Octavian Nothing

Alert reader Nikki logged on to the blog to say that her favorite books of the year were M.T. Anderson's "Octavian Nothing" and "The Book Thief" by Marcus Zuzak. I agree about Octavian Nothing, although I just barely read it, so it couldn't count for 2006. It was a wonderful book, and I'm glad that it was recognized by the Printz Awards, and won the National Book Award. I am a big fan of the Printz Awards, that recognize great YA books like Octavian, "How I Live Now" and "Skellig". I haven't read "The Book Thief" yet, but I plan on it. I saw it some time ago at the store, and thought it looked interesting. Thanks for the recommend, Nikki! PS-Octavian Nothing is sometimes hard to locate on searches, because the actual title is: The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party. I believe that our library has it listed under The Pox Party, but everyone just calls it Octavian Nothing.

Awards

By the way, for those of you looking for the list of who won what this year, you can go to www.ala.org, the American Library Association's website. They have complete lists of the winners and honorees for all the major book awards, all the way back to 1920, or whenever it was they started.

How much writing?

Alert blog-reader Melinda asked how much time I spend writing every day. This varies, depending on how long my 2 year old will nap. Sometimes he naps for more than 2 hours, which is fabulous. I don't write solid for the whole time, being too easily distracted by the internet or other time wasters, but I try to write at least 1,000 words, or if I'm editing, I try to do at least 40 pages. She also said that Shannon Hale's wonderful "River Secrets" was on her Best Of list, which makes me blush. I can't believe I forgot Shannon's book for my list. I loved "River Secrets". Shannon's writing is so beautiful, I'm just in awe of her.

Year's Best

It's up! I've put a new list of favorite books and movies for 2006 under the "Year's Best" catagory. It actually, looking over my reading journal, wasn't that great of a year. I mean, I read some stuff I loved, but then I looked at 2005's list. There are some books on there that are classics for the ages, books that I want to cuddle to my chest and read over and over again. This year, not so much. Sigh.

Dragon Slippers Series?

I just got an email from someone asking whether Dragon Slippers is part of a series, or in any way connected to my other book. It is not, I'm afraid. So far, each of my books is completely on its own, there are no sequels or series-es. So there's your answer, hope you're not disappointed!

Knitting patterns, gah!

My third book, "Black Wool Chain" will feature six knitting patterns that go along with the story. The problem? I'm trying to write them. I know what I want, and the instructions make sense to me, but what if they don't make sense to others? I don't want to discourage anyone from trying them, male or female, but what if they're too hard? I don't think I'm all that advanced, in the last year I've taught myself how to cable, to knit in the round, and other tricks, and I swear it wasn't that hard. I swear. Sigh. Maybe I should print out these patterns, and find a "test knitter" or two.