Book signings and writing: I have been running in circles with many different tasks on the menu. My mind races with ideas and half-finished stories as my feet carry me to and fro. I worked in the garden and submitted a couple more children's book manuscripts, a story to a children's magazine, worked on several articles and prepared three poems to get in the mail. Last Friday, I attended Steve's signing at Hastings. We had a long discussion about promoting.

I spent most of last Saturday at the library during the children's program from 10-11 a.m. with Kathy Z. Price, author from New York City. I watched and carefully listened to her read from her book The Bourbon Street Musicians, and how she weaved her guitar playing into her story telling. It was fascinating watching how she kept the young children involved. It reinforces what they teach in poetry reading: Move while using gestures and emphasize words which create action and emotion - pulling the listeners in. Kathy knows how to do it successfully for she is a poet. She has published a book of poetry and is the editor for A Gathering of the Tribes, a literary magazine. She answered question about the ups and downs of writing and the publishing world and now has a novel making the rounds.

When I came home for lunch in-between programs, I had an email from the editor at Salute, a military e-zine requesting a couple of small articles and photos. Boy, was I busy. I submitted them Monday morning. I hope they work out as she is holding another article of mine.

Upcoming workshops and conferences: If you are interested in writing for the children's market click on www.geocities.com/scbwimo (I find it quicker by placing SCBWI Missouri in the search engine.), Ozarks Writers League www.ozarkswritersleague.org, White County Creative Writers www.whitecountycreativewriters.org, and the Ozarks Creative Writers Inc www.ozarkcreativewriters.org.

An interesting article on "Point of Views" can be found at www.sfwrite.com it applies to all genres. Click on http://darcypattison.livejournal.com Darcy Pattison Revision Notes. Darcy is the author of several children's books and she teaches creative writing. It is filled with solving many problems you have encounted with picture books and teen novels. Read Hotdog on TV by Karen T. Taha, a Dial Easy-To-Read with three chapters (40pages), A BEAR FOR MIGUEL by Elaine Marie Alphin, a level 3 for grades 3-4 with five chapters and 60 pages, and THE BARN by AVI with 28 chapters and 105 pages. List of (publishers) members click on CBC - The Children's Book Council, Inc., and a list of the latest books.

Harriet Hamilton, an Arkansas author, I have never met has friends who want you to remember - she may have left us when she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer but, her book RIBBONS OF THE SUN will keep her alive. Harriet just received several awards for her book. Her critique group and friends, Karen Taha and Jan VanSchuyver shared this good news with the AR/SCBWI members.