Very Excited and Happy to Spread the Love

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): Message in a Bottle by The Police.



Don't worry, we'll get to the contest tomorrow (so make sure you check back - really). But today I want to talk about three things I am very excited for.







1. WriteOnCon. For those of you who are aspiring novelists yourself, this is something you don't want to miss. This is a writing conference that is free. Conferences are a fantastic (and sometimes debated "essential") way for networking and connecting with other writers and industry professionals. But the cost can be fairly steep at times. Hotel + airfare + transportation + conference registration fees = nightmare, not to mention your wallet gasping. But this is something completely new and different. Because it is online, it is free (did I mention it was free?) and you can come in and out as you need, because everyone's lives are very busy. AND it is focused on YA and Children's Lit. I cannot tell you how cool that is. And there are industry professionals participating, and these are superstars of their field. It takes place August, so I'm telling you in advance so you have no chance of missing it. Here is their website.








2. C.O.L.O.R. I won't say much about this for now, but I will be featuring this and the lovely Ari in the very near future. She has a wonderful idea on her hands.









3. Bookie Woogie. Those of you who have been around for any length of time know how much I love this blog. It is in fact perhaps my favorite book review blog on the web. Why? Because it is run by kids, by a family, in fact. Their dad is an illustrator (who is awesome at it, by the way) and they have over 3000 books in their library. But what is cool is that right now, he is doing an incredible contest, and I want to support them in any way I can. His new educational picture book is coming out, Chuckling Ducklings and Baby Animal Friends. To help promote it, he is offering to draw your favorite baby animal, one for every 5 comments (literally) that he receive on this post. So cool I would highly highly recommend buying his book. His other book, Hiccupotamus, is hilarious, and I expect nothing but the same quality in this one as well. Plus, it's World Read Aloud Day (or so I'm told), so what better way to celebrate than to go buy a book you can, you know, read aloud. :)