October Moments

My blog posts have been few and far between lately, mostly because I had two editorial letters for two different projects land on my desk last week, so I’ve been keeping my head down to revise.  One of those books — the picture book — is just about ready to go back to my editor and off to its illustrator.  My critique partners say it’s pretty much set, so I’m just giving it a couple more days to brew, to make sure I don’t have "senders’ remorse" when I fire off that email.

The other revision, for my Dec. 2010 MG novel SUGAR ON SNOW, is….bigger.  But I think I’ve figured out a good way to tackle it, and I promise a nice juicy process post about that soon, for those of you who are like me and can’t get enough of the processy details. 

Today, though, a breath of fall — courtesy of my kids, who pulled me away from my laptop for a couple hours, and some other critters we hiked with at Point au Roche State Park.

Wooly bear caterpillars were everywhere, getting ready to hibernate in the next couple weeks.

I apparently got too close because this guy actually coiled up and struck at my camera. I think he fancies himself a rattlesnake.

It’s funny… sometimes when I’m revising, I just need to be locked in a room with my laptop. But sometimes, getting out of that room is even more important to the process for me.  Looking up through the trees, getting close to a caterpillar, close enough to see the green flecks on a snake, gives me new eyes for my story, too.