Review: My So-Called Family by Courtney Sheinmel

Recently, I had a chance to read an ARC of Courtney Sheinmel's debut novel--My So-Called Family. Unfortunately, I had a problem...I had to stop working because I couldn't put it down!

The book follows thirteen-year-old Leah Hoffman-Ross--a smart, artistic and identifiable girl. Leah's family moves to New York City and Leah thinks she'll be able to have a fresh start. She desperately wants one after being teased for something she tried to keep secret--she has a donor, not a father.

But Leah soon realizes that moving doesn't solve her problems. Something--or someone--is missing in her life. Leah embarks on a journey to meet the other children of her donor and Leah's choices teach her more about the word family than she ever imagined.

Author Courtney Sheinmel writes with honesty and clarity about Leah's feelings. My So-Called Family has a tight plot, strong voice and memorable characters. The book makes me think about my definition of "family." The diverse cast of characters sticks with me and each character's voice is clear and defined. I sincerely hope Sheinmel considers a sequel as there are many threads of the book that I would love to revisit. This is a stunning, moving debut and I will be purchasing any future books by Sheinmel.

My So-Called Family comes out on October 21 (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers), but it's available NOW for pre-order on Amazon. It's a must read for anyone who wants to discover the true meaning of family.

My NaNoWriMo True-Life Tale

My NaNoWriMo True-Life Tale just went live! Hope you guys check it out! :) Yay!

Or, here: http://blog.nanowrimo.org/node/141.

Thank you, Chris!

So not chillin'

Um, no. I'm not chillin' with that cat! Things are wicked swamped right now. I've been:

* ordering the coolest TAKE THE REINS postcards (woo hoo!)
* querying a few mags
* devouring MY SO-CALLED FAMILY by Courtney Sheinmel
* prepping for an upcoming radio interview (thanks, Rose and Celeste!)
* starting to prep my Power Point for my Missouri Writers' Guild speeches
* planning a trip
* giving evil eyes to the new hurricane and threatening it to stay away
* and working on various book projects

I've also been glued to the DNC and am loving every minute of coverage. (Michelle Obama, you have awesome hair!)

Back to work...

Soggy!!

We're drying out today. We had...drumroll...20 (that's 2-0) inches of rain and just when you thought it was over--nope! We had another thunderstorm this morning and it knocked out power from 6:30-10am. Bleh. I'm sooo over hurricane season!! C'mon fall!

I just read that the "Dancing With the Stars" cast was announced on GMA this morning. According to Yahoo!, we've got:

Susan Lucci (When did Erica get out of jail?!)
Toni Braxton
Lance Bass (Bet he'll learn the choreography easily with his NSYNC past!)
Cloris Leachman
Kim Kardashian
Ted McGinley (Was I the ONLY one who watched "Hope and Faith"??)
Brooke Burke
Warren Sapp (??)
Misty May-Treanor (YAY!! I loved her in the Olympics!)
Maurice Green
Rocco DiSpirito (The producers won't need a food cart anymore...)
Cody Linley

Interesting cast. I'll definitely be watching. Anyone else with me?

Interview over at 3 Questions...and Answers

I've got an interview up with Amy over at 3 Questions...and Answers. Thank you, Amy!!

Tropical Storm Fay Update:

We've had 6 inches of rain, 50 mph wind gusts and my backyard could double as a pond. It's STILL pouring and if I can get a good pic of the yard, I'll post it here.

It's dark and gloomy so I'm reading a grown up book (OMG--something that's not YA or MG!) and watching Little League.

Tropical Storm Fay is coming

Well, we're getting ready for Tropical Storm Fay. Ugh. It's sitting over open water now and is expected to swing back, hit my town and dump up to 12 inches of rain over 48 hours. Eeek. My city floods--big time.

Plus, we seem to lose power easily even though we're in a big-ish city. When Hurricane Charley (I think...) hit in 2005, we lost power for ten days. TEN. Not fun. Not at all.

So, I'm just hoping the winds aren't too bad and that the power stays on. Things will heat up tomorrow and kick in on Sat.

Fingers crossed!

Missouri Writers' Guild 2009 Conference

So...I've got big news for everyone!

On April 3-5, 2009, I'll be speaking at the Missouri Writers' Guild Conference!

I've been graciously invited to speak twice and participate on a panel. My sessions will be "Freelancing to Fiction" and "Do's and Don'ts of Tween Fiction."

Plus...I'll be doing a special panel with details to be revealed a bit later.

The conference will be in Cape Girardeau and you do NOT, I repeat, NOT have to be a member of the MWG to attend.

More info will be popping up here over the next few months and there will be a special guest blogger who will give more fantastic details about the conference.

Yay!! :)