Booklist update

- Stacy

Let’s take a look at what we have so far for our middle-grade fantasy book list. I’ve actually put it in alphabetical order at this point, so we should be able to see anything left out more easily. Forgive any mistakes in alphabetization–this was done very quickly and had to take "the"s into account and I’m not sure it was completely accurate! But at least it’s better than it was.

* A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle
A Ring of Endless Light, Madeleine L’Engle
* Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians, Brandon Sanderson
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
* Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
Babe: The Gallant Pig, Dick King-Smith
* Babymouse, Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm (strictly speaking, this is a graphic novel, which opens up a can of worms, but it’s so fun!)
, Robin McKinley
Bedknob and Broomstick, Mary Norton
* The Book of Three, The Black Cauldron, Lloyd Alexander
* The Borrowers, Mary Norton
* Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
Charlotte’s Web, E.B. White
Chasing Vermeer, Blue Balliet
* Children of Green Knowe, L.M. Boston
Children of the Lamp: The Akhenaten Adventure, P.B. Kerr
* The Chrestomanci Chronicles, Diana Wynne Jones
Coraline, Neil Gaiman
* The Dalemark Quintet, Diana Wynne Jones
* Dragon Keeper, Carole Wilkinson
* Dragon’s Milk, Susan Fletcher
* Dragonsong, Anne McCaffrey (?)
Ella Enchanted, Gail Carson Levine
* Fablehaven, Brandon Mull
* Five Children and It, E. Nesbit (and pretty much anything by E. Nesbit)
The Folk Keeper, Franny Billingsley
Half Magic, Edward Eager
* Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling
The Hoboken Chicken Emergency, Daniel Pinkwater
* Howl’s Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones (well… more YA, really, but House of Many Ways is more middle grade, so…)
* Hugo Pepper, Paul Stewart & Chris Riddel
The Indian in the Cupboard, Lynne Reid Banks (though perhaps should be phased off any recommendation lists, due to cultural inaccuracies, but it is a title that grabs kids)
* Inkheart, Cornelia Funke
* Into the Wild, Sarah Beth Durst
James & the Giant Peach, Roald Dahl (man, I loved this one in about 3rd or 4th grade)
* Larklight, Philip Reeve
* The Last Apprentice, Joseph Delaney
The Last Dragon, Silvana de Mari
The Light Princess, George MacDonald
* The Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan
* The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Narnia), C.S. Lewis
* Little Sister, Kara Dalkey
The Magic Thief, Sarah Prineas
Many Waters, Madeleine L’Engle (part of the Wrinkle in Time series, technically, but far enough forward that I kind of count it separately)
* Mary Poppins,
P.L. Travers
May Bird and the Ever After, Jodi Lynn Anderson
* Mister Monday (Keys to the Kingdom), Garth Nix
The Mouse and His Child, Russell Hoban
My Rotten Life: Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie, David Lubar (ARC, to be published this August)
* The Mysterious Benedict Society, Trenton Lee Stewart
Of Mice and Magic, David Farland
* Over Sea, Under Stone, Susan Cooper
Penderwicks (is this fantasy? I haven’t read it)
* Pendragon, D.J. MacHale
The Perilous Gard, Elizabeth Pope (not technically fantasy, and perhaps YA? But oh so good!) (?)
Peter Pan & Wendy, J.M. Barrie
The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster
The Power of Three, Diana Wynne Jones
Princess Academy, Shannon Hale
The Princess and the Goblin/The Princess and Curdie, George MacDonald
The Princess Bride (kinda sorta–perhaps more YA?)
* The Princess Tales (Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep, etc.), Gail Carson Levine
* Protector of the Small, Tamora Pierce
* Red Dragon Codex, R.D. Henham
* Redwall, Brian Jacques
* The Seeing Stone, Kevin Crossley-Holland
* Skulduggery Pleasant, Derek Landy
Standard Hero Behavior, John David Anderson
* The Fairy Tale Detectives (The Sisters Grimm), Michael Buckley (I LOVE this series)
* The Spiderwick Chronicles, Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi (that’s one that’s on the young end, but still enjoyed by 9-10 year olds)
* The Stink Files, Holm & Hamel
* The Story of the Treasure Seekers, E. Nesbit
Stuart Little, E.B. White
The Tale of Despereaux, Kate DiCamillo
* The Thief, Megan Whalen Turner (would this be YA or middle grade, really? I’m about to read it so will have a better feeling after, of course)
* The 13th Reality, James Dashner
Tom’s Midnight Garden, Phillippa Pearce
The Trumpet of the Swan, E.B. White
* Vampirates, Justin Somper
* Warriors, Erin Hunter
* The Wee Free Men, Terry Pratchett
Well WishedThe Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
The Witches, Roald Dahl
* Whales on Stilts, M.T. Anderson
* The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum

Abridged Classics: Becoming Jane

- Stacy

By all means, carry on with helping me with the middle grade fantasy booklist. I don’t want to detract from that–you guys have excellent taste in middle-grade fantasy. But in catching up with Child_Lit posts about historical accuracy, I ran across a MOST excellent rundown of that awful movie which purported to be about Jane Austen’s life (let’s just mix up some Mr. Darcy and Mr. Collins, because hey, if she wrote about them, she must have experienced them, right?).
How did I miss this??
***Note: some strong language in the commentary subtitles***

I much prefer this version of the movie, and it’s only a few minutes long!

In the middle of the middle–and a question

- Stacy

First the question: Can anyone point me to where to find the middle grade children’s literature listserv, equivalent to Child_Lit but for older books? I can’t seem to either remember the name or to figure out where to sign up. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve re-subscribed to Child_Lit since I left Wizards–I had it go to a particular folder and only checked in on it from time to time, and nowadays I’m missing it. Off to subscribe!
Onward with the actual post, however. I’m in the middle of trying to make a list of great middle-grade fantasy books, and find that I’m often looking at my shelf thinking, "What a great book! I’ll include it on the list!" only to realize that no, I’m limiting myself to middle-grade, and that chapter book or YA fantasy just won’t do. Just for the purposes of the list I’m making, mind you!
So. A little help, please? I’m looking for classics, contemporaries, obvious and not-so-obvious books. I’m only listing series by series rather than all the books, to simplify matters. So far, I’ve borrowed from Editorial Anonymous‘s list that we talked about the other day, and also from my grad school syllabi, and from my own personal bookshelves, and previous recommendation lists (which so need to be updated, hence the whole thing today!), but surely even with all of those, I’m forgetting something!
I am including crossover titles. In other words, if it’s a book that has teen characters but is commonly read by middle-graders–Madeleine L’Engle comes to mind–even though it’s often shelved in YA I’m including it. Or if it’s a short chapter book that 7-year-olds might read, but that 9-year-olds enjoy just as much, it’s probably borderline, but I’m going to include it on the list at least at first.
Also, my criteria for "great" is dual-fold (tri-fold?): either great literary, Newbery-worthy writing, or popular with kids/bestselling, or both. Or really, who needs such high expectations? Just really great books for middle-grade kids that have magic, adventure, and a story that hooks kids from the beginning. I don’t want to leave out a good book simply because it’s deemed non-literary or because its sales weren’t high enough or something.
So, here’s my list so far. Feel free to comment on anything I’ve missed, because I fully admit that it’s highly likely I’ve forgotten something obvious! Also note that it’s in no particular order at this point, not even alphabetical.
Series are marked with an asterisk.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
* The Book of Three, The Black Cauldron, Lloyd Alexander
Charlotte’s Web, E.B. White
The Trumpet of the Swan, E.B. White
Stuart Little, E.B. White
Coraline, Neil Gaiman
* Redwall, Brian Jacques
The Witches, Roald Dahl
* Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling
* The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis
* Over Sea, Under Stone, Susan Cooper
Penderwicks (is this fantasy? I haven’t read it)
The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster
The Tale of Despereaux, Kate DiCamillo
* The Wee Free Men, Terry Pratchett
James & the Giant Peach, Roald Dahl (man, I loved this one in about 3rd or 4th grade)
* Whales on Stilts, M.T. Anderson
* Children of Green Knowe, L.M. Boston
Peter Pan & Wendy, J.M. Barrie
Of Mice and Magic, David Farland
*The Last Apprentice, Joseph Delaney
* Dragon’s Milk, Susan Fletcher
Half Magic, Edward Eager
* Red Dragon Codex, R.D. Henham
* Protector of the Small, Tamora Pierce
The Last Dragon, Silvana de Mari
May
Bird and the Ever After
The Magic Thief, Sarah Prineas
* Larklight, Philip Reeve
* The Mysterious Benedict Society, Trenton Lee Stewart
* Skulduggery Pleasant, Derek Landy
My Rotten Life: Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie, David Lubar (ARC, to be published this August)
* The Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan
* Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians, Brandon Sanderson
* The Thief, Megan Whalen Turner (would this be YA or middle grade, really? I’m about to read it so will have a better feeling after, of course)
* The 13th Reality, James Dashner
Standard Hero Behavior, John David Anderson
* The Stink Files, Holm & Hamel
The Power of Three, Diana Wynne Jones
* The Chrestomanci Chronicles, Diana Wynne Jones
* Inkheart, Cornelia Funke
A Ring of Endless Light, Madeleine L’Engle
* A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle
* The Sisters Grimm, Michael Buckley (I LOVE this series)
Chasing Vermeer, Blue Balliet
* The Seeing Stone, Kevin Crossley-Holland
* Pendragon, D.J. MacHale
* Warriors, Erin Hunter
* Babymouse, Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm
* Dragon Keeper, Carole Wilkinson
* Hugo Pepper, Paul Stewart & Chris Riddel
* Fablehaven, Brandon Mull
* Into the Wild, Sarah Beth Durst
* Vampirates, Justin Somper
Princess Academy, Shannon Hale
Tom’s Midnight Garden, Phillippa Pearce
Many Waters, Madeleine L’Engle (part of the Wrinkle in Time series, technically, but far enough forward that I kind of count it separately)
Bedknob and Broomstick, Mary Norton
Ella Enchanted, Gail Carson Levine
Beauty, Robin McKinley
* The Princess Tales (Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep, etc.), Gail Carson Levine
* Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
* Little Sister, Kara Dalkey
The Princess Bride (kinda sorta–perhaps more YA?)
The Hoboken Chicken Emergency, Daniel Pinkwater
The Indian in the Cupboard, Lynne Reid Banks (though perhaps should be phased off any recommendation lists, due to cultural inaccuracies, but it is a title that grabs kids)
The Mouse and His Child, Russell Hoban
* The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum
The Perilous Gard, Elizabeth Pope (not technically fantasy, and perhaps YA? But oh so good!)
* Mister Monday/Keys to the Kingdom, Garth Nix
The Folk Keeper, Franny Billingsley
The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
Babe: The Gallant Pig, Dick King-Smith
* Mary Poppins, P.L. Travers
* The Borrowers, Mary Norton
* Five Children and It, E. Nesbit (and pretty much anything by E. Nesbit)
The Princess and the Goblin/The Princes
s and Curdie, George MacDonald
The Light Princess, George MacDonald
Well Wished, Franny Billingsley
* Howl’s Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones (well… more YA, really, but House of Many Ways is more middle grade, so…)
* Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
* The Spiderwick Chronicles, Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi (that’s one that’s on the young end, but still enjoyed by 9-10 year olds)
* The Story of the Treasure Seekers, E. Nesbit
* The Dalemark Quintet, Diana Wynne Jones
* Dragonsong, Anne McCaffrey
Children of the Lamp: The Akhenaten Adventure, P.B. Kerr
Recommendations from comments
I’ve got some reading to do!
Stoneflight, Georgess McHargue
* The Mad Scientists’ Club, Bertrand R. Brinley
* Danny Dunn books (?)
* Ranger’s Apprentice
The Name of This Book Is Secret, Pseudonymous Bosch
* Hall Family Chronicles, Jane Langton
Matilda, Roald Dahl
Darkside, Tom Becker
Savvy, Ingrid Law
Eva Ibbotson’s books (I’ve meant to read her stuff for years but haven’t ever gotten around to it)
The True Meaning of Smekday, Adam Rex
The Neverending Story, Michael Ende
A Gift of Magic, Lois Duncan
* What the Witch Left, The Wednesday Witch, The Secret Tree House, Ruth Chew
* Charlie Bone
Nightmare Acad
emy, Dean Lorey (I’ve got this ARC around here somewhere. This is the problem with not having my office finished–I’m not quite sure *where* it is. And not having read it yet, I’d thought it was YA, but hadn’t looked at it hard yet.)
Billy Bones, Christopher Lincoln
* The 39th Clue, Rick Riordan et al.
A Wolf at the Door, Terri Windling and Ellen Datlow (also in The Dark of the Woods)
Swan Sister, Terri Windling and Ellen Datlow
Dreamhunter/Dreamquake, Elizabeth Knox
The Last Unicorn
* The Gammage Cup

More catching up–Writing Excuses

- Stacy

Happy New Year! I’m spending the day doing absolutely nothing. I have so much to do–finish painting one corner of my office so I can reassemble the office and finally unpack all the books, and finally have a working workspace; fold laundry; read submissions; maybe even get some exercise in (boy, do I need some yoga after that snowshoeing the other day! so fun, but wow, does it make you sore!)–but today I’m ignoring it all and spending the day cuddled up with my kitties and catching up on things like Writing Excuses, the podcast about writing run by my friends Brandon, Howard, and Dan. They always have good informative things to say, but I just noticed that in particular they interviewed Brandon Mull way back several months ago about children’s literature.

It’s relatively basic–the things they
talk about are things that most of my readers would consider a given–but I think it’s a great place to point friends who are thinking about writing for children but don’t know the market at all, because they define children’s lit, discuss how content breaks down the age groups, book length, viewpoint, vocabulary needs, characterization, and other essentials to consider for someone new to the market.

If you haven’t listened to Writing Excuses before, check it out. You’ll be able to catch up pretty quickly–each podcast is only 15 minutes long, "because you’re in a hurry, and [they]’re not that smart."

Bio and Author Recommendations

- Stacy

Stacy Whitman specializes in fantasy and science fiction for children and young adults, and related genres. She spent three years as an editor for Mirrorstone, the children’s and young adult imprint of Wizards of the Coast in Seattle. She holds a master’s degree in children’s literature from Simmons College. Before that, she edited elementary school textbooks at Houghton Mifflin and interned at the Horn Book, as well as a brief stint as a bookseller. Stacy edited such favorite fantasy titles for children and young adults as the highly acclaimed YA series Hallowmere, the middle grade fantasy adventure series that debuted with Red Dragon Codex, and The New York Times best-selling picture book A Practical Guide to Monsters.

 

Stacy provides all phases of editorial services to publishers, including developmental editing, line editing, copyediting, and proofreading. Contact her at stacylwhitman AT gmail DOT com to discuss projects.

 

Stacy’s middle grade and young adult novel critique and editorial services for individual writers come in two sizes:

 

·         Critique of the cover letter/query and first three chapters from your finished manuscript, giving an editor’s point of view on the strengths of the first impression. Service includes comments on her impressions of the story from the first three chapters and how the beginning hooks the editor, including suggestions for improvement. This usually takes about an hour of her time.

·         Developmental edit of the full manuscript, including an editorial letter to suggest improvements in plot, character, pacing, voice, audience, and any other areas in need of improvement. Comments will also be noted in the manuscript itself. The time this takes varies from manuscript to manuscript. Email to discuss particulars.

 

 

The cost of these services are based on her rate of $50 an hour, with a minimum of one hour. Contact her at stacylwhitman AT gmail DOT com to discuss your project.

 

Special discount For returning clients who want a full developmental edit, a $50 discount off the cost of the edit. Ask me for more information.

 

****Individual consults on queries, chapters, and manuscripts are for manuscripts that are already finished. If you have more general questions, I’m always glad to answer them here on the blog as time permits, but for questions specific to your manuscript, you’ll get the most out of my advice if you’ve finished your book first. Note that this specific advice is a paid service, but if you have a general question that would be of use to
all blog readers, by all means ask away and I’ll post an answer for all to see.

 

 

 

“Stacy was my very first editor, and I really couldn’t have asked for a better person to induct me into the world of publishing. It felt more like the book was a collaboration of ours rather than a tug-of-war as can so often be the case. I’ll always be grateful for her nurturing honesty and excellent editorial eye.”

—Tiffany Trent

In the Serpent’s Coils

By Venom’s Sweet Sting

Between Golden Jaws

 

“I highly recommend Stacy. She’s a pro you can count on for good, solid advice, and she’ll help you bring out the best in your manuscript.”

—Printz Honor author Amanda M. Jenkins

Queen of the Masquerade

 < /p>

“Stacy Whitman not only has a keen eye for editing, but has a deep understanding of the children’s market. I know this for a fact, since she was instrumental in helping me sell my first children’s book.”

—Brandon Sanderson

Elantris

Mistborn trilogy

Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians

Wheel of Time: A Memory of Light (with Robert Jordan)


“Stacy was my first editor, and I feel very lucky to have worked with someone who understands my writing so well. She has a knack for seeing the true story inside a manuscript and helping an author bring that story up to its highest potential. She is a great communicator, and is positive and enthusiastic to work with. I am grateful that I got to work with her and hope to continue to work with her far into the future.”

—Rebecca Shelley, writing as R.D. Henham

Red Dragon Codex

Brass Dragon Codex

 

 

“Stacy’s editorial work on my book was nothing short of brilliant, and I have no doubt whatsoever it never would’ve reached publication without her. I’ll forever be in her debt.”

—James Dashner

The Maze Runner

The 13th Reality

 

 

“As an editor, Stacy has a clear vision of the potential of a story and its characters as well as the talent to bring out the best in a writer. She is committed to her writers, her advice is open for discussion, and she has an intuitive feel for where the writer wants to go with the story. I enjoyed working with her and hope to do so again in the future.”

—Angelika Ranger

Maiden of the Wolf

 

“Stacy Whitman is an excellent editor. Her feedback is invaluable, and her ability to look at a book both as a whole and as individual scenes is exceptional. She places each moment in the manuscript within the overall plot, and her commentary not only helps the moment; it does wonders for the whole. She’s enthusiastic, easy to work with, and brings a great deal to any project she works on. I’m grateful for the times I’ve worked with her, and look forward to doing so often in the future!”

—R
ee Soesbee

Black Dragon Codex

The Elidor Trilogy

Elements Trilogy

 

“The best friend a manuscript ever had is a good editor. If you’re like me, you can get too close to the material to see where you’ve missed things. I worked with Stacy on Wizard’s Return, my third YA book for Mirrorstone. She worked with me to fill in some gaps in the character arcs and to focus the story as a whole. I can say without reservation that she made it easy for me to take my work from good to great. Stacy is easy to work with, throughly professional, and highly skilled. Your manuscript deserves her as its editor.”

—Dan Willis

Wizard’s Return

Dragon Well

Dragon Spell

 

“Stacy was the first editor I ever worked with and I now consider myself spoiled for future books. She kept a perfect balance between criticism and praise, and I improved greatly as a writer because of her comments. She was always available when I had questions about everything from basic plot to author appearances. Bronze Dragon Codex would not be the book that it is without her, and I can never thank her enough.”

 

—Amie Rose Rotruck < /p>

Bronze Dragon Codex

 

 

Are there handbaskets in children’s literature?

- Stacy

Today Editorial Anonymous both opened a can of worms and used a tag I only remember seeing on Read Roger, “I’m so going to hell,” which i think is appropriate for the topic of trying to make a list of quintessential children’s books due to the possibility, as she explains, that she’s likely to forget something essential and obvious.

I often feel like this myself. I’ve been meaning to do a booklist too, but lack of time for it gets in the way. EdAnon’s booklist will be a joint effort with readers, though, so here’s your opportunity (and mine) to get a good list without having to scour your own personal library and hope that you can remember all the good books you don’t own!

Christmas

- Stacy

Had a great Christmas Eve with a friend watching the extended edition of The Two Towers, then slept in Christmas morning, opened the presents my grandma and sister had sent me (vintage Whitman’s candy tin! It’s so fun–my grandma’s been collecting them for years and decided to start giving them out to grandkids who might like them), then spent the rest of the day with friends. Christmas in my family is big–well, my family is big, so Christmas tends to be big: everyone goes to Grandma’s, goes to church with her for the midnight service, stays up late to stuff stockings and play Santa, and then gets up early to watch the little kids open their presents. It’s been changing over the last few years as travel becomes more expensive, but I’ve always loved being able to go to my hometown and spend it with family. Since I couldn’t make it home this year, it was nice to be able to spend it with friends.

Yesterday afternoon I came up to Salt Lake to visit another friend, and ended up staying the night because the blizzard moved in and there was no way I should be driving in that wind and snow and ice. So I crashed on the couch, and I’m hoping to get home today. I knew it was a possibility that I might not be able to drive home, so I brought a change of clothes and loaded the kitties up on dry food and water, so they’re fine, but I want to be able to get back home in time for anime night! I have more Wolf’s Rain… I think. It might not be coming until tomorrow. And I need to put my office back to rights and finish painting the last corner. It looks so nice! I think I’m going to run out of paint, so I’m trying to go thick on the visible parts and hey, if it’s white behind the ceiling-height bookshelves, well, I have to repaint when I move out anyway, right?

Right?

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and that as Kwanzaa begins, Hanukkah ends, etc. that you’ve all had a good time with family and friends. Looking forward to the new year!

Yes, Dad, I *am* a journalist. So I have to go pawn this to pay my rent!

- Stacy

I absolutely HATE those stupid jewelry commercials. Because YES, honey, what I want for you to express your love for me is a big, shiny rock that was acquired through child slavery and whole-village slaughter. And via Alpha Consumer, I have finally found a way to express it (though they don’t get into the blood diamond issue, or the whole Diamond Cartel–there’s a reason we use the word "cartel" in association with drugs and diamonds…).

As for me: the way to this woman’s heart? Books, of course!

I’m going to have to watch more of these. Apparently it’s a marketing watch web TV show.

An announcement, of sorts

- Stacy

I was recently asked to the LDS Storymakers Writers Conference as a guest editor. If you’re LDS or interested in the LDS writing world (including as an LDS author writing for the national market), I hear it’s an excellent conference. (This one will be my first.) As you’ll see from the link I just noted above, my bio says that I was formerly with Mirrorstone (which we all know) and that I now consult for Tor (which few have known up to this point).

I’ve postponed announcing the news on this blog because I’m still working on contracting my first book, so I didn’t want to announce anything prematurely, but since it was okay to say so for the conference, I’ll go ahead and let you know here, too: I am looking for books to acquire as a consulting editor for Tor’s children’s book lines (Starscape, Tor Teen, etc.). This just means that I will acquire books on a freelance basis rather than in-house, though the duties are pretty much the same. Tor has a lot of editors who work with them in a consulting capacity, and it seems to be a pretty successful model for them.

Right now I am not open to unagented submissions unless I’ve had previous contact with you through a conference or a submission at Mirrorstone where I asked for a full manuscript (or a revision of that full manuscript). I’m just getting started, and I want to be sure that I keep the field narrow for the moment. As time goes on and if this freelancing continues to succeed, then I will open up to more unagented submissions. So if you’re LDS and can make it to Storymakers, the conference might be a good place for you to come and meet me!

I don’t have submission guidelines yet, but as time goes on I will post them here. I will continue to run my critiques as a separate business for the foreseeable future, as well.

Here’s hoping that the snow (snooooow, ooooooh!) will let up enough for the roads, and be well and good deep everywhere else! I personally think that sometime in the future, someone should invent something that funnels all the snow to just where we want it, thus eliminating the mess and slush in the street and on the sidewalk. Pretty, perfect snow everywhere you look–except for the road! 🙂

Tidbits

- Stacy

Getting some very nice Christmas cards in the mail today reminded me that I have mine halfway done. I just need to address them–they’re labeled, stuffed, and everything.

I also got a cover of Red Dragon Codex drawn by a reader. It’s awesome, and I’d show a picture if I had a working camera.

The snow is really coming down here. Glad I don’t have to drive anywhere! I am planning on going up to Salt Lake tonight to go with some friends to a Living Nativity, so here’s hoping the roads clear by then–I’m looking forward to spending time with the friends.

Despite not having to leave the house to go to work, it feels like a snow day, so I have declared a holiday. I am watching Northanger Abbey bundled up in a cozy blanket, sitting next to my cat who is fascinated by all the snow coming down. And of course the song "Snow" from White Christmas is going through my head: "Snow… snow…
snow… snow… snow! It won’t be long before we’re there with snoooo-ooooow! I wanna wash my face, my hands, my hair in snow. What is Christmas with nooooo snooooow?" etc. There’s no replacing it, I’m afraid.

Looks like the snow is lightening up a little, at least.

Oh! And something I forgot to mention when it went up on the website, which announces something I’ve been holding off on announcing that I’m going to have to announce now–I’ll post it in a new dedicated post.