As September winds down I just wanted to make a quick note and say thank you to everyone who participated in the Sonoma County Book Festival as well as the Orange County Children's Book Festival.

Both were huge successes and I was so grateful to be able to attend and meet so many talented authors (Giselle Stancic, Susan Koch and Jason Monroe I'm looking at you). :)

But beyond that I think I will never tire of the look on a new reader's face as they saunter by my booth and slowly discover something that intrigues them, something that lights their imagination and makes them eager to READ. These are the moments I will take from this festival season.

And, of course, there is the undeniable joy I get whenever someone new, usually a child of 4 or 5, opens a piece of chocolate and realizes that in my world, chocolate really is PURPLE. The look of wonder is priceless and I am so grateful for it.

It is these images that will sustain me, I hope, through the long days ahead in front of the computer...someone just broke the news that Fiona Thorn and the Secret of the Ringing Trees isn't going to write itself. ;)