The Bouncy Castle in Space

Sage said:

Wow, that's an amazing story. These are the kinds of kids that you see in books and think couldn't really exist, but that it makes a nice story. It's nice to see it in the real world

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That's exactly what I was thinking when I read it. Ha ha!

Judy, so sorry about your Fathers' Day. He's worried about mushrooms? Has he never heard "The Cat's In the Cradle?" (Seriously, that song haunts me). Your son did the right thing. I tell my kids - you can only control what you do, so do the right thing and don't worry about what other people do.

Wow, Judy, sorry about that. That's really sad.

MsJudy said:

Dad's answer? He'd love to, but he has some mushrooms in the fridge that'll go bad if he doesn't eat them soon.

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What?! Were they Italian white truffles?

Hugs for Judy and son.

Does anyone know anything about the Annual Digest Writing Competition, Los Angeles Book Festival, or New York Book Festival? I was just curios if anyone knew by entering these contests if that makes you "self published." Sorry if this is a stupid question.

Thanks for the hugs. The good thing is, my son is totally over needing anything from his dad. So he feels like he got the perfect outcome: he gets credit for offering to do lunch, without actually having to sit through an hour of making small talk with the man. And since dad wanted to watch the Open, son had the perfect excuse to come back to my house, where he gets fed and has good internet coverage. So it all worked out...in its own way.

Sorry Playground King, I have no idea.

Me sad. Got a rejection today - "This is a difficult one for me - your writing is quite good, and your hero is engaging, but in the end I don't think this is unique enough for me."

Sorry, Sheila.

Aw, Sheila. Sounds like it was really close, and those can be the worst. Have some chocolate, and send it out again.

Judy, sounds like your son is already showing more maturity than his papa. Glad he was able to shrug it off. (And, yeah, Sheila, haunted is right. I hate *that song* so much I shall not even mention it by name.)

Martha and her "school dinners" rock. Glad she won this round.

Kitty, I'll look forward to the remodeling tales!

Sorry, Sheila. Sometimes it seems like agents only want something that they envision will bring them insane fame and fortune. What about just producing great books that kids will enjoy reading?

Am I missing something here?

Me sad. Got a rejection today

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Awh . It was a nice rejection at least, maybe it means you are getting closer.

@Ms. Judy: Woah. You must be a great mom though, because your son handled it very well. Maybe in a few years your ex will grow up and realize what great kids he has. It took my brother YEARS to settle with one girl and start paying the bills. He spent most of his life driving cars through buildings etc. So I guess people can change, I just hope your ex does for the kids.

As for me, you guys will be proud to know I have a library card now (For those of you that don't, I live half an hour from the nearest library, and never enjoyed going because I never have anyone to go with) I had a girl day with my mother, and ended up checking out Savvy and Magyk (the first Septimus Heap book).

Good for you, Kidd! Libraries are your friend. I spend time in mine as often as possible - like today, for instance.

Ours just never has the books you guys recommend over here and I always have to request them through Loan. But today I got two that look promising.

Hugs for Sheila. "Close but not quite" is still hard to hear.

Thanks, guys. I wrote a bit, so I feel better now. New story, definitely unique (I always think that, until I read a new book and find out that someone stole my idea before I had it. I hate it when that happens. ) I'm happy with "unique so far."

Sheila,
Sorry about the R. Those close ones are so much harder than the form replies.

Judy,
Those mushrooms weren't the magical variety were they? Even if they worn't, it doesn't paint a good picture of his "Dad" skills, that's rough for them.

I didn't have a good Father's Day either. BUT, I did get two books that have been on my wishlist for at least a year. Howl's Moving Castle and The Mysterious Benedict Society. Both Rock!

I never remember to return my library books and end up owing more than they cost on Amazon. Plus, all the books I want to browse are in the "Teen Room" and I'm not even sure I'm allowed in.

I did spend 6 hours at my library today doing nothing but revisions. No interruptions, it was like heaven!

No bouncies.
Just got an R from an editor I would have loved to work with. She said they have an upcoming novel that shares some of the same themes; thinks it would be too hard to differentiate them. She was very nice, and wished us luck in finding just the right home for it.

Sorry Ruth. I know that's a hard one. Knowing the premise was good and then discovering someone beat you to it.

Hang in there.

RuthD said:

No bouncies.
Just got an R from an editor I would have loved to work with. She said they have an upcoming novel that shares some of the same themes; thinks it would be too hard to differentiate them. She was very nice, and wished us luck in finding just the right home for it.

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Ouch, that does sting!
Sorry to hear that. Sounds like you need to keep putting that one out there, though!

So sorry, Ruth. How disappointing. Hopefully you'll find an ever better editor who'll take it on, really soon.

{{{Ruth}}}

Gonna join in and give Ruth a big hug

So sorry, Ruth and Sheila. I'm pretty sick of those so close... rejections myself.

Chin up, keep writing, and if all else fails, break out the chocolate ice cream.

more hugs for ruth.

Can I squeeze in a little bragging?

So, you guys may have heard me mention my 13yo son. The quirky, geeky, might-be-on-the-spectrum kid. The rabid atheist who collects knives and reads millions of words every year and absolutely has to tell me in minute detail how to build a nuclear reactor in Minecraft at 6:30 am and can tell you all the ways the Harry Potter movies don't follow the books, even if he read the book years before the movie came out.

He's had his challenges making friends in the past. In fact, for all of fourth grade, he sat on a bench at every recess, either reading or staring off into space, never playing or even hanging out and talking with other kids.

For years, he wouldn't go to birthday parties because he didn't like crowds...

So junior high was a bit of a transition for him, his first year not at Mom's school, new routines and friends, things that make a kid on the spectrum get a little crazy. But he did it. He settled in and by the end had made a new friend--who invited him to go off to Shaver Lake for a WEEK of camping.

Can I confess I was a little nervous? That either he'd be sick of everyone after the first day and want to come home, or that he'd say something that would offend the kid's Christian parents, or he'd starve to death because he doesn't eat normal food like hamburgers or sandwiches...

Heck, he's only been on one other sleep-over in his life, and that didn't go too well (friend's dad got drunk and crashed his truck into a tree, stranding the boys at a cousins house...)

Well, he just got back, and he had a great time. And the friend's dad said Kevin was their favorite of all the kids! Easy-going, polite, responsible.

*mom swoons*