1. I broke my arm (technically in December, but the bulk of the result has affected January, not December).
2. Terry Davis fell off a ladder onto a cement floor, ended up being airlifted to Mayo Clinic, went into a coma; we were told he was going to die; he came out of it, had surgery, got labeled "Lazarus," and is recovering at St. Mary's in Rochester. He still has a tough, long road ahead.
Good things about the prior item:
a) My kids came home and I got time with them as a bonus, albeit in circumstances less than ideal.
b)Terry is ALIVE and retains his sense of humor and intelligence in spite of the fact that he was supposed to be DEAD.
c) My boyfriend Tom once again shows his true colors in that he's man enough to be supportive of my friendship with Terry instead of being jealous or intimidated by it. Tom amazes me.
3. I'm not a finalist for the Minnesota Book Awards. Strangely, I sort of knew that I wouldn't be. There were sooooo many spectacular nominations in books for young people this year, I didn't think anyone knew me enough to make the top four (although some egotistical part of me wonders if anybody did read Chasing AllieCat while doing the selecting, and maybe it's good that deep down I believe Chasing AllieCat is a good enough book to have made the final cut)...
The top four finalists are SPECTACULAR writers and deserve it entirely. Kurtis Scarletta (who has been deserving this honor for a long time, in my opinion), Pete Hautman (who wins every year he's nominated and that's most years 'cause he's that brilliant), Jacqueline West (whom I don't know and am going to go READ), and Brian Farrey (my editor for Chasing AllieCat!) are amazing writers and kudos to them!
And in children's (younger) books, thrilled to death that Laura Purdie Salas made finalist!
I'm in great company among the talent that got passed over: Rachael Hanel (one of my besties cycling as well as writing, in my writing group!) Anne Ursu (loved Breadcrumbs), Geoff Herbach (I thought he'd win the whole shebang), Marion Dane Bauer (Holy smoke! She's one of my idols), Lynne Jonell (finalist last year--consistently great), Steve Brezenoff (just being in his company for this rejection makes it all okay), Loretta Ellsworth (Also amazed she didn't make the cut), Susan Niz, and a whole bunch of people I don't even know--and where the heck was Kelly Barnhill on this list in the first place?
And in children's (younger books): Stephen Shaskan wasn't a finalist? Okay, I'm fine with not making the cut.
Another good thing: Girl Meets Boy (Chronicle) is out in the world, and if there's ever a time that's honorable to have my story paired with Terry Davis's story in anthology, this is IT.
2 comments:
Jee-suus. I feel like you should avoid black cats, ladders, and spilled salt. You are so resilient, Becky, and how you manage to have a cheerful persona ALWAYS really impresses and inspires me. I, personally, am prone to wearing my stress on my face. All those people in your life are lucky to have you. And, though I know the judges had an extremely talented and full bunch of authors and books to choose from, you and Geoff should have been in there. But try as they do. those types of contests are often very, very arbitrary and lean on owl criticism (a Baxter-coined phrase).
Hey, thanks much for your kind words. I was sure Geoff was going to win the whole shebang this year, so I was shocked when HE wasn't in there...but I have to admit the company we keep in non-finalists is pretty impressive, so we can't feel too bad after all. Anyway, thanks for your response here!
Post a Comment