Tonight at 6 pm West coast time/9pm EST  I’ll be talking to Karen Fabian and others on FabChat. What is FabChat, you ask?FabChat is a weekly live chat for writers and readers of all interests and persuasions.  Join us to learn about books, the stories behind them, the lives of their authors and a little about the writing craft itself.

Come join the conversation!

It’s fall! Okay, I may not go by the calendar, but I know when the light changes, the air carries a feeling of excitment and smells of apples. Maybe I’ve taught school for too long, but there’s nothing like fall for fresh starts. So it’s with a just a little bit of trepidation and a great deal of eagerness that I begin writing the last book in the WolfProof trilogy.

The last book has to bring the adventure together for the characters and the readers. All of the hints dropped in Wolfproof and The Travelers’ Market come together, and Timothy, Sarah and Jessica have one final adventure that we, the readers are privy to. I’m sure that they still have many adventures together after the reader closes the cover of the last book in the trilogy; we just don’t get to come along.

Did you notice that I keep calling it the last book? That’s because there is no title yet! I’m still keeping my ideas to myself. Remember that The Travelers’ Market comes out next summer, and hopefully the final book, soon after.

Speaking of fresh starts… It’s time to begin school visits. I’ll be talking to teachers in

“You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children. “

– Madeleine L’Engle (1918 - 2007)

 I was busy last week and somehow missed the news– Madeleine L’Engle died. A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door , the Austin series are books I loved. My daughter adored them.

I remember finding her as a 6th grader sprawled on her bedroom floor constructing a chart. She was putting all of L’Engle’s books she loved so well in chronological order so as not to miss a single one. And my daughter isn’t the only one. I’ve talked to a number of students who remember years of their lives defined by these wonderful, quirky, magical books.

One of the most wondeful things about L’Engles books are that they are difficult to categorize. They have that special touch of magic that reminds you that the world is much more than it seems, much bigger than any of us imagine. One of my favorites is,  Walking on Water ,her biographical reflections on art and faith.

“To paint a picture or to write a story or to compose a song is an incarnational activity. The artist is a servant who is willing to be a birth giver.”  A fitting tribute might be to read one of her many novels or to write something yourself and carry on the work of incarnation.

Okay, for some reason, not all the contests I added to the Student Writers tab show up on the post. So, here’s the third contest…

 DRAGONCOMET SHORT STORY CONTEST: http://www.ltue.org/contests.htmLife, the Universe & Everything,  The contest is divided into the following categories:1. Adult writers

2. School age writers (9th - 12th grade at contest deadline)3. Young school age writers (5th - 8th grade at contest deadline)There is no entrance fee, and only one entry is allowed per person per category. No simultaneous or previously published entries will be accepted. Entries are being accepted now and the deadline for entries is January 15, 2006.All stories should be mailed unfolded in a manila envelope to: DragonComet/Odyssey Contestsc/o Aleta Clegg 919 N. 900 E. Pleasant Grove, UT 84062       

It’s the end of those summer night art walks, (Passagiata), in our town Richland, WA. The first Friday evening of the month stores stay open late, artists perform, and folks enjoy the summer night. This Friday, Sept 7th, marks the end of this season’s Passagiata with a book signing at Wild Goose Design, 610 the Parkway from 5:00-8:00 pm.

Several artist friends will be signing books and art as well. Irene Hays will be signing her new chapbook and artist Kim Hobbick will be selling her wonderful “animal art.” Come, enjoy good food, friends and a walk from summer into fall. 

Check out the current contests for student writers, (fantasy, poetry and short story), on the student writers tab of this website. I’ve added three new listings! School has started and its time to get scheduled and get those stories dusted off, polished up and out into the world.

And when you do get something accepted…let me know so I can brag about you on this website:) Notice I said when not if. Keep writing and it will happen!