Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. I am sure that many of you, like me, see this as a holiday that should be celebrated for at least a week. The past days confirmed this for me, and it all had to do with shirts. My younger son is notorious for doing things on his own agenda, which is the last minute. Tuesday I worked from home as my husband was traveling. I knew Cory had a baseball game and did not want to be late. I suggested that Cory get his baseball uniform on before dinner so we would be able to leave immediately after inhaling food (I am sure many of you know these kinds of nights). I had confirmed with him earlier in the afternoon that he knew where the uniform was as the housekeeper had washed it. I got an exasperated "YES MOM."

Summer vacation is just around the corner. Aren’t you excited? I got a preview of the great weather that screams summer when I visited Los Angeles last week for the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. It was in the 90s every day! While there, I attended a panel discussion with Rick Riordan, Erin Hunter and Cornelia Funke as the author speakers. I loved that the audience was filled with lots of children who asked some really fabulous questions. Funke talked about the highly anticipated Inkheart movie (scheduled for release in January 2009), and the publication of INKDEATH, which marks the conclusion of the Inkheart trilogy and will be in stores in October. There were lots of cheers about this. Hunter spoke about how she writes her Warriors series with two other authors. She scripts out each book and writes the storyline, and then the other two authors work on the rest of the writing. She was quite humorous about her role of "being in charge." Riordan talked about his Percy Jackson and the Olympians series that incorporates Greek myths into the storylines; the latest book is THE BATTLE OF THE LABYRINTH. His fans should note that he has a new series coming out this fall called The 39 Clues.

Summer vacation is just around the corner. I got a preview of the great weather that screams summer when I visited Los Angeles last week for the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. It was in the 90s every day! While there, I attended a panel discussion with Rick Riordan, Erin Hunter and Cornelia Funke as the author speakers. I loved that the audience was filled with lots of children who asked some really fabulous questions. Funke talked about the highly anticipated Inkheart movie (scheduled for release in January 2009), and the publication of INKDEATH, which marks the conclusion of the Inkheart trilogy and will be in stores in October. There were lots of cheers about this. Hunter spoke about how she writes her Warriors series with two other authors. She scripts out each book and writes the storyline, and then the other two authors work on the rest of the writing. She was quite humorous about her role of "being in charge." Riordan talked about his Percy Jackson and the Olympians series that incorporates Greek myths into the storylines; the latest book is THE BATTLE OF THE LABYRINTH. His fans should note that he has a new series coming out this fall called The 39 Clues.

When we last left off, I was in L.A. for the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. I love going to L.A. There are people who loathe that city, but I love it, especially in April. While New York in April is usually spitting out a nice day here and there with a few flowers popping up, L.A. is bright and colorful. Thus the opportunity to hop on a plane and fly west is something that I will seize. With glee.

I hear the birds in the morning these days, but the temperatures still are in the 40s. Hmmmm, this is not a very merry month of May in the New York area. This weekend I am taking a welcome break to guaranteed warm weather as I head to Grand Cayman and Coral Gables to participate in book club events for Books & Books, one of my favorite independent bookstores. In Grand Cayman, Lisa See, the author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Peony in Love, will be the author guest. I had the pleasure of hearing Lisa speak at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books with her mom, Carolyn See (author The Handyman, among other titles) last month. Their dialogue was such fun that I felt like I was sitting across the kitchen table from them. You can read more about my adventures at the book festival here and here, as I wrote two blogs about this trip. I know Lisa is close to completing her next book, and I hope to have more to share with you about it next month.