Heading south to my mother's which is so wonderfully close to the ocean that it might as well be paradise. (Okay - it's not on the ocean but less than a half a mile away which I think is perfect.) I'll be down there for two weeks but certainly updating sporadically to let you know many important things like what Zora Neale Hurston's old house looks like today (she lived in my hometown for awhile), how insane Harry Potter World is at Universal (my son will likely pass out from sheer joy) and if anything I've brought to read is any good (3 Booklist titles plus 1 for the June column, 1 for standalone review and Sarah Vowell's latest for obvious reasons). (There might be something else in there but that's all I can think of right now.)

It's poetry month and if you are inclined to purchase a title or two be sure to check out Powells books which has all of its poetry on sale for the whole month. Also, Greg is doing his poem a day special again this year - 30 days, 30 poets, 30 poems. It's awesome. And Greg has a kickstarter project going to bring poetry to the schools so check that out, please, as well. (He's halfway there already! Yea, Greg!!!)

I do love poetry.

Let's see, what else. My editor is sending notes on the manuscript tomorrow (yes, when I'm at 30,000 feet or so) and I'll be working on all that in the next few days. She's still loving the book so there will likely be few, if any, complaints from me. I also sent the full outline to my agent for the western book and she is very excited about my plans there but cautions me to focus on MAP in the coming days. I understand that but I'm so worried about having a book to follow-up with that I can't help but noodle on the first chapter so at least I feel like I'm accomplishing something.

I'll be checking out a train bridge, a hanging tree and the former site of a haunted hotel while I'm at home. Need a few details on all of them for short stories. Mostly I want to make sure that what I remember is true (namely that all of them are where I think they are). I shall be dragging my mother hither and yon through the creeped out history of home. Fortunately, she likes that kind of thing!

More soonest - from the patio, while wearing a t-shirt and shorts!