This is me, after 4 days of teaching, trying to write a blog post. Yeah, I’m wiped.

But I do know this. Today is the last day to enter my 100 BLOG FOLLOWERS CONTEST! Up for grabs are:

A manuscript critique from yours truly

Upcoming new releases from Sourcebooks:
· Beautiful Dead: Arizona by Eden Maguire
· The Secret Society of the Pink Crystal Ball by Risa Green

Signed copies (from PAYA) of:
· Struts and Frets by Jon Skovron
· The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard
· 13 to Life by Shannon Delany
· Shade by Jeri Ready-Smith
· Ballads of Suburbia by Stephanie Kuehnert

Email me with your QUIZ answers by today to be entered to win! (Today is very loosely determined as occurring before I wake up tomorrow.)

The first week back to teaching has been kind of a blur. Here are some of random thoughts regarding the year so far:

1. I have a lovely 5th grade class, and I already knew a lot of these students before we even started the year. My daughter is in this grade, so some of the girls in my class have already been to my home for birthday parties – including pool parties and sleepovers. (ie: these kids have seen me in my bathing suit and/or pajamas) I foresee conversations like this occurring: “Where is your math homework? You’ll be in for recess if you don’t turn it in – and oh, by the way, can your mom pick up Gina after Girl Scouts on Monday?”

2. We Hear the Dead showed up in the Scholastic TAB Book Club order for September, which caused a lot of excitement in my building. In a school, I’m not sure you really count as “published” until the book is picked up by Scholastic – LOL!

3. No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman is as big a hit as ever as my first class read aloud. I never get tired of reading it! I adore Wallace Wallace and his revolt over reading “Old Shep, My Pal!” Favorite line in the book: “Go to the library and pick out a book with an award sticker and a dog on the cover. Trust me, that dog is going down!”

4. The teaching day can be exhausting and overwhelming, but it doesn’t quite drown out the clamoring voices in my head – the characters demanding to be heard and written about. By the time I get home every afternoon, I’m ready to burst – but with the Daughters and the Dog wanting dinner, it’s hard to concentrate on anything until late at night.

5. I might need to give up sleeping. See #4.

6. Thank God it’s Friday – even if there is a hurricane on the way.

7. If this blog post doesn’t make any sense … see picture at top.