Archives - Weekly Update

Last night I attended the Edgar Awards Dinner. Named for Edgar Allan Poe these are the awards given in the Mystery/Suspense/Thriller genre. It was quite an evening with such presenters as Mary Higgins Clark, Michael Connelly and Phillip Margolin. We will have the list of winners for you next week. For the record, for people who write blood, gore, guts and murder so well, they are a really fun group to spend time with!

New York this week has been aflutter with the arrival of the Queen Mary 2 ocean liner. I think any child over the age of 6 can recite the stats on the ship as the local newscasters here have been sharing them incessantly with a tone that reflects both shock and awe. My older son, who usually must be dragged from bed at 7:45AM, was awake at 4:55AM Thursday to watch the ship entering the harbor on TV. The plan this Sunday is to watch her and the QE2 leave New York to sail across the Atlantic. For those of you who are wondering what the excitement is all about, may we recommend QUEEN MARY 2: The Greatest Ocean Liner of Our Time by John Maxtone-Graham? For information, click on the cover above.

I have read books that have inspired me to do a lot of things --- plan a trip, cook a special meal, paint a room and write some old friends. Last Saturday I read a book that inspired me to swing on the swings in the yard with my younger son and rebuild the roof on his fort. I kid you not. And it was a lot of fun. I forgot how high I could swing!

Wednesday my younger son came to the office to visit. At lunchtime we went to the new Time Warner building to shop at Borders. He likes to look to see if there are any new books from his favorite authors, in case I "forgot" to get them for him. While we were there Mary Higgins Clark was signing her new one --- NIGHTTIME IS MY TIME, which is just out this week. Cory got a great idea that this would be a good Easter present for his older brother, who is a rabid Clark fan. It's such fun when an unplanned moment like that happens. Mary is one of the absolutely loveliest people I have ever met and I know this gift is going to be a great surprise for Greg with its inscription --- Happy Easter Gregory.

My bookish weekend in Virginia last weekend was such fun. The Virginia Festival of the Book gets better every year --- this was their 10th Anniversary. I got back from that whirlwind trip and Monday night attended a panel presented by New York is Book Country for writers who want to break into the children's market. Since I am asked questions about this all the time, I found it to be a great fact-gathering session. Bottom line: read books CURRENTLY being published in the marketplace!