8/25/04 I finally gave in and started a blog. If you have nothing better to do, come visit me here.

8/5/04 Today I'm speaking at the Selinsgrove Public Library. Can't wait!

7/10/04 Woo hoo! Giving my first SCBWI workshop today at the most wonderful MD/DE/WVA regional conference.

5/18/04 Join me for an on-line chat at the YA Authors Cafe, where I will be the guest speaker tonight at 8:30 p.m. EDT.

5/01/04 RAISING THE GRIFFIN is Loudon County (VA) Library's Book of the Month. Thank you Loudon County! We love you!!

4/28/04 Most excellent times at the Flint Hill School Upper School in Oakton, VA. Thanks to the students and staff!

3/12/04 I'll be giving a talk on writing and publishing for young adults and signing RAISING THE GRIFFIN at the Barnes and Noble in Lancaster, PA at 1:00 p.m.

2/16/04 Gonna be on TV. If you're in the South Central Pennsylvania area and have Comcast cable service, look for me tonight on Comcast Tonight.

2/10/04 More reviews! School Library Journal says "Powerfully affecting...This is a compulsively readable book that lingers in the mind long after the final page."

1/30/04 RAISING THE GRIFFIN has been nominated for the Best Books for Young Adult list by the Young Adult Library Services Association. Hooray!

1/10/04 Happy New Year! More reviews are in. On her fabulous Genrefluent website, my new best friend Di Herald calls RTG a "stunning debut" that will "resonate with teen readers."
Booklist says "This serious, realistic debut novel will draw plenty of young readers with Alex's taut, first-person narration of his predicament as well as the detailed creation of a non-existent yet totally plausible Eastern European country." And I thought winning four-suit spider solitaire was the biggest thrill you could get through your computer.

12/08/03 How cool is this? RAISING THE GRIFFIN has been chosen as a Top Ten YA Book for January by KidsBookManager.com, along with some very good company.

12/03/03 Check it out! RAISING THE GRIFFIN is the December Book of the Month at the awesome Cynthia Leitich Smith's Children's Literature Resource Website.

11/13/03 The first review for RAISING THE GRIFFIN is in and it's a good one. Kirkus says it "packs a punch." I might have to have that tatooed somewhere.

Meanwhile, still two months to go until official release date. That seems like a long time until I remember that it's now five years since I started writing the first draft. mw