As my friend Jane Yolen would say, writing is mostly about "butt in chair." I've been practicing that posture quite a bit this summer. While many people I know have been posting pictures of their vacations, I've been toiling away at my craft, and happy to do so! I've revised one work in progress titled Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance, completed the first draft of another work (a picture book biography that will remain a secret, for now!), crafted new poems for two anthologies and one literary magazine. In addition, I did two interviews, wrote one article for NCTE's English Journal, to be published in 2020, and composed an op-ed piece. Whew! I'm glad my brain still works.

Aside from creating new works, I enjoyed finding existing titles on a few great lists. Bronx Masquerade and A Girl Named Mister showed up on 100 Must-Read YA Books Written in Verse.  Between the Lines found its way onto Imagination Soup's Chapter Books Featuring Kids in Foster Care. The same book made it to the 20+1-to-Grow-On Recommendations list. Yay! Meanwhile, Garvey's Choice and Words with Wings turned up on a few summer reading lists. Not bad!

Lovely news came in other forms, as well. Goodreads did a giveaway of Ordinary Hazards, my forthcoming memoir. And Amazon gave me a big surprise by listing Ordinary Hazards as part of its two-day Amazon Prime sale. I never saw that one coming!

It's been wonderful to be home for a good stretch to focus on writing new material, and to plan for my fall book tour to promote my memoir. Maybe I'll see you while I'm on the road! I sure hope so.

Until next time.

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