Books and Trips

Here it is, my beloved childhood book, Two Are Better than One by Carol Ryrie Brink, and it was a delight and a pleasure to read once more after so many, many years. (We won't say how many, a little secret I'll keep to myself, ahem.)

Alas, the cover art here is a later paperback version and not nearly as fine and wonderful as the original hardback version, but I was able to find the original and purchase it for my collection. Gosh, I have a book collection. How fun! Of course, all my books are spilling over the bookcases and under the desk and under the bed and on top of things. One of these days I'll get more bookcases and organize my "library".

A library of his own is something my middle son dearly wants when he has his own house someday. He's talked about it for years and he will ONLY purchase hardback editions of all his favorite books since that is what a true library should have. So all the bookcases I purchase end up in his room. Well, when he moves out and takes all those books with him . . . I'll confiscate the suckers for my own!

I've been a busy bee the past two weeks and not blogging, shame on me. I did manage to finally finish the rewrite for Secret Rites of the Goddess and get it off to three agents who requested within hours. Heady stuff. I also sent off The Healing Spell manuscript to an editor who wanted to see it again. Fingers crossed. Gosh, I cross my fingers and toes so much I swear they're soon going to drop off my body.

Tomorrow, I take off for the north country of New Mexico. 200 miles in the car and then two days of school visits and the Farmington Public library. Should be fun! My bags are packed, I'm ready to go . . . sing it with me . . .

I also just finished reading DRAGON'S KEEP, a terrific novel by an author I haven't read before. Stunning writing, incredibly brilliant storytelling about an old Merlin legend and a princess who fulfills a 600 year old prophecy.

P. S. to Sarah sarah_create whom I big-time owe an email. If you have a child you're looking to purchase a book for that loves dragons and medieval stories and will be enjoyed for more than one reading and by the whole family I definitely recommend this one! Janet Lee Carey is the author, of course.


See you all next week!!!
Be good.

Screaming with Unexpected Delight!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to Laura Bowers, I love you!!! laurabowers

Your Tuesday's post was an answer to my prayers. You thought your procrastination on the computer was time-wasting, but you helped me SO much I still can't get over it.

Your link to Shelfari solved a 20 year old mystery because I found a book I've been looking for forever.

The book? TWO ARE BETTER THAN ONE.

I read this when I was about 10 -11 years old - ADORED IT - and have been trying off and on to find it for so long. I've put out questions to other writers and in fact, I was about ready to post on my blogs to see if anybody recognized the book and could help me locate a copy.

I've searched every online new and used bookstore on the net without luck for so many years. I started wondering if I dreamed up the whole book! Was my memory just totally gone? Did I ever actually read this book? Why couldn't I find it? I also could not remember the author's name to save my soul.

Turns out I had the title slightly wrong. I kept Googling TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE which is a quote from the book. Adding that one word HEADS threw off every search engine and online bookstore.

But SHELFARI didn't! (Yay for them to do a slight variation). I went to Laura's link to Shelfari on a total whim yesterday, plugged in the title and the book came up!

It was real.
I wasn't dreaming!
It's the right book!
My jaw dropped right to my keyboard.
I started screaming.
My son ran in to see what was wrong?
I was laughing and crying with delight! I'm SOOOOOOO THRILLED!

And I ordered a copy of the book in its original hardcover edition with a dust jacket no less. I cannot wait to get it and read it again.

That is the power of books on a kid's life.
This kid.
Me.

P. S. The author of TWO ARE BETTER THAN ONE? None other than Carol Ryrie Brink - Newbery winner of Caddie Woodlawn. That just about freaked me out, too. The book wasn't by some obscure author at all like I'd been supposing for so long.

P. P. S. Laura, can I take you out to dinner sometime???