NINJAS news!

I'm very pleased and honored that Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo was named to the American Library Assoication's 2006 list of "Popular Paperbacks for Young Adult Readers" under the category of "Books that don't make you blush." Cyn blogs more about the list here.

ALA Blogging

Congrats to the ALA Award Winners!

Cyn and I went down to San Antonio for the conference Saturday and came back Sunday.

Saturday we had a fun lunch at Boudros with Cyn's Candlewick editor, Deborah Wayshak. Then, after a brief walkabout of the conference floor, we went to dinner at Sage (new restaurant, where Polo's used to be) where we met Debbi Michiki Florence in person for the first time(!)(and her friend writer-librarian Jennifer [last name I do not remember - sorry!]) and editor Dimiter (another last name I can't remember :-)), from Simply Read Books. Debbi has photos up at her blog here.

Sunday morning we had a great breakfast at La Canarias with Franny Billingsley, her daughter Miranda, Heather Voegel Frederick, Nancy Werlin, Jane Kurtz, and Susan Raab. Then we hit the conference floor again and scored a few ARCs and had a chat about M&Ms (among other things) with Victoria Stapleton at the Little Brown booth :-). At lunch, we ran into San Antonio's own Peni Griffin.

Floor sightings included Sean Petrie, Don Tate, Varian Johnson, Barry Goldblatt (agent), and Jill Bailey (formerly of BookPeople).

Cyn has more blogging here.

Grumpy blogging: They should be made into closets...

Cedars: The Plague of Trees. I've had the dread cedar allergy since Christmas Eve. Blech. I want rain.

Also, did you know that in Texas you have to show a photo ID and sign in if you want to buy Benadryl D or Claritin D (I guess, everything with pseudoephedrine)? I know meth's a problem in certain places, but one still doesn't like being made to feel like one might be a criminal for buying a nasal decongestant and antihistamine.

Finally, good luck to Vince Young, who announced today he is entering the NFL Draft this spring. It was great while it lasted. Hook 'em!

Hook 'em!

Congratulations to the University of Texas Longhorns football team on their Rose Bowl victory (and national championship!) tonight. A fantastic game, well-played, and a nail-biter to the end. In the words of Keith Jackson, "I'm getting too old for this."

Blog Review of Tofu and T.Rex

Kelly Herold at Big A Little a has a nice review of TOFU AND T.REX. She calls it a "fun novel" that "is really about what it means to be a family and putting up with idiosyncrasies because you have to find the best in the ones you love." She also picks it as one of her "Favorites of 2005."

Thanks!