An Amazing Young Artist

A friend's immensely talented 15-year-old daughter, Nicole, drew this lovely picture of Ganesh, the Hindu elephant-headed god who grants wishes and removes obstacles.

For a class project, Nicole read my novel, MAYA RUNNING, in which a small golden statue of Ganesh comes to life and grants a young Indian-Canadian girl's wishes. Ganesh loves sweets, and in the book, he is particularly fond of Jelly Belly jelly beans. So, when Nicole presents her book report, she will hand out Jelly Bellies to the class. I think she's brilliant.

Yay, Nicole!

Playing Catch-Up

At long last, I return to the blog. In January, I gave two weekend writing workshops for the Whidbey Writers Association MFA program. Joseph and I stayed at the historic Captain Whidbey Inn, surrounded by forest along the shore of Whidbey Island's Penn Cove. Isn't it cool?

If you're interested in registering for a low-residency, rigorous MFA program, check out the Whidbey Writers Association web site.

In February, we returned to Whidbey Island, my home away from home! This time we stayed in Meadow House at Hedgebrook, a retreat for women writers. I gave a Hedgebrook reading for the Anacortes, WA chapter of the American Association of University Women. Joseph, an expert pruner and Master Gardener, pruned all the fruit trees on the Hedgebrook property. We could not have asked for a more beautiful weekend. If you can manage, take a trip to Whidbey Island.

And what about the Monterey Bay Aquarium? My mother took these pictures during our recent trip to the San Francisco Bay Area. I also recommend visiting Ano Nuevo, the State Reserve, the largest mainland breeding colony in the world for the northern elephant seal.

In addition to speaking and traveling, I finished the first draft of my next book for children, and now I'm waiting for a revision letter from my editor.

I posted a guest entry on New York Times bestselling author Gregg Olsen's blog, Crime Rant this morning. Check it out if you can! Until next time.