and Terry Trueman.



Then I met up with some Facebook friends, which was really cool.



And some new ones:





The book festival staff and volunteers were wonderful. The fest was totally organized and we lacked nothing. Sincere thanks go out to everyone. I wish I had all the pictures but when I get the rest, I'll surely post them. Thank you!

Tomorrow May begins and oh, I love that month. It's my absolute favorite. Lush greenery everywhere, flowers budding and blooming, the warmth on the breeze...and it kicks off festival season!.

Next Saturday, on May 7th, I'll be at the Hudson Children's Book Festival signing books, so come out and say hi. It promises to be a grand event with tons of authors and books and workshops, and I can't wait!

Also, Part 2 of the author interview video interview series is up over on youtube.com and this segment focuses on Such a Pretty Girl.

This is going to be one busy spring, with the release of Ordinary Beauty on June 14th (June 12th for the Barnes & Noble, Exton, PA signing!) and all that follows.

It's festival season!

I'm sitting here at the desk in the studio, gazing out the window and what do I see?

Sunshine.

Gorgeous.

I received a very exciting invitation to be a guest author at the Chester County Annual Forget-Me-Not Gala  on June 12th. It's the SPCA's premiere fundraiser, and this year the theme is giving voice to the voiceless, which they believe my novels do, too.

I'm glad, because I don't believe kindness and compassion are emotions that should be limited to human interaction but extended to all, to help relieve the misery of the lost, frightened, wounded and hungry.

Sayre, in Ordinary Beauty, feels a kinship with a scared, orphaned, starving kitten and finds a way, within her limited means, to help. She does what she can, and it does make a difference.

So you can see why this is such an honor for me. I have always been an animal lover, and now I get to help the CCSPCA raise funds to help them, too.

We can do this. I know it.

Well, it's been an interesting couple of days. And the sun is out!

Welcome back, old friend.

We worked on part 2 of the video interview series for youtube.com yesterday, and this segment focuses on Such a Pretty Girl, digging deeper into the birth of the characters, reader reaction, and how I love getting reader email but it's starting to take me forever to answer them. I'll let you know when part 2 is posted, and I hope you enjoy!

I received an invitation to appear on an author panel and then participate in a booksigning at the Millbrook Book Festival in Millbrook, NY on Saturday, May 14th, 2011. The panel is at 3:30 and the signing immediately afterward. Millbrook is a gorgeous village, so come on out, meet some authors and enjoy the day.
 
I'd love to see you.

What a week.

I was sick, Bunny the cat was sick (and we both still are but at least it's beginning to fade), tax time, rain, snow...and then the good side: robins, frogs at the edge of the pond, Robbie Robertson's new album, some lovely blog invitations for ORDINARY BEAUTY, and on and on.

The other night, a bear visited the patio:



And came right up to the house, which freaked the cats and triggered my flight response, big time. He was handsome, though, and polite even as he raided the garbage can. We took a picture and the flash spooked him, and he hasn't been back yet.

Big boy.

I always gear up before a new book comes out, and for ORDINARY BEAUTY (June 14th, 2011) , Simon & Schuster have been right there offering up some new opportunities to interact with my readers, like over on VYOU.com  where you ask, and I answer on video. That's been a lot of fun, and I always look forward to seeing what you guys want to know. You make me think, and that's a good thing.

I've also just instituted a Skype An Author page because the economy shouldn't have the power to completely shut down author visits to your school, book club, summer reading event, anything. So, in the interest of visiting classrooms on a budget, I'll visit via Skype, discuss my books and talk with you guys in a Q&A for an hour. Here's the info you'll need to plan the event, so feel free to pass it on to the powers that be.  Looking forward to seeing you!

The first in a short series of author interview videos is up on youtube.com amidst some really cool, indie reader-made Such a Pretty Girl book trailers. Look for Part 2 of these interviews before April 15th, when we delve deeper into the writing of Such a Pretty Girl.

And it's snowing, of course. Happy April Fool's Day.