Cathy C. Hall Writes

I’ve got some very busy writer friends! They’ve been writing and getting published and having book signings and I’ve been…hmmmm.

I wish I had something scathingly brilliant or outrageously adventurous here as a reason for not writing as much as I’d like to write, and not getting myself published (and therefore, not having book signings). But I think we all know what happens to me in the summer. And oh! I am planning Juniorette’s wedding that’s coming up next month, so there’s a good excuse.

Okay, I’m not really planning the wedding; Juniorette’s done most of the work. But I’ve had to think about wedding stuff a lot and I think that counts for something. Anyway, the point today is picture books and all my friends who have books on the shelves in bookstores and libraries (or books you can order):

Lisa Lowe Stauffer’s Two By Two is a board book adventure about a couple of mischievous monkeys on Noah’s Ark. And oh my goodness, I love the wordplay in this book and I know your little mischievous ones will, too! Lisa’s been busy with book signings, and she’ll be in my neck of the woods in October for a workshop!

index Tina M. Cho is celebrating a book birthday with her picture book, Rice From Heaven. I could say more about this book (and Tina) but she says it so much better here, at Tina’s Tidbits. Please go give it a read and then give her book a read, too! I can’t wait to get back to my hometown library and get this one. (Yep, Tina, your book is in the Gwinnett County Library system!) It really is a small world, after all!

And then there’s Heather L. Montgomery, whose two books are coming out in October, I think. But they’re available now: Bugs Don’t Hug AND Something Rotten, A Fresh Look At Roadkill. And every time I read these titles, I’m conflicted. I feel a little like “Come on, Heather! Ick!” but I also feel a little like “Oooh! I can’t wait to read about stinky roadkill and bugs!”

Yep, Heather knows how to make anything compelling! And I’m not the only one who thinks so–Heather is super busy right now on school visits and book expos and I don’t know what all. (But you can find out when you visit her website. You might even be able to get her for your school because seriously, Heather Montgomery can rock a school visit!)

Didn’t I tell you I had some busy friends? And I have some more friends who have been busy writing novels so stay tuned! Meanwhile, I’ve got a porch swing and salty breeze waiting for me to get busy with a wee bit of a nap because I’ve worked kinda hard on this blog post. Plus, I thought up something that Juniorette needs to do, wedding-wise. (She’ll thank me later, I’m sure.)

back-bus-education-159658 It’s August 1st, y’all.

AUGUST FIRST.

I don’t even have kids in school anymore and still, I’m seriously annoyed at this rush back-to-school. And yes, I know, the kids got out on May 22nd in my neighborhood so it’s really the same amount of time for summer break as they’ve always had. But when I see a school bus on my street on AUGUST FIRST, it just doesn’t feel right. I mean, when did we all decide to give August the summer vacation shaft? It just sticks in my craw.

And speaking of things that stick in my craw, I have a post over at the Muffin today on Stick-in-My-Craw Character Flaws.

I’ve come up with three annoying character missteps, if you will, but I’m sure there are plenty more which I neglected to mention. These flaws are just the ones that cause various extreme reactions from me. Like screaming out loud at the publisher (Come on, Harper Collins, how did you ever spend money on this book?) or throwing the book (That’s the final straw *tosses book across the room* I refuse to read another word— *remembers that it’s a library book and goes to find tossed book*).

Or maybe I pound my head into the desk because I’ve found in my very own manuscript one of the character flaws I despise (and just listed in a post over at The Muffin). So I’m getting to work on revisions for August, just as soon as A. my head stops hurting and B. Libs quits barking at buses in my neighborhood.