Judy's Blog

Full Disclosure

2011-09-09T14:37:00.016-04:00

Not long after Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret was published I got a call asking me to write a new edition of a booklet called Growing Up and Liking It. This was to be an educational booklet, preparing girls for the big day when they, too, would get their periods. I was offered $5,000 to write it. A small fortune to me in the early 70's. Five times as much as my advance for the book!

I didn't have a clue how to make this booklet fun without making fun of it, but I took my assignment seriously. I came up with the idea of three friends, Patty, Donna, and Ginny, who write letters to each other. (Any of you remember?) I gave one of them gerbils to add interest to the story but, alas, gerbils were vetoed by the male execs (or so I was told) for being too rodent-like. They strongly suggested changing gerbils to kittens. Also, they didn't want anything icky about periods. The ick factor was not acceptable.

Bless my first agents, who made sure my name would never appear on the booklet or in any connection with the booklets. But, recently, when I came across a website from the Museum of Menstruation featuring covers from the various editions of Growing Up and Liking It I decided it was time to come clean.

I was especially tickled by an editor of the website who says of the booklet:

I thought it was a wooden version of Judy Blume's famous book Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret.... but I think the writer(s) had a tin ear for what passes between girls of that age - at least that is how it appears to this non-expert in girls' conversation.
Oops! I guess this proves I can't write to order.

I've never endorsed any product (though, personally, I loved those modess....because ads -- pictured left --so elegant!) But recently I've been getting invitations to write something on the subject of menopause, featuring Margaret and her friends forty years later. Margaret, menopausal? I don't think so. Maybe Patty, Donna, and Ginny are menopausal now, but to me Margaret will always be 12.

Margaret & Menstroo-ation

2011-09-01T11:33:00.033-04:00

Why Margaret Gave Up Those Bulky Pads and Belts and Opted for a More Modern Solution

Are You There God? It's Me Margaret was published in 1970. Just months after the book came out sanitary belts became obsolete when adhesive strip pads hit the market, leaving poor Margaret behind to struggle through the age old question: belts with pins or belts with hooks? Here she was, a modern girl of the early 70's trapped into using the same equipment I used growing up in
the 50's. A few years later a smart editor in the UK suggested that Margaret trade in those belts and pads for the new, more friendly Feminine Products. Until then I'd never guessed it was possible to revisit this issue once a book was published. But from that moment on, it was Go For It, Margaret! I made the few changes myself then approached my US editor, who readily agreed it was a good idea.

Some of my readers who grew up with the earliest editions of the book get angry when they find out Margaret isn't using sanitary belts anymore. (I think it's been at least 25 years since she has.) They feel cheated, as if my publishers are messing with a classic. I appreciate their concern - really, I do -- but in this case I disagree. We're not talking about historical fiction. We're talking about the millions of girls who have read the book since then, and continue to read it today, thinking of Margaret as their contemporary. For the purists among you, I'm writing a novel now that takes place in the early 50's and you can be sure some of my characters will struggle with belts and pins.

This is Part One of a two part blog. Stay tuned --

The Purple Jacket Goes to the White House

2010-06-04T13:24:00.016-04:00

Key West -- I bought the purple jacket back in early April on a rare trip to Miami. I went to the only Mall I know in a city of malls (I've come to hate shopping, though I'm not opposed to having pretty things. I just want them to magically appear in my closet with no effort on my part, when I need them). Alas, that's not how it works. So I walked into a snazzy department store where I seemed to be the only shopper on a sunny Sunday afternoon and explained that I was looking for a jacket - dressy but not formal - and not black. Oh, and it had to fit really well.

As I walked around with Jane, the salesperson, I spotted the purple jacket. I have a thing for purple. (Yes, still!) Jane pointed out that it went with a dress but could be sold separately. Can't remember the last time I wore a dress. And a purple dress topped by a purple jacket would be too much even for me. But I slipped on the jacket and voila - it fit perfectly. And even in my cargo pants, t-shirt, and Mephistos I knew it looked good. Nevermind that it was way more than I'd normally spend -- with George asleep on the grass outside the store, and a long ride ahead of us back to Key West, I figured if ever there was a time for fast, but pricey, this was it.

I had no idea at the time I'd wear the purple jacket three times during the month of May, starting with the New Jersey Hall of Fame, then to the Authors Guild gala, and finally, to the White House. Yes, that White House. Had no idea why we were invited to this reception. The invitation said something about celebrating Jewish American Heritage Month. Who even knew there was a Jewish American Heritage month?

But any chance to go to this White House was a chance I wasn't going to miss. I was once invited for dinner during the Clinton administration, and, in my Good Girl Judy mode, sent regrets because I was expected on the west coast that day where a series of meetings had already been set up. When my son heard he was beside himself. Don't you know an invitation to the White House takes precedence over everything else? Okay. Now I know.

It was seriously hot and humid in Washington on Thursday afternoon (May 27). Too hot for the purple jacket. But I wore it anyway. We arrived just before three. Who knew we'd be standing on line sweltering in the hot afternoon sun waiting to get through security? But once we were inside, it was so worth it. We didn't expect to enjoy ourselves (expected only to enjoy the experience) but we did!

Abigail Pogrebin got it just right in this piece.

We met so many fascinating people, doing all sorts of interesting things. And the smart, spunky Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz from Broward County, FL was there (someone I'd wanted to meet since I'd seen her on TV almost every night during the presidential primaries). I'd read that this celebration was her idea. Thanks, Debbie!

For a humorous take on the afternoon check this out: Heeb Magazine

But wait a minute, Josh -- we didn't see any food. Not a cookie, not a cracker, or a strawberry dipped in chocolate, let alone London Broil. We thought that was one of the jokes of the afternoon. What do you feed several hundred Jews? Champagne!

While I know the First Lady was in the ballroom, as was the Vice Prez, I didn't lay eyes on them. Can't even tell you what Michelle was wearing. Those in the know gathered outside the ballroom doors early, waiting for them to open, and got the up front seats. By the time we entered the only seats left were in the back. We did see Obama but that's because he was at the raised podium and Danny Schayes (7 feet tall) finally sat down.

The absolute best part of the afternoon -- Regina Spektor played and sang for us. If you don't know her music check it out now. She is amazing. It was a thrill to meet her and find out my books helped her to learn English when she emigrated from Russia as a child.

Regina -- I am your fan for life!

And that's it for the merry month of May and the posts that tell the story.
Thanks for checking in.
xx Judy

Vixen

2010-06-02T13:51:00.021-04:00

Key West -- During our three week whirlwind visit to New York and Boston, where we packed in more than I can even blog about, one of the most memorable events was being inducted into the Harvard Lampoon.

I am now officially a Vixen. And that's about all I'm permitted to say because it's all very secret.

When I paddle around this summer in a kayak that was christened Vixen back when Summer Sisters was published (remember Caitlin and Vix who called themselves Cassandra and Vixen?) I'll be thinking secretly, Hey, I'm a Vixen, too.

I can tell you this -- it was a dark and stormy night. For real. Buckets of rain and cold wind (so Boston). George and I were staying with Randy and when she saw the robin's egg blue leather jacket I was planning to wear, with the open work in back, she said, Kind of Michael Jackson for you, isn't it, Mother? Was it? Hmm... Wish I had a photo of the back of the jacket. I admit, it's outre, but fun to wear.

Both Randy and George came with me with the Lampoon's permission. They also were sworn to secrecy once we entered the castle. No kidding, the Lampoon is housed in its own castle on the Harvard campus. (Randy and George weren't with me for the official induction so only I know what really happened and I'll never tell except that it was dark and mysterious...)

For months I'd been emailing with Damilare, who extended the invitation on behalf of the Lampoon. I'd imagined a tall, exotic, female student. The truth hit me when I asked if the evening was to be festive or casual dress. Whatever you feel like wearing. It really doesn't matter, was Damilare's reply. Suddenly, I knew Damilare was a guy! No woman would say that to another woman.

Judy with Damilare Sonoiki, and Courtney Bowman, current president of the Lampoon, outside the Castle.

And what a good sport he was when I told him my story. I love that this big, handsome guy grew up reading my books, already has book ideas of his own, and is part of the Lampoon. I think it's okay to say (at least I hope it is) that Courtney's parents met when both were on the Lampoon staff. I'll bet there were a lot of laughs around their dinner table.

Here's my official medal. So cool!

Thanks, everyone on the Lampoon staff, especially Damilare and Courtney.
xx Judy

The Graduates

2010-05-24T11:06:00.054-04:00

Key West -- 'Tis the season for graduations and this year I got to celebrate, too.

My commencement was at Rutgers and I got to wear a regal crimson gown and black velvet hat. I loved parading around in it.

George now calls me Dr. J. It's not my first honorary degree. That was at Mount Holyoke College -- see my commencement blog of Friday, May 29, 2009 titled SAT (For Better or Worse). But because I grew up in New Jersey, being honored by Rutgers has special meaning.

I have Susan Wilson to thank for this. Susie was my champion. She's the one who sparked my interest in Answer and Sexetc. Because of her I serve on the Advisory Board of this important organization which is part of the Center for Applied Psychology at Rutgers. Thanks, Susie!

But back to Rutgers and my memories of spending weekends there, bunking with students at Douglas College (Rutgers' sister school in the days when the two schools were segregated by sex), and going to fraternity parties with boys. I never learned to like the taste of beer but not drinking didn't stop me from having fun. (I'm sure I had more fun than the kids who got drunk and sick. Ugh!)

Who would have imagined then, that fifty years later I'd be back for an honorary degree? For anyone interested, below is a video.

And you know what the best thing about it was? I didn't have to give a commencement address. So I could relax, enjoy, and listen while Eleanor Smeal, former president of NOW spoke. She focused on the fiftieth anniversary of The Pill and how it changed the lives of women. Can you believe it's been fifty years?

I have no idea who gave the commencement address at my high school graduation in 1956, nor do I remember a thing he/she said. I remember only clutching the hand of my best friend, Mary Sullivan (lucky for us we were seated next to each other, connected by the alphabet - Sullivan and Sussman). Her hand was clammy. I think we wore white. I have no memory of receiving my diploma. And four years later, when I graduated from NYU, I skipped commencement. My diploma arrived by mail. I was married with a baby by then. I felt too grown up for graduation. Little did I know! Which is why, I think, all these graduations mean so much to me.

So congratulations graduates everywhere -- you made it! And now, another beginning. I wish you all the best.
Love,
Judy

Jersey Girl

2010-05-12T09:11:00.058-04:00

New York -- day 12 of our whirlwind visit to the city. But let's start at the beginning. The Miss New Jersey contest -- oh, wait! -- that's what George called it, but really it was the New Jersey Hall of Fame. What a night, what a hoot!

First there was the heat. The temperature outside was 90 plus that afternoon. The car picked us up at 3:30. The air conditioning worked for about 5 minutes then cut off. I don't even like air conditioning. I'm a person who rarely sweats. And I like to sweat, at the gym, or in my tap class --but not when I'm wearing my new purple jacket and an hour's worth of "natural" looking makeup, professionally applied. By the time we reached the NJ Performing Arts Center in Newark I was ready for a swim. Instead, it was red carpet time -- directly from the car -- no chance to use the restroom first. And if I thought it was hot inside the car, the red carpet with all those lights made it feel like a sweat lodge.

George denies he's the guy with me here -- says it must be my bodyguard. But we know better.

Soon Frankie Valli arrived and the crowd went wild. At the end of my final TV spot I sang to him.

Can't believe I did that in public!

Then, bliss -- the cool air of the lobby of the theater, and a glorious theater it is. An opera house that seats 2,000. I headed for the Womens Room where I stripped down, spritzed myself with water, and paper towel dried, praying my deodorant was still working. It was -- whew! I mean, Miss New Jersey with smelly armpits?! But this is probably more than you want to know.

Each honoree was assigned a "minder" (that's what they call them in the UK) -- someone to make sure you get to where you need to be when you need to be there. Only problem was, our minders weren't properly informed (no fault of theirs) so mine didn't know there was a dressing room for me, or a green room with snacks and drinks where the official photo of this year's Class was taken. I made it just in time. Beautiful Susan Sarandon, who was there, isn't in this photo. Maybe her minder didn't know either. That's Michael Graves in a Segway chair. Thrilling to meet him.

And not bad, being seated between Jack Nicholson and Frankie Valli, with Carl Lewis behind us, and one of my favorites, Danny DeVito, next to Frankie. I was disappointed that Philip Roth didn't make it. He is surely one of America's finest novelists. Not to mention that our mothers went to high school in Elizabeth together.

Each of us was introduced by a video.

OMG -- was I ever that young and earnest? And how about David Letterman and Tom Brokaw in 1980? But that narrator's voice! Makes everyone's life sound so, well, lifeless.

I was lucky to have the fabulously smart and funny Judy Gold as my presenter.

We met when I went to her play 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother.

Most moving moment of the evening -- widow of a police officer who was shot and killed on duty in Jersey City. He was acknowledged as a NJ hero. With three small kids, the youngest just a year old when her husband was killed, I'd say she's pretty heroic herself.

Funniest -- The Boss introducing Danny DeVito, then DeVito himself!

Four hours after it began the show ended. Even the Academy Awards don't last that long! As Jack Nicholson said at about 9:30 -- It's hard to give an after dinner speech when you still haven't had your dinner.

Something I've been thinking about -- from age 12 on I dreamed about living on the other side of the Hudson, which I finally managed when I went to NYU. For a long time I hated to be asked where I was from (wanting to be seen as someone more exotic?) though I never denied my Jersey roots. After all, N.J. was, and continues to be, an inspiration - so many of my books are set there, including the one I'm just starting. But lately, when someone asks where I'm from, I say proudly -- Hey, I'm a Jersey Girl! Ya wanna make something of it?

Chicken Little

2010-04-29T12:59:00.001-04:00

Key West -- this adorable chick(en) in New Hampshire has been given my name, with my blessing. She's going to visit classrooms to promote reading.

Look! "Judy Blume" is wearing a crown in this photo.

This is what Wendy Thomas-- (as heard on NH public Radio and seen on WMUR Channel 9, Wendy has also been a guest on the Chicken Whisperer’s radio show and has been featured in Parenting NH, Backyard Poultry, Woman’s Day, and Reader’s Digest for her chicken stories and adventures in thrift) wrote to me:

When it came time to choose our “Judy Blume” chick, there was no discussion. The answer was obvious. Remember the smallest little Amberlink chick who got sick after one of her sisters died? The one that we put into a chick ICU box to keep her safe and warm? The little girl I held warm to my chest clucking to her softly, giving her encouragement to continue?

This is the chick that beat the odds and survived.

She is still the smallest of all her sisters but this little chick has spirit, pluck, and a heart bigger than all of the White Mountains in her new state. She’s independent, clever, strong, and still likes to snuggle down while you cluck gentle endearments into her ear.

Really, was there any other chick that would do?

It is with great honor and joy that I introduce to you the newest named addition to our flock: “Judy Blume”.

Here are the "Good Egg" questions Wendy asks before you get a chick named for you, with my answers.

Good Egg Judy Blume’s Interview

What is the best advice an older relative or family member gave you?

My father told me to live life to the fullest, to make every day count. I try to remember that.

If you were given one wish to use anyway you wanted, what would you wish for?

A decent life for kids everywhere, where they have hope for the future and can dream about what they want to be when they grow up, knowing that anything is possible.

If you were allowed the use of a large billboard over a well traveled road, what would you put on the billboard?

Reading will change your life!

What’s the passion that drives you to get up every morning?

My work — knowing that today could be the day it all comes together. Unless it’s a Friday — then it’s tap dance class.

What is your ideal dinner? What would you eat and with whom would you share it?

Pasta with fresh veggies, a crunchy green salad, and a cupcake from Magnolia Bakery (in NY) — served at home in Key West under a starry sky, with my husband George for company, and Ella playing in the background.

Do you have any favorite chicken stories or memories?

Since I live in Key West, where chickens roam freely and are protected by law – I have more than one chicken story. My favorite is the day my husband was at the Post Office. When he returned to our Jeep and opened the door he found a newly laid egg in the driver’s seat. He brought it home, cooked it and ate it! Everyone who lives here can tell you a chicken story. We’re probably the most chicken friendly town in the US.

Thanks for being such a Good Egg Judy!

Jodi Picoult and Chris Bohjalian, bestselling authors, also have chickens named for them. Wendy's chickens are egg producers. They will never be eaten. She promises they'll live the good life in rural New Hampshire. Well, they may have to go to school but they won't have to worry about their grades.

They'll just promote reading (and maybe egg laying?)

Our very own "Judy Blume" chick.

Speaking of class visits, I was able to visit two schools last week without leaving my desk, thanks to Skype. I love to meet my readers but when you have a hectic schedule and live in faraway Key West (and don't like to fly) Skype makes it possible. I spent time with a lively 4th grade class in Birmingham, Michigan, and with the students at an elementary school outside Louisville, Kentucky. All the kids had questions for me.

As more teachers get used to the technology I expect to make more classroom visits via Skype. We had some technical difficulties for sure. For a while all I could see of the Kentucky school was the ceiling in the cafeteria. And when I saw the video of the Michigan visit I found out there was a delay in my response to their questions. But it was still a very fun morning. And inspiring. Well worth the effort on all our parts.

Tomorrow we leave for almost a month in New York. I'm getting anxious -- not about leaving but about the last minute packing up and the event filled schedule that will keep me hopping. Stay tuned and I'll let you know about:

The New Jersey Hall of Fame
The Children's Choice Awards - there's still time to vote for your favorites
The Harvard Lampoon (where I'm being "lampooned")
Receiving an honorary degree at Rutgers University
Most Important of All -- Elliot's Graduation from High School!

Plus catching up with friends, seeing editor and agent, and taking advantage of all the city has to offer. Whew! I'm tired just thinking about it all.

Will try to post blogs along the way -- or at least tweets. Enjoy the merry month of May!

Love,
Judy

How Did it Get to be April?

2010-03-31T12:53:00.031-04:00

Key West -- While I've been waiting for that How I Spent My Birthday video to come in, another month has gone by. So I will wait no longer to tell you I celebrated my birthday by tap dancing on stage with my class and our fabulous teacher, Bruce Moore (center). The other handsome fellow is Bobby Nesbitt, star of Key West's Lyrics & Lyricists series. The rest of us are -- well, you can see for yourselves -- a game group of new and/or former tappers. We rehearsed until we dropped (okay, not quite) and performed at the invitation of Randy Roberts, another Key West treasure, during his show at the Tennessee Williams Theater. And what a great show -- what an experience!

George kept reminding me, it's not how well you do it, it's that you do it at all -- but to me, it's about doing it well, thank you very much (we are not, after all, dancing bears). So I tap-tap-tapped out onto the stage, took my position, and froze! No kidding. I think I smiled and moved my arms but I realized during those first few time steps I wasn't actually tapping. I remember saying to myself, ohmygod, Judy, you're not dancing! I must have danced eventually but truly, I have no memory of it. Randy Roberts, who has seen the video, swears I was dancing but I have performance amnesia. Imagine that -- after all these years of giving speeches on stage. It was fear of forgetting the sequence of steps, I think, that gave me such anxiety. At one point I thought of writing the sequence down on my hand -- but once Sarah Palin wrote notes on her hand -- you were not going to catch me doing the same thing. No way. Next time I have the chance to dance on stage I'm going to remember it!

I'm celebrating today, the first day of the rest of my life, because Larry and I finally sent in the "polish" on the Tiger Eyes screenplay. Never, ever, have I wanted to be done with a writing project the way I wanted to be done with this one. We've worked for eight months, sending the script back and forth. But, I have to admit, with each draft it improved. And when I read the final draft I liked it (unheard of -- usually I'm so sick of what I've written by the time I send it to my editor I'm convinced it's the worst piece of drek ever!) I even cried at the end. Let's hope this movie actually gets made. After a break it will be time to get back to the novel I started a year ago. A year! I'm almost afraid to look at my research and notes.

Other thoughts --
Those of you waiting to hear from colleges have heard by now. I hope you taped your letters of admission to your wall and congratulated yourselves. I hope, if there was disappointment, you're over it. Rejection hurts. Always. But moving on feels good! And you're going to be happy wherever you go. There's no such thing as only one "right" school.

A note of caution --
Don't let senioritis make you crazy. I know it's tempting to feel like cutting loose now. (I have a grandson about to graduate, remember?) But when I was in high school a group of the smartest boys, all college bound, got caught up in a scandal that brought them and their families nothing but grief. One of them worked in the school office where he got his hands on the final exam (can't remember which subject). He made a copy, then shared it with his friends. Not sure how they were found out, but they were. The colleges who had already admitted them were notified, and most reneged. And how stupid was it for them to cheat, anyway?! These guys would have gotten their usual good grades on their own and would have gone off to their chosen colleges -- except for their failure to think of the consequences of their behavior. So have fun, sure! Enjoy your last weeks of high school. Just don't give up on thinking, okay?

And to everyone else, Happy Spring!
Love,
Judy

Deja Vu All Over Again

2010-03-04T14:43:00.007-05:00

Key West - they're at it again and this time right in my backyard at the Sugarloaf School, on Sugarloaf Key, about 20 miles from Key West on US 1. That's right -- a parent has challenged Foreve r, charging that distributing the book to minors is a felony under Florida law and that it also constitutes sexual harassment. Huh? She doesn't believe in censorship, she says, but she wants the book removed anyway. She's holding the librarian responsible, as a student checked the book out of the school library, then read aloud passages from it on a school bus.

Welcome to the world of school buses. What your child doesn't learn at home, he/she is sure to learn on the school bus. This parent doesn't want any student to have access to Forever. Sugarloaf School goes through 8th grade. The best time to read Forever is before a student is sexually active. Then there's time to talk, to think, to weigh the pros and cons, to consider the consequences. There will be a hearing in the next weeks to decide what to do -- remove the book from the school library's YA collection; limit (by age/grade) the students who can access the book; or leave it on the shelf where it is.A reporter from the local paper, the Key West Citizen, called me for comments. I explained to him that the book is a love story about two 18 year olds, seniors in high school. The first sentence in his article in the next day's edition of the paper referred to Katherine and Michael as pre-teens. Was he listening? I mean, what's going on? I thought about writing a letter to the editor but don't want to escalate the situation. It's not as if we haven't been through this before.

I've put the teacher who contacted me, and the school media specialist, in touch with Joan Bertin of the National Coalition Against Censorship. And I've sent them a letter, along with some recent e-mails from readers about the book. I asked if I could attend the meeting but was told it probably won't be open to the public. The school seems to have its policy in place for dealing with challenges to books. I applaud them for that.

A couple of the best teachers I know lost their jobs for defending books and their students' rights to read them back in the 90's. Two were in the state of Florida. One, Gloria Pipkin, wrote a book about her experience - At the Schoolhouse Gate: Lessons in Intellectual Freedom.

And now, today, comes news from Riverside, CA that there's been a challenge to the dictionary for including the words oral sex. They're considering removing all the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionaries from classrooms. Gee, Forever doesn't even include those words. When I wrote the book in 1975 oral sex wasn't winning any Teens Choice award. No rainbow parties for Katherine and Michael. Katherine and Michael were in love, they acted responsibly, and now they're being bashed for it.

Update: The committee at the Sugarloaf School voted to retain Forever in its YA collection. Thank you to everyone on that committee who stood up for the students. And thank you to Joan Bertin and the NCAC for their thoughtful letter.

And can you believe this one? Barnes&Noble online has contracted with an organization called Common Sense to rate books for parents who have concerns about contents. Read a great post about this on Salon.com.

Margaret got the green light for kids 14 and up! Readers younger than 14 received the yellow light -- proceed with caution. Most kids are reading Margaret at 10. I can't imagine a 14 year old reading it for the first time. I wish parents could make these decisions for themselves, not depend on some rating system. Common sense is the tool every parent needs. Not an organization calling itself Common Sense.

Some people think the Common Sense website is fundamentally misguided, in creating categories that essentially label certain kinds of content “inappropriate” for kids under a specific age. I will have to check further but at this point I agree. And this isn't about only my books. Your favorite books might get a yellow or red light, too. It's all about fear, about not trusting your own judgment, and certainly not trusting your young readers to choose the books they want to read.

When my daughter was 12 she wanted to read Portnoy's Complaint, recently published and endlessly discussed in our family. She was a reader and she was curious. I suggested she wait a few years when it might make more sense to her but she really, really wanted to read it now. What to do? I gulped and told her okay, but to please come to me with her questions. She took it from the shelf and ran off with it to her bedroom. Ten minutes later she was back. Bor-ing! she said, putting the book back on the shelf. I knew what that meant -- there's something in this book that makes me uncomfortable. I don't want to read it.

Meg Cabot has also blogged about Common Sense and BN.com. Meg is the one who alerted me to the situation.

If it's true that BN.com has removed or revised the Common (Non)Sense info
for parents, as the Salon story suggests, then Yay! And thanks to all the writers who got involved (Sarah Dessen, Rachel Vail, Meg Cabot are three I know who took a stand). And thanks to Kate Harding at Salon.com. And to the librarians who've spoken out on behalf of young readers everywhere.

Next post -- soon, I hope! How I Spent My Birthday. And no, it wasn't blowing out all those candles on a cake.
xx Judy

Happy F-ing New Year!

2010-01-07T11:50:00.041-05:00

That's Happy Freezing New Year!

Yes, it's true. We're freezing in Key West. I know...I know...this is nothing compared to the rest of the country but we're setting some kind of record here. If not the lowest temps ever recorded it's certainly a record number of brrrrr days. You should see us -- everyone is in as many layers as they can come up with (and tank tops don't count). There's not a space heater to be had. Who knew my study had no heat? Who cared until now? So George has moved my computer to the kitchen counter (feels like the old days when I wrote my first books at the kitchen table on my college typewriter).The thing about cold weather in the southernmost city is that it's so unexpected. We don't know how to deal with it. I drive a '99 Jeep Wrangler and we took out the windows so long ago we don't even know where they are. Also, we just discovered, the heater isn't working -- not that heat would help much in an open car -- but still.

My only other source of transportation is my bike and I'm still riding it but pedaling into that north wind takes my breath away (literally). Please don't take any of this as a complaint -- I know better -- and probably in another week we'll be living in our tropical paradise again (please!) if not for our sake, for the manatees, who are suffering.

We had a lovely holiday with Randy, Elliot, and Larry. Amanda and Jim couldn't make it this year and we missed them. Here we are at breakfast at Sarabeth's the morning after Christmas. (Note: it's still warm!)

Randy prepared homemade pizza for New Year's Eve. Yum! Then she and I played Scrabble with the set she gave us and later we saw a movie. Larry went back to New York on the 30th and Elliot was especially sad until a friend with two granddaughters visiting heard he was in town and invited him to join them (here they are with their grandpa) to ring in the New Year watching Sushi drop in her red shoe from a building on Duval Street. He had a great time! As usual, CNN was there to capture it all.

Randy made a delicious fritatta for New Year's brunch, with homebaked buttermilk biscuits.

Elliot still had one essay to go on his final college application but managed to make the deadline -- midnight on January 1. Now it's nail biting time until April, though I don't think he's as nervous about it as his Mom.

They left on January 2 and that night six old friends of ours arrived in town. They're not staying with us but while they're here we want to see as much of them as possible.

We spent a week together in Mexico about 15 years ago and performed our version of an Esther Williams water ballet. I'm the only one without a bathing suit -- forgot mine and had to jump in the pool in my underwear. I'm also the only one with white goo on my lips to prevent a sun blister. What fun we had! Our Key West reunion is bittersweet because we've lost two of those beautiful women, both from lung cancer. But the rest of us are still kicking.

And last night, the Literary Seminar kicked off with Take a Poet to Dinner. This year the KWLS celebrates poetry, and especially the poetry of Richard Wilbur who lived here for many years. He'll be speaking on Saturday night. Can't wait to hear him. My poet for last night's dinner was Maxine Kumin , who had just arrived in town. She said Key West felt about as cold as New Hampshire. Now that's something! I'm sad for the poets and the 400 members of the audience who looked forward to a warm, sunny get-a-way.

As for work -- Larry and I are still slogging away at the screenplay (but not, I'm happy to say, slugging each other). I have to admit, it's frustrating. But I have the feeling it will come together eventually. Or maybe I'm just being optimistic. In any case, I'm longing to get back to the novel I started last spring.

Wishing all of you a Happy and Healthy New Year. Keep warm!
Love,
Judy

Miss New Jersey

2009-12-09T11:21:00.030-05:00

Key West -- okay, so I'm not exactly Miss New Jersey. But I've just found out I'm in the 2010 Class of the New Jersey Hall of Fame. Does that count?

This is how I heard the news -- an early morning phone call from Bill Yankee, my friend and personal trainer in Key West --who always wanted to be the first, he said, to congratulate someone who'd made it into the NJ Hall of Fame. He found this wildly funny. You know, all those New Jersey jokes. (Bill is from Cleveland so plenty of opportunities to get back at him.) Hey, I'm in good company -- Philip Roth (our mothers went to high school together) and many others, including Jack Nicholson and Susan Sarandon (who knew they, too, were raised in the Garden State?).

Good thing I've never denied my roots. And why would I? I spent my first 37 years living in New Jersey. And my next book will take place in Elizabeth (my home town) in the 1950's.

(Here I am in 1956 with my sister editors of High Spots, Battin High school's paper. From left: Joanne, Judy, Mary, and Ellen. Mary and I were co-feature editors.)

But will I ever get back to that book? Since my last blog, and even before it, I've been working long hours on the screenplay for Tiger Eyes. Larry (my son) and I are collaborating on this project. We had a three day working session in Key West a few weeks ago, where we were joined by our UK producer. After presenting our first draft to her, Ilene had some good and very welcome ideas for us (kind of like working with a creative book editor). I'd already filled four notebooks with various drafts -- and that was before the official first draft.

I'm about to go into hiding again to tackle the next draft. Then it will go back to Larry for his input, and finally, to Ilene. You'd think this would be easier -- after all, I wrote the book, I know the characters, I like to write dialogue -- but it's not easy. So much of screen writing is about structure. Larry is good at structure. So is Ilene. I'm more about character. But all three of us want to see the best scenes, the scenes that tell the story on the screen -- and it's such an emotional story. A get-out-your-hanky kind of story. So we're fighting to keep the schmaltz out of it. I dislike emotionally manipulative movies, the ones that tell you how and when to feel. But I'm not opposed to a good cry, as long as it comes naturally, from the characters and their story. I'm thankful for Jason, Davey's little brother, who brings in some much needed humor.

So you'll understand, I hope, if I don't get to post another blog between now and the holidays, though I'll try.

George and I had Thanksgiving dinner with friends in Key West (Randy, Larry, and Elliot were together in Boston, and Amanda and Jim were in New Mexico) then drove up to Miami for a long weekend -- stayed in a hotel in South Beach and celebrated our 30th anniversary. Nice. Romantic. Seems like yesterday that we met in Santa Fe.

(Here we are 30 years ago)

Hope you were all able to enjoy your Thanksgiving weekends, too. I've discovered this year how much I love sweet potatoes.

Not the icky sweetened, marshmallowed recipes, but a simply baked sweet potato, cubed and tossed with whole wheat pasta, olive oil, parsley (lots of it) basil, and parmesan cheese. I'm not much of a cook but this is my latest favorite meal. Yum! And did you know, sweet potatoes are one of the best foods you can eat?

It's been ages since the NCAC event in New York in October but I promised I'd post photos and a video of some of our special performers. To see it all ncac.org.

Whew! That's a lot of catching up.

One more thing -- get well soon to SCBWI's beloved Lin Oliver who had emergency surgery a few weeks ago. If I know Lin, she'll be racing around before we know it.
Love,
Judy

Fantasy Fest '09

2009-10-31T14:40:00.049-04:00

Key West -- Halloween is a week long holiday in this town. And it's not all for the kids. People come from all over to celebrate. Some locals hide-out for the week, others are happy to join in the fun. This year Fantasy Fest celebrated its 30th anniversary with a worthy theme - Villains, Vixens, and Vampires. (Reminds me of the title of Carolyn Mackler's great YA novel, Vegan, Virgin, Valentine).

Let's start with the Pet Masquerade on the grounds of the newly renovated Casa Marina

Hotel, where kids were definitely welcome. I've never seen so many dogs behave themselves so well. And let me tell you, it was hot. As in 90 degrees with high

humidity. (The doggie in the toilet, upper left, was my favorite.) Fortunately the humans behaved, too.

Then on to the traditional Costume Parade. Someone described it as a lot of 60-somethings letting it all hang out. Well, yes! Early in the evening, anyway. Fantastic body painting. (I read somewhere that every year there are emergency trips to the dermatologist caused by allergic reactions to body painting.)

A friend said to me, "I’ve been thinking a lot about our notions of creativity and self expression. When you think in those terms (and get beyond narrow aesthetics of beauty) it really is quite amazing." I think that's an interesting take on this year's parade.

I'm not showing any of the triple x-rated costumes here. I'll leave that to your imaginations. And in case you're wondering, No, George and I didn't dress up. And we didn't stay for the late night craziness either. Sorry.

Hope you all had a fun time, too. Or at least your kids did. In Key West everyone (who wants to) gets to be a kid again at Fantasy Fest.

And so it goes...

xx Judy

Goodbye, Norma Fox Mazer

2009-10-28T16:00:00.034-04:00

Key West -- So sad that my old friend and colleague Norma Fox Mazer has died. I can't remember the first time I met Norma -- probably in the early '70s. I do remember bringing home her first book, I Trissy, for Randy to read. And every book after that for a long time. She was an amazing writer. An honest writer. The story she contributed to Places I Never Meant to Be, Original Stories by Censored Writers, still haunts me. It was the story of a mother and a daughter. Norma had three daughters and a son of her own, and she was an expert at capturing those sometimes difficult relationships in her work.

Norma was a natural beauty with a smile that made everyone else smile. The last time I saw her, at a Newbery dinner a year or two ago, she looked exactly the same to me -- an ageless pixie with Pippi Longstocking braids. I think of her in jeans and hiking boots - that was her look no matter where she went. We had a conversation once, about aging, and she wondered how girls who grow up knowing they are cute handle it. She didn't think she was handling it all that well.

We saw each other a couple of times a year in those days. When I moved to New Mexico we corresponded. (Remember snail mail?) When I was going through a particularly rough time in my personal life, Norma wrote and said she would never stay in a marriage where she wasn't treated right. She and Harry were together for close to 60 years. Just a girl when they met, post WWII, they had grown together, had four children together, become writers together, met with success together.

Yet Norma loved the simple life -- gardening, writing, family. She once told me she was giving her grandchildren old fashioned packages of clay for the holidays. She bemoaned the fact that modern children didn't know the joys of making things on their own, of creating from very little. I'd forgotten until then how much I'd enjoyed using clay of different colors as a child. How I would play for hours, pretending to be a butcher, lining up chickens and briskets and hot dogs all made from clay. Norma never forgot.

When she and Harry decided to come south for the winter, George and I were thrilled. South meant an apartment in New York. We thought we'd get to spend more time with them. But then we moved to Key West and eventually Norma and Harry moved to Vermont.

Norma was a no bullshit person. She was herself - always. When I heard over the summer that she was gravely ill, I didn't want to believe it. I wanted her to stay the same so that next time our paths crossed we'd wave to each other and she would smile that smile and we'd make a plan to spend time together yakking about everything. How sad that the chance for catching up is gone.

Those of us who started writing in the 70's have lost a brave, talented, original friend. Her family has lost a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister. But her books will live on and let's hope future generations will get to read them.

Goodbye, old friend.

Read the obituary below.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/25/arts/25mazer.html?_r=1&ref=obituaries

And visit Norma's website. It's like spending time with her in person.
http://normafoxmazer.net/

And now -- Ta Da!

2009-10-12T15:03:00.016-04:00

New York -- The big event is approaching.

Monday night (October 19th) at City Winery in New York, the 35th Anni versary Celebration of the National Coalition Against Censorship with a show featuring fabulous actors, comics, musicians, reading from and riffing on my books. Am I anxious? You know I am. I've put away everything else on my plate to concentrate on finding the best passages to read, the funniest anecdotes and one liners from letters. And who knows what surprises the standups will have? So come one, come all! If you're desperate to attend but can't afford a ticket you can come just for the show. Go to citywinery.com for details. And if you can't manage that (it's a benefit after all and for a great cause) send me an email and I'll see what I can do. But no promises.

Check out Ayelet Waldman's email blast about the event.

If you can't be there in person I promise to tell you all about it.
Love,
Judy

Sunday in the Park with George

2009-09-22T11:50:00.059-04:00

New York -- tell me it's not true! Tell me summer isn't over!

In case you're thinking Judy must have had the greatest time because she hasn't blogged in two months, think again. In my last blog I told you about a producer who was coming to the Vineyard to talk about a screen adaptation based on Tiger Eyes. Our meeting went well and the next day Larry and I sat down to talk about the screenplay and how we were going to collaborate. Flash forward two drafts -- and weeks of 12 hour working days -- and there's still a lot of work to do. Stay tuned...

Oh, did I mention stress? And how I got Shingles -- yes, that dreaded condition often associated with stress? I couldn't believe it. Thought it was a spider bite. Went to the walk-in clinic where a doc told me, Unequivocally, this is not shingles. Guess what? He was wrong. Luckily, I was seen by another doc the following day and got on the meds in time. I had just enough discomfort/pain to understand what a bad case could be like. Not fun. I'm telling all my friends (of a certain age) to get the vaccine. I meant to get it last spring. So much for good intentions.

Every winter in Key West I accept professional invitations for the following fall. I feel it's my obligation to my publishers and my readers -- you know, Get out there and show them you're still kicking! But this fall it's out of hand. Some people can handle all this easily. I find I can't - not anymore - and especially not when it involves writing talks, even five minute talks. This is crazy, because I've given a million talks. But it's stressing me out.
On Sunday George took a look at me (well, I was lying on the floor then, after a long day at the computer) and he ordered me to get dressed. The sun was shining and we were going to the park. Here we are in a rowboat. $12 and I felt I was in heaven. The greatest mini-vacation ever. Thank you, George! You're the best.

Yesterday I was at Yale, doing a "Master's Tea." This was fun. I like meeting with/talking with college students. I like an informal Q&A. And the students who came to the tea were a lively, interesting group -- mainly young women but a handful of guys, too. Last time I spoke at Yale was right after 9-11, a really tough time for all of us. But Yale has had a tough beginning to a new school year with the murder of a graduate student. Even though it wasn't a campus crime, even though it could have happened anywhere, it was shocking, painful, and unbearably sad. Especially hard on the freshmen, I think, who've just come to college, just started classes. But I know they're going to get through this. They'll be okay.

On Thursday George and I will head down to Washington for the National Book Festival. When I accepted this invitation I thought, Oh good -- a big party celebrating books! Well, yes - it will be that. But it will also be three days of interviews, signings, and talks. Every moment is scheduled. My first talk will be Friday night at the opening ceremonies. I'm honored to be one of five writers who'll speak at this event. President and Mrs. Obama are the co-chairs of the festival. I wonder if they'll be there in person? I hope so! If you're in the area, join us on the Mall! If not, I'll let you know how it goes.

Coming up on October 4 -- I'll be at Symphony Space in NY. It will be a family day celebrating books and readers and I'll be reading from Friend or Fiend?, the latest in my Pain&Great One Series.

The biggest event of the season for me -- a celebration of the 35th Anniversary of the National Coalition Against Censorship on October 19 in New York. There will be a show called Judy Blume & Friends, a night of comedy. We've got great talent lined up. Actors, stand up comics, musicians. If you're going to be in the city try to come. It's a benefit so tickets are pricier than say, seeing a movie, but what a good cause.

Banned Books Week begins on Saturday! Check out my last year's post, Don't Read That Book, of October 5. And READ a banned book. Support your local teachers, librarians, students and writers when a book comes under fire. Those who would censor rarely read the whole book. They take words out of context and try to scare the rest of us. Don't let them scare you!

Is this a great poster or what?

xx Judy

That Was Easy!

2009-07-22T15:36:00.018-04:00

MVY -- a month has passed since my last blog entry. I don't like to think about this because it means summer on the Vineyard is almost half over and what have I done so far? Not a lot. I haven't even been out in my kayak. I thought today might be the day. It's sunny at last -- a nice change from the wettest summer I can remember. A perfect summer day, actually.

Or, I could be reading in the hammock (I'm in the middle of a charming novel - Family Man - by Elinor Lipman.) And no, I've not been lolling about just relaxing. Remind me, how do you do that again? And I haven't been entertaining guests because so far we haven't had any -- unless you count family.

Let's see -- Larry's in residence (he works all day but he prefers doing it here). Randy comes every weekend after work. Elliot's been living here and working at The FARM Institute, baling hay and weed whacking and doing other things that require muscles, preferably young muscles. When he's not working he's off on the college tour.

Two days ago we took him to Providence, to see Brown. He liked it. He'll apply, along with 25,000 others. Can you believe that? 25,000 kids apply to Brown for 1500 places in the freshman class? Maybe it's that way at all the schools he's visiting. No wonder high school seniors are stressed. There was one mother on our tour who didn't stop asking questions. Our tour guide made a comment, she had a question. By the end of the tour I wanted to -- let's just say, shake her. I felt for her son who moved farther and farther away from her. Some parents ask about safety. I think it's mainly parents with daughters. We heard this at Columbia, too. I guess it has to do with fear of the city -- any city.

I find this all very interesting. It's especially interesting how the students don't talk to one another on these tours or at the info sessions. Most don't talk with their parents (or in our case, grandparents) either. I have to be careful. Randy told me to stand in the back of the tour group and warned me not to ask questions. The tour is supposed to be for the students. But I haven't heard any of the students asking questions. Of course everything they could possibly want to know is online and those who have done their homework have read up on each school he/she is visiting. Then there's the info session, where a college admission officer (at Brown she was young, enthusiastic, adorable, a cheerleader for the school) tells you everything you already heard on the tour, or are about to hear on the tour. She saves the admissions process and how they reach their decisions until the end, maybe the last three minutes. That's when she tells you about the 25,000 other kids who are applying with you.

Still, I had never seen Brown or spent any time in Providence. We got to have lunch with an old friend who teaches history there. He's the husband of a young writer friend of mine. They actually met when they were students at Brown. Sweet, as Elliot would say. I find myself saying this all the time now. I also find myself saying That was easy! because a friend of Larry's gave him that push-the-red-button gadget from Staples and when you do, a deep voice says, That was easy! George and I can't help ourselves. It's the perfect answer to everything. Except maybe being accepted to college.

George is in Key West this week to oversee the construction process of the 4th screening room at the Tropic Cinema. He was down two weeks ago, too. He's more than excited. He loves what he's doing. He wishes he were in Key West for the summer. I joke, "I'll see you in October." But I know he'll be back at the end of this week. Then we'll say, That was easy!

Tomorrow Larry and I will be meeting with a producer who's coming to the Vineyard to talk about adapting Tiger Eyes for the screen. Larry has always wanted to direct a movie version of Tiger Eyes. And of all my books I think it could work well. This would mean we'd have to write a screenplay over the summer (and as I've already pointed out, summer is almost half over). Because of this I haven't looked at the novel I was researching and starting to write before we left Key West. Earlier I thought it would be a productive summer -- that I'd be sitting in my little cabin working away -- that I'd even have a good start on a first draft by summer's end. But a month has gone by and here I sit (in my writing cabin, mostly answering e-mail). This is starting to depress me. Not seriously. But a little. If we're going to write the screenplay, then let's get to it! Okay, I'll know more tomorrow after our meeting, right?

Did I say that I flew to Chicago for the annual ALA convention? And I didn't get sick. Imagine that! Flying around in the summer is easier on your sinuses. Fewer colds and coughs. Plus Randy has taught me to carry Chlorox (or any other brand) wipes with me and to use them to clean my tray table, arm rests, even headrest. I know this sounds anal or something but if you saw what came off (the amount of dirt, etc) you'd do it, too.

The new modern wing of the Chicago Art Institute was the setting for the gala dinner honoring Judith Krug (see my April 14, 2009 blog). A bittersweet night. Judith would rather have been there than be memorialized. In presenting the award to her posthumously I told the story of the jacket and how, now, thanks to her family, that jacket hangs in my closet. I got almost to the end before I broke down. Judith would not have liked that. Or maybe under these circumstances she'd have been okay with it. Who can possibly fill her shoes? There's no one like her.

I also got the chance to meet Florence Parry Heide at the Random House dinner. She was celebrating her 90th birthday with a new book coming out. (She wrote The Shrinking of Treehorn, a deliciously funny book that my kids enjoyed, and many many kids since then). I asked her if writers ever get to retire. She looked at me and said, Never! And I hope you never think about it again. I had a million questions for her but there was no time to ask them. She was as lovely, clear-eyed, and witty as I imagine she's always been.

And that brings me to tonight's dinner. What shall I make for Elliot? Maybe pasta. Then I can push the red button and hear That was easy!

Hope you're having, if not an easy summer, at least a good one.
xx Judy

Big City Saga

2009-06-30T11:13:00.025-04:00

MVY -- We spent three weeks in New York between Key West and Martha's Vineyard. The weather may have been dreary but the city certainly wasn't. Arrived at our apt (after a weekend in Baltimore) on a damp Saturday night. Took me half an hour to realize my travel purse was missing. It contained my wallet with driver's license, credit cards, iPhone, a couple of prescription meds, a can of Simply Saline, a tube of Polysporin ointment and whatever else I'd managed to stuff into its many zippered compartments. I was also carrying a black shoulder purse, a garment bag, and had a small wheelie in the trunk of the cab.

I remembered the story a caterer once told me - of how she'd left a beatifully decorated platter of crudites in the trunk of a taxi. At the time I'd thought, What a ditz!

George dialed my cell phone and left a message while I called the taxi commission to report my missing travel purse. They gave me two phone numbers where taxi drivers can turn in packages/purses/etc. They reminded me always to ask for a receipt when getting out of a cab, or at least to make a note of the taxi number, listed on the back of the front seat for all passengers to see. You'd think this was my first time in the city.

I called the train station, thinking I could have left my purse on the train, because George was with me and he paid for the taxi, which means I wouldn't have needed my wallet so wouldn't have noticed my travel purse was missing. But the very nice woman on the other end of the phone said the train I'd traveled on had already been sent to the yard for cleaning and wouldn't be available for a search until Monday morning.

By now more than an hour had gone by. We were about to cancel my credit cards when the phone rang and a guy asked if we were missing a gray purse. He said he'd found one exactly where the taxi had dropped us off. He was coming off work at a neighboring building and there it was, in the street. He took it with him on the subway to Queens and when he got off he saw that a recent call had been made to my iPhone so he called back. He offered to return the purse the next morning at 11am in front of the Barnes&Noble (how fitting is that?) on 68th St and Broadway, near the subway stop. George told him there would be a reward and asked for his name. Bernard, he answered.

Was this for real? We went out for breakfast the next morning, stopped at the ATM for reward money, then planted ourselves in front of B&N. I expected a guy wearing my bag over his shoulder for easy identification. But the young man who approached us was carrying an Abercrombie shopping bag. He recognized me from my photo ID. He gave me my purse. I hugged him and gave him the reward. He explained the purse must have been run over because the can of Simply Saline had exploded so he'd thrown it out before it soaked everything. We chatted for a while about his summer job, working in one of the big apartment houses right near mine. I said I'd like to write a letter to the board of the building where he was working, commending him.

Later I told my story to one of the doormen at our building who said he knew everyone working at the building where Bernard was working for the summer. The next day he reported there was no one named Bernard working there. Either way, and wherever he works, Bernard is my hero and I'd give him a reference any day. Thanks, Bernard!

This should be the end of the story, right? But ten days later I did it again. This time I was carrying the small black purse in the photo above, getting out of a taxi at exactly the same place. Got up to our apt and realized I had no key, which meant - oh no - I had no purse!

When I was about 14 I lost my key so many times my father (who'd had enough of me coming home and ringing the bell after he and my mother were asleep) punched a hole in the corner of my wallet and attached my key. Since then I've hardly lost anything. Really. And I've never forgotten anything in a cab. Well, maybe a cheapie umbrella, but who hasn't?

I was tired, embarrassed, and angry at myself when I called George at the office and told him I'd done it again. But George actually sounded pleased because he'd just signed up for an iPhone tracking system and now he could try it out. He dialed it up while I was still on the line. Aha! It's in midtown, on 48th St. But wait...now it's.... And that's when he clicked the fatal button. It not only ended the tracking program, it "wiped my phone"(meaning no data and totally dead).

This time we knew I was cooked. I'd had my Florida driver's license with me but just one credit card which George promptly cancelled. Yes, my key was in the purse but there was no NY address or phone number. That was good. It meant we wouldn't have to call a locksmith to re-key our apartment. By now I had a headache and I lay down to rest.

An hour later the phone rang. It was my literary agent's assistant asking if I'd lost my purse. What?! She gave me a phone number and the name of a guy to call. When I asked how he'd tracked me down he said he'd found my driver's license, googled me, went to my website, found my agent's name and number and called her. This guy was as good as Nancy Drew! I told him I'd come to his place (he lived on the Upper East Side) to retrieve my purse, but he volunteered to drop it off at my building since he had a meeting in my neighborhood (Upper West).

My headache lifted. Things like this just don't happen, do they? Twice in three weeks?

I waited outside while the doormen guessed what kind of car he'd be driving. We were all surprised when a vintage red Porsche pulled up in front of the building with a cute dog in the passenger seat. (Okay, I admit I didn't know it was a vintage Porsche.)He got out of the car. I almost knocked him down with a big hug (actually, he was a lot bigger than me and there was no chance of me knocking him down). He pulled my purse out of the car. He'd found it in the street on 39th St as he was boarding a bus. He'd tried my iPhone but couldn't get it to work (thanks to -- ta da! --the "wipe" button). We chatted for a while. He refused any reward but accepted a signed book for his 19 year old daughter.

Another hero! What a city! Am I lucky or what?

On the Vineyard I bought myself a summer bag, one that practically screams to be noticed. George says it's the ugliest purse he's ever seen. He says if he has to look at that all summer he'll be nauseous until Labor Day. I said I'd get another and give this away if he feels that strongly about it.

It's been a couple of days now and I don't see any signs that he's feeling sick. His appetite is just fine. He ate a peanut butter and banana sandwich for lunch.

I have to travel to Chicago next week. The ugly bag won't be going with me. A friend suggests I pin my purse to my underwear instead. Stay tuned....
xx Judy

SAT (For Better or Worse)

2009-05-29T15:07:00.001-04:00

Key West -- It's that time of year for those of you who will be applying to college in the fall. You have to take them. You have no choice (well, almost no choice). But look at it this way. You can't possibly do as poorly as I did. (More about that in a minute.)

A few years ago I was asked to give the commencement address at Mount Holyoke College. Usually I think long and hard about accepting such an invitation. But not this time. From the moment their invitation reached me I didn’t think twice. They had no way of knowing this, but they'd given me a second chance.

To explain I have to take you back to 1956 when I was a senior at Battin High school in Elizabeth, NJ, the only all girls public high school in the state. When it came time to apply to colleges I knew next to nothing about the different schools, though I’d heard there were a lot of boys in Boston and boys were high on my list (but that's another story). I knew very little about the College Boards (SAT) either, except you had to take them. We didn’t have Kaplan courses or coaches to prepare us then, and our teachers never mentioned them.

I can still remember that sunny Saturday morning in May when my mother dropped me off at the Pingry School, site of the dreaded test. I remember opening the booklet and reading the first paragraph of the first essay. I remember it not making any sense to me. I read it again, or tried to, but by then my heart was pounding, my mouth, dry. The words on the page began to blur together. I had a fantasy of getting up from my seat and calmly walking out of the building, calmly walking away from Elizabeth, NJ.

Instead, I flipped through the test, the panic inside me rising – then I picked up my number 2 pencil and filled in all the little circles at random. No kidding. I really did that. When the test results came in my high school guidance counselor, who had never spoken to me before, called me into her office.

“You have to take the College Boards again,” she told me. “You’ve got the grades. You’ve got the activities. But I want you to go to Mount Holyoke and you’ll never get in with this score.” (I think it was something like 350 -- that's probably as low a score as you can get -- which is why I don't recommend random answers.)

The only thing I knew about Mount Holyoke was they required the Afternoon Boards. (That's what we called the achievement tests) so I told the guidance counselor, “Never – I’m never taking any of those tests again.” She shook her head. “What a waste.”

Cut to that invitation from Mount Holyoke. When I read they had the funding to try a different way of identifying students who might do well there -- that for three years they weren't going to require standardized test scores -- I knew I was going to give that commencement speech. And when I did I told them why that day meant so much to me. It wasn't just that I was there at last – it was that today I might even be accepted as a freshman. I thanked them for that on behalf of all of us whose minds work differently. I got my honorary degree and that day remains a highlight of my life.

I've been arguing against judging prospective students by their SAT scores for years. Doesn't test creativity, doesn't prove how well a student will do at college or at life.

So why am I kvelling (beaming, swelling with pride) that my grandson has just received his SAT scores and they hit the top? (He would not be happy if I told you his actual scores.) Partly because it's amazing to me that anyone with at least some of my genes could come up with scores like these. Especially in math! He actually likes standarized tests.

My husband says -- "You, of all people, Judy -- who've railed against these tests for years -- how can you be so impressed?" Sorry, George -- can't help it. I know it doesn't predict how you're going to do at real life. I mean, Amanda hated the SAT almost as much as I did. She graduated from U New Mexico and guess what? She's a huge success at life and has a thriving career as a political consultant. Much in demand. Nobody ever stops to ask how she did in her SAT.

I cut a story by Sara Rimer out of the New York Times on Monday, September 29, 2008. The headline reads:

Study of Standardized Admissions Tests Is Big Draw at College Conference

5,500 college admissions officials and high school guidance counselors gathered in Seattle at the annual conference of the National Association for College Admission Counseling. The main event was William R. Fitzsimmons's first public presentation of the findings of the Study of the Use of Standardized Tests in Undergraduate Admission. Basically, after he said the SAT had many advantages, he affirmed that they and other standardized admissions tests are "incredibly imprecise" when it comes to measuring academic ability and how well students will perform in college.

I'm sure the debate will go on for years. I have to thank NYU for accepting me as a student despite my dismal scores (and Boston U, and Syracuse). I was a good student. So is Elliot and I know he'll do well wherever he goes. Those scores of his may mean he has more options and it's always good to have more options. While test results don't tell the whole story (and he knows that) I'm a grandparent first, so I'm entitled to celebrate, right?

Which brings me back to the SAT. A stressful time for many of you, I know, especially today when everything might depend on financial aid. But try not to worry. If you want to go to college, if you're determined, you will. And you'll enjoy it, wherever you go. Wishing you well.
xx Judy

Mother's Day

2009-05-11T11:20:00.021-04:00

Key West -- I still think of Mother's Day as a holiday celebrating my mother, my grandmother, and my Aunt Frances. When I was young all three would get orchid corsages and and we'd go to dinner at the Tavern Restaurant in Newark, where my father knew the owner. (Actually, everyone knew the owner, but I was just a kid and didn't know that.) It's funny, because I'm writing about the Tavern now, in the novel I've just started. As for orchids, they grow everywhere in Key West (which doesn't make them any less magical). When they're done blooming in a pot, just snip off the stem at the fourth joint, tie them to a tree, and they'll bloom for seasons to come.

I realize my children and grandson have different ideas of Mother's Day. Randy likes to shop and I don't -- or let's just say I like pretty things but I don't like going into stores, so unless it's easy to find, forget it. This is why Randy sends me something to wear each year. On Friday her package arrived with a lovely and delicate summer sweater. I talked to all four of my dear ones on Sunday (well, maybe talked is the wrong way of putting it because I have total laryngitis -- can't make a sound -- not fun, though I don't feel at all sick).

Larry told me he was sending a donation to Planned Parenthood this year because he'd seen the fund raising letter I'd signed suggesting that this would be a good way to honor your mother. (I've pasted a copy of the letter.)

How did such a gentle letter become the major brouhaha it did? Ask the vocal anti-choice crowd. I shouldn't have been surprised when the hateful e-mails flooded our office computer the next day saying things like....

You're killing off your customers.

You'll burn in hell.

You are a baby killer.

Then there's this argument in various forms:

-- I was a great fan of your books, growing up. They meant a lot to me but now that I know you support Planned Parenthood I would never let my childen read them. I'm going to tell our school principal, the librarian, and the teachers they should boycott your books, or burn them.

I want to ask these parents if they check to make sure all the books their children are reading are written by people wh0 support only those organizations and charities that they personally support. But I don't. I don't respond to hate mail.

It might have stopped there if Planned Parenthood hadn't sent out a second e-mail blast -- letting their supporters know I was under siege. They meant well, I know, and I'm the one who gave them permission, not stopping to think that this would fan the flames.

The next day, another story appeared in the anti-choice online zine, and along with another round of hate emails, came hundreds of supportive messages from those who believe in Planned Parenthood. Somehow word got out that I'd received death threats and the media jumped all over the story. The bloggers and twitterers were all abuzz. To set the record straight, I didn't get any serious death threats. Sure, there were emails reminding me what happened at this or that abortion clinic -- but this isn't the first time I was a target of the extreme right.

Despite what some people think, Planned Parenthood isn’t an abortion clinic. It is a health center that provides people with the proper tools to make the best, most informed decisions for them. It’s a place that offers breast cancer screenings, pelvic exams, pregnancy testing and planning, affordable birth control, STD testing, HPV vaccines, testicular cancer screenings for men, as well as issues of male infertility, education for all, and, yes, choice. Sometimes that means abortions.

May also is Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month. Surely the best way to avoid abortion, and reduce the numbers of unwanted babies born to teen mothers, is through sexuality education. But to those opposed to anything but abstinence education Planned Parenthood is well, evil.

As a college junior, about to be married, I asked my family doctor who to call to get information about birth control. He suggested Planned Parenthood, although it had a different name in 1959. I trembled as I made that call and ultimately hung up before I'd set up an appointment. I'd had a bad experience with a gynecologist at 14. At 21, I was still a virgin -- fear of pregnancy kept many of us virgins in those days. We had other ways of being sexual but we avoided intercourse, knowing if you got pregnant you were going to have the baby, like at least three of my high school classmates, smart girls who nevertheless found themselves pregnant before graduation. Abortion was illegal then. They were forced into hasty marriages and while the rest of us went off to college, they became parents before they were ready.

Ultimately I went to a doctor in NJ who knew my family doctor. He fitted me for a diaphragm and I went off on my honeymoon without the fear that I would become pregnant before we were ready to have children. There are many reasons I wish I'd gone to Planned Parenthood and not to that sexist doctor, who, it turns out, was a religious fanatic himself. Reasons I won't go into here. I wish I'd known then that at Planned Parenthood women are treated with respect.

When I read the Planned Parenthood online teen Q&A I feel glad that today's young women and men have a place to go to get information. I wish it had been there for me.

So Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers out there, and grandmothers, and special aunts, and thanks to all of you who sent messages of support. There are times when you have to stand up for what you believe in. It means a lot that so many of you stood with me.

xx Judy

Buzz buzz...

2009-04-27T10:30:00.000-04:00

Key West -- Starting today (and for the next two weeks) I'll be answering questions and responding to comments on Randombuzzers .com Join me there if you can. I'm looking forward to it. It should be fun. Of course I won't be there 24/7 because I've started to actually write my new book. For a month or more I've been doing research, a process I've enjoyed. The real writing part isn't that enjoyable. At least not yet. Right now I'm wishing I'd never started. I'd forgotten how impossible first drafts are for me. George tells me I say this every time I start a new book. Maybe. I find myself thinking, thinking, thinking about my characters all day -- except for tap class (which is Friday and Saturday mornings). In tap class I'm always trying to make my feet do what my mind wants them to do. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. I'm never sure what sounds my feet will make until Bruce, our teacher, calls on us individually.

I'm forcing myself to sit at my desk for a couple of hours every day, even if all I do is scribble in my notebook. Scribbling is how I get my best ideas. I think I have the voice of my first main character. There will be three characters telling this story -- at least that's what I think. I don't know much more than that. Stay tuned...

Did I mention I was bitten in the leg by a friend's small dog two weekends ago? The dog didn't like me twirling around the dance floor with his master, or do we say mistress if the master is a woman? Or do we say human or person? He bit right through my stretch capris. It was a very small bite and has healed nicely. And the night before that I was hit in the face by a flying nut from a walnut tree. I know -- it sounds funny -- but it didn't feel funny. My grandmother would have said, "Bad things happen in threes." (And it's true, I did turn my ankle on a balance box at the gym the next day.) Which takes me back to the subject of my book where bad things actually do happen in threes.

I'm thrilled to hear that Summer Sisters has just been published in the UK and so far the reviews and comments have been really good. I have to remind myself how many times I wanted to quit while I was writing that book. And how glad I am now that I didn't. The one to the left is the UK cover. The one on the right is the US cover.

Key West is totally gorgeous right now. At night you can catch the scent of jasmine. I love to sit outside listening to music for an hour after dinner. How lucky am I to spend 7 months a year here! See you on Randombuzzers, I hope.
xx Judy

Losing Judith Krug

2009-04-14T15:19:00.027-04:00

Friends of intellectual freedom have lost a dynamic leader. Judith Krug, director of the American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom since 1967, and one of the founders of the Freedom to Read Foundation, was my hero. When I saw her in Chicago last September, she said, "Don't worry about me. I'm too mean to die." That was her fierce warrior persona. That was her let's laugh about this and talk about something else way of dealing with her illness. She had had surgery and chemo for stomach cancer but there she was, cheering us on -- a group of writers gathered to commemorate Banned Books Week, an event started by Judith in 1982. There she was, fighting for the rights of young readers as enthusiastically as ever. I teased her for wearing what I called a "Sarah Palin" jacket (actually, a jacket I coveted and even tried on in NY before realizing that all the jackets in my favorite sportswear section of my favorite department store were the very jackets Sarah was sporting on the campaign trail). Judy begged forgiveness explaining that she really wanted that jacket and we laughed together.

We met in Atlanta in 1982 at a Fred Friendly Seminar moderated by Benno Schmidt, then a colleague of George's at Columbia Law School. I was nervous. Out of my element. I felt as if I were back in 4th grade praying the teacher wouldn't call on me. Benno did call on me and I stumbled through a couple of answers then watched in awe as the articulate speaker on the opposite side of the table said exactly what I was thinking, only so much better. I remember thinking, Wow, she's brilliant! She can speak on my behalf anytime. That was my introduction to Judy Krug, and the beginning of a long friendship, both professional, and personal. It was hard to say "no" to Judy when she asked you to do something, even if you didn't want to fly to Chicago in September because you were trying to write a book. Because Judy would always be there for you if you needed her.

This is the woman who defended what we wrote, who defended the librarians who selected our books for their collections, and most importantly, who defended the rights of our young readers. For four decades she used her abundant energy and knowledge to protect the Constitutional rights of citizens granted under the First Amendment. She raced around the country speaking out wherever and whenever she was needed. Let's just call her amazing, because she was.

"We're the only country in the world where everybody has access to the library and everything in it," she told The Washington Post in 1994. "If you don't like something, okay, tell your kids you don't want them to read it. That works. It really works. Every once in a while, the kids are going to defy you. But so what?" That quote is so Judith! It's part of why I loved her. Like Madeline, my first literary heroine, Judy Krug showed no fear.

The loss to our community of writers, librarians, and readers everywhere is too great to contemplate. The loss to her husband, children, and grandchildren is even greater.

On Sunday, July 12, at the annual ALA convention in Chicago, Judy will be posthumously awarded the William J. Brennan Award during the 40th anniversary celebration of the Freedom to Read Foundation at the Chicago Museum of Art. Judy hoped she'd be there to accept her award in person. I hoped so, too, and not only because I'll be presenting that award to her. If you can, join us in this tribute to a true freedom fighter.

Goodbye, old friend. I'll miss you.
Judy

Mother Nature

2009-04-07T15:14:00.061-04:00

Key West -- it's good to be back! Isn't that half the reason we go away -- so we can appreciate how good it feels to be home again?

This is how lucky we were --just missed some brutal spring storms in New Orleans. And those of you who know me know I'm phobic about thunderstorms. Like a frightened dog, I need to be in a small space and low to the floor. We didn't have a dog at our hotel in New Orleans but we did have Clarice, the hotel cat.

Clarice would come to our room via the open window in the early morning, make herself at home on our bed, and hang around until after breakfast - the most delicious buttermilk biscuits ever -- still warm from sitting on a hot stone in a covered basket -- with strawberry jam on the side. What a way to start the day! Loved staying at this small hotel in the middle of the French Quarter.

This is the window Clarice used at the The Soniat House

We were there to see old friends, Richard and Annie, and what a good visit we had. Annie gave us a tour of the city, focusing on the areas that were hardest hit by Katrina. After our tour we sat down at Cafe du Monde to try a New Orleans beignet. At first I was skeptical. After all, they're made of fried dough -- but as George pointed out, I love doughnuts (yes, but am always sorry after indulging) -- but these were something else -- light and incredibly delicious, topped with powdered sugar.

A highlight of my visit to New Orleans was getting to see a KIPP school up close. Jonathan Bertsch was my enthusiastic guide.

We dropped in to say hello to classes from Pre-K to 8th grade. The 5th graders had a lot of questions for me, including "Do you make a lot of money?" I always try to explain that writers are paid royalties, a percentage of the price of the book. They understood 10% but couldn't believe how many copies you'd have to sell to support yourself as a writer. (Sad but true!)

From New Orleans we drove to Hattiesburg and Southern Miss (for those who don't know, as I didn't until a few days ago, that's what the locals call the University of Southern Mississippi) for the Fay B. Kaigler Children's Book Festival. George and I were invited to stay at the President's house and now I understand what southern hospitality really means. Dr. Saunders and her staff couldn't have been more generous and welcoming. Plus I got to spend time with Pat Scales, uber librarian, and defender of intellectual freedom.

Also enjoyed being with Arthur Yorinks, who's as witty in person as he is in his books. Check out Hey, Al, and you'll see what I mean.

You want more luck when it comes to weather, how's this? On Thursday, the day of the medallion presentation (I joined an impressive list of former winners for lifelong contributions to the field of children's literature, some of whom inspired me when I was starting out, so was really thrilled and very appreciative) -- but back to stormy weather -- the radar showed two major storms, one on each side of Hattiesburg. Each time George checked, the storms were moving closer and closer. We heard that schools were dismissing students at noon, adults were scurrying for cover, and as we pulled up to the theater where I'd be speaking, the sky turned black. You think I was nervous about my speech? Not compared to what was happening with Mother Nature. I imagined stepping up to the mic just as the power went out. I'd be alone on stage in darkness, lightning flashing all around and...and....

But the presentation went as scheduled, I received my medallion from Southern Miss Provost Bob Lyman. I'd sent a smiling photo for the engraver but teeth weren't his specialty, so he artistically closed my mouth. When I had to come up with an idea for the reverse side of the medal I thought about my most autobiographical book, Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself, which takes place in Miami Beach, and how, these days, when I sit at my desk in Key West I look out at my tropical garden. So palm trees made sense.

I not only survived my talk, I even enjoyed myself. And when we left the building an hour later, the sky was blue. The storms had converged north of Hattiesburg. Can't tell you how relieved I was! Off we went to the book signing at the campus B&N. Signed for the next two hours.

After a party that night, we packed up, and the next morning at 7:30 left for the airport (a two hour drive to New Orleans) but with Pat Scales along for company it felt more like 15 minutes. Pat and I will be together again at ALA in Chicago in July. Children's book people are a friendly group. It's good to hang out with them -- makes you proud to be a part of their world.
xx Judy

Meg and Judy, Elliot and Emily, and...

2009-03-28T14:09:00.011-04:00

Key West -- What a week!

Meg Cabot and I did a gig for the Friends of the Library. We decided we'd ask each other questions on stage, so we went to lunch a few weeks ago and made a list, but didn't tell each other the answers. We wanted to be surprised along with the audience. Meg was a great interviewer. She jumped in and asked almost all the questions. After I answered I'd turn to her and say, What about you? Then she'd say a line or two and ask the next question. Mostly, we talked about our journeys as writers, and our process. When Meg asked, Are you a plotter or a seat-of-your-pants-er? I admitted I'm definitely a seat-of-your-pants-er. That is, I don't carefully plot my story first. As I write I get to know my characters. I can count on them to lead me the rest of the way. The best part of writing for me is the surprise -- and my characters always surprise me. Meg said it's pretty much the same with her. We had a great audience who had their own questions to ask.

And in the first row of the audience was my grandson, Elliot and his girlfriend, Emily. They'd just arrived to spend spring break with us. Since Elliot loves Meg and Benjamin we all went out to dinner together after the event. That was SO much fun!

The next day George and I took Elliot and Emily on the Danger (that's the name of the sailboat, not the event). We went kayaking, snorkeling (them, not me -- I don't like putting my face in the water).

At the end of the week Elliot said it was the best vacation he'd ever had. Hey...that's high praise coming from a grandson. Okay, so it wasn't because of me ( as you can see) but still... We all enjoyed ourselves and each other.

On the day Elliot and Emily left, part of the Cooper clan from Baltimore arrived for two nights. They got to play tourist during the day but we all had a yummy dinner at Blue Heaven. (Save me from their Key Lime pie!)

Before they left Matthew and Jessica, with the help of Levi and Reed, finished the 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle Emily and Elliot started but didn't have time to finish.

In case you're wondering what I've been doing since then -- (no, I haven't taken to my bed although it was a tempting idea) -- I've been preparing my talk for U. Southern Miss next Thursday. They're giving me a medal and I'm giving them the story of my life as a writer (more or less). Will let you know how it goes.

Tomorrow George and I leave for New Orleans, where I've never been! Three nights there, then Hattiesburg (and Southern Miss) another place I've never been. Really looking forward to this break before I settle in to work on my new book idea.
xx Judy

Dance-a-mania

2009-03-10T13:36:00.020-04:00

Key West -- You know that song from Mame, the musical -- We Need a Little Christmas? I love that song. It's about needing to celebrate life and making the most of what we have. You don't have to wait for Christmas to do that. So I got it into my head that we should have a dancing party at our house. Times are tough for so many people but, hey, we can still have fun being together. And on Friday night, that's what we did. Sixty friends (not all of them dancers) gathered at our house for some pretty rowdy dancing. One thing I love about Key West -- the women get up and dance. We dance together as a group, or by ourselves, or whatever -- no waiting around for guys, no wallflowers. You feel like dancing -- you dance! Oh sure, there are guys who dance, too. But it's not a couples kind of place. Everyone is welcome on the makeshift dance floor. Best fun -- when Georgia Chase, who prepared a yummy buffet for us, spun me around for an upbeat swing number. Wow, can she dance!

George and I spent a week making a playlist. We tried to include something for everyone -- swing, doowop, rock, disco, R&B. Everything from the Four Seasons, to Stevie Wonder and Earth Wind and Fire (the last two for the Obamas) -- Abba for a friend who grew up dancing to them, Big Band with Ella Fitzgerald, and Otis Redding for quiet moments. Half the crowd stayed til we turned off the music at 11pm (didn't want to offend the neighbors).

George (not Georgia) left at 6:30 the following morning to visit Amanda in Albuquerque. He must have dozed off in the departure lounge at the Key West airport because when he opened his eyes everyone was gone. He raced up to the desk, learned his plane was about to take off, but someone took pity on him and held the plane. Me?-- I slept almost all weekend. No kidding -- I'd sit down to read and wake up three hours later. Then I'd have something to eat and go to bed. That's how tired I was.

Now we have Elliot, and his friend, Emily here for spring break. Elliot can't wait to show Emily all his favorite spots in Key West. And real work can wait another week, right?

Speaking of -- I've been spending time at the public library here reading microfilm on loan from the Newark (NJ) public library (researching my next book -- see previous blog). Everything I need is right there in those Newark Evening News stories from the early 50's. Talk about taking me back in time! The only problem is, the Florida History Room, where the microfilm reader/printers are housed, is moldy, dusty, and rife with all those nasty allergens that often come with historic documents. So far I've tried wearing a dust mask -- didn't work. Came home with swollen glands, laryngitis, and itchy eyes. My next idea is to pop an antihistimine before heading for the Florida History room. Maybe I just wasn't meant to do this kind of research. But no way am I giving up!

In the meantime, there's always dancing -- it works for me every time.
xx Judy

Inspiration!

2009-02-02T14:11:00.033-05:00

Key West -- during the January back-to-back Literary Seminars an idea for a new book came to me. Usually ideas come slowly over a long period of time. Characters live inside my head, sometimes for years, before I'm ready to write about them. I usually fill a notebook with everything I can think of about my characters before I'm ready to type Chapter One. But this came like a bolt out of the blue!

I'm always inspired at the Key West Literary Seminar (it's more theater than seminar) but I've never come away with the burning need to start a new book. Maybe it was because of Rachel Kushner, a first time novelist, whose book, Telex From Cuba, was fascinating. I couldn't put it down. It takes place in 1950's Cuba, just as the revolution is beginning. It was during Rachel's talk/reading that the idea came to me. Who would have believed that this year's topic - historical fiction - would so inspire me, taking me back to a time in my own life -- the early 50's -- when my friends and I believed our city was under siege?

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that in my idea folder was a story clipped from a newspaper about the very events I wanted to write about! I'd forgotten I even had this article. I took it as an omen. This is a story I was meant to tell. Suddenly, the structure for the book seemed so clear. The characters started talking to me. I didn't waste any time. I created a notebook for them. I even did something else I never do. I called my agent and editor and told them both I have an idea for a YA novel (I think that's what it will be, anyway.) Now there's no turning back.

In my early enthusiasm I blabbed to George that I'm going to finish this book in 18 months. He found that funny. We'll see. If I put aside everything else I'll bet I could do it. It's the putting aside that's the problem. Already I don't want to go grocery shopping this afternoon. And forget laundry. And the party I've been planning for Key West friends.

But really, I knew it was time. I've been feeling antsy. I've been between writing projects since I finished Friend or Fiend? last summer. (It will be published in May, the 4th book in the Pain & Great One series.) Then I went through my Maybe I don't want to write anymore phase. George reminds me I do this after every book. Really?

So, many thanks to Rachel and the other writers who gathered here a few weeks ago. I've been doing research for several days now. I hope I can write this story as if it happened yesterday. To me, it feels as if it did.
Stay tuned,
Judy

Princess of the Sea

2009-01-06T14:01:00.002-05:00

Key West -- My friend, Meg Cabot, asked me to decorate a tiara to celebrate the upcoming publication of Forever Princess, her final book in the Princess Diaries series. The New York public library will benefit from the proceeds of an on-line auction of these "celebrity" decorated tiaras during the month of January. The idea sounded like fun so I said, Count me in. That was last summer.

Toward the end of summer I was asked where the tiara should be sent. By then it was clear I'd never find the time until I got to Key West which I thought would be mid-October. But then...well, I started to get really busy. By the time I got around to the tiara the deadline was approaching. Since Meg and I both live in Key West I was thinking of a sea theme -- you know, shells and star fish. But I wanted it to sparkle, like Meg. So I went for Swarovski crystals instead, in Key West colors -- the blues and greens of the sea -- with mother of pearl, rhinestones, and a silver centerpiece. Sounds good, right? Read on...

The Saturday before my family was due to arrive for the holidays was my last free day. It was then or never! But decorating the tiara proved to be harder and more time consuming than I could have imagined. I worked all day, took a quick break for a pasta supper, then continued into the night.

At the time I was quite proud of myself. The last time I'd use that much glue was 40-something years ago when Larry and Randy were little children and I was designing and making wall hangings for children's bedrooms (I refer to this as my first career). I can't believe I had the chutzpah back then to pack up a suitcase of sample "felt pictures" as I called my creations, take the bus into New York (from my home in suburban New Jersey) and march into Bloomingdale's. Somehow, I found my way to the children's accessories buyer (maybe it was the children's furniture accessories buyer?) who looked at my work and said Yes! I can still remember the thrill of hearing him say he wanted to carry two designs, one for boys - a red and blue toy soldier - and one for girls - a ballerina. (Talk about your basic stereotypes!) Each would be a special order featuring the child's name and colors to compliment his/her bedroom. I would be paid $9 apiece. Nevermind that I had to buy the materials and ship the finished products or that Bloomingdales was selling them for $18 (50% markup was common, still is). Even so, I would make a few dollars on each. I was ecstatic!

For a year I sat in my basement workshop and turned out "felt pictures." Larry and his friend, Laurie Murphy, would sit on the floor and play with scraps of fabric and trim. Soon word got out and I began to get orders from friends and friends of friends. I had a small (make that very small) business. Eventually I grew bored and the skin on my fingers started to peel from the Elmer's glue. With my profits (about $350 as I remember it) I bought an electric typewriter. Soon after, I started to write. But before then I created one last design for my college roommate's second baby, a boy, Jordan.

Here's where things get strange. While I was gluing crystals onto the tiara, my college roommate, Sondra Snyder, was cleaning out her attic and came across the felt picture I'd sent to her for Jordan's room. She surprised me with this photo....

First thing I thought when I saw it was, where are the toddlers' hands? Why aren't they on the floor? Then I thought, it's a good thing I started writing!

Cut to the present --

When I called Meg to tell her I'd finished the tiara and was packing it in bubble wrap for its trip to New York, she told me I could see some of the other tiaras online. Big mistake! When I went to the website and saw what Bobby Brown (the makeup guru) had designed, not to mention some of the other fantastic creations, I crumpled. There was no way I was sending in my tiara which now looked pathetic to me -- make that less than pathetic. I was so relieved I hadn't sent it off. I wanted a do-over. If only I'd checked out the website first, I told myself, surely I'd have come up with something more original. But now there wasn't time. Either I had to send in my tiara as it was or...wait! Maybe I could improve it by adding a lining. Yes...something in deep blue or purple to set off the stones. But where was I going to find a piece of fabric in just the right color?

Enter our friend and house helper, Marianne, who knew just the thing.
My old (and favorite) tank top, one I like to wear to tap class. I agreed, the color was perfect. And I had other old t-shirts to wear to tap class. So I cut a few inches off the bottom -- just enough to glue (more glue!) to the inside of the tiara. Surely this would do the trick!

Ummm...let's just say it was an improvement.

I know what you're thinking -- that it's good I found another career! But try to remember the money from the auction goes to a worthy cause -- the Young Adult section of the NY public library. And it's a lot more sparkly in person. Really.
Love,
Judy
P.S. On a recent interview with Renee Montaigne on Morning Edition (NPR) I talked about making Felt Pictures. Now that you know what they looked like you'll understand when I say how naive I was at the time.

How Did it Get to be January?

2009-01-02T19:00:00.004-05:00

Key West -- wishing you all a Happy and Healthy New Year!

Our gang gathered here for a week of sunny weather, lots of cooking and baking (I still have Randy's yummy brownies in the freezer where I can defrost one at a time -- don't ask about the extra apple pie she baked for me which I've already devoured), poker games lasting until midnight (Larry taught us Texas Hold'em), hours of Pounce, Randy's favorite card game which is a combo of Spit and Solitaire, movies at home and at the Tropic Cinema and well, just being together. There's no better way to spend a holiday week, at least for me.

From left to right we are: son-in-law Jim with daughter Amanda, George, then me, and daughter Randy, son Larry and grandson Elliot.

This was taken on New Year's Eve before Larry took Elliot to Old Town to watch as the crowd gathered to ring in the new year. The rest of us opted to stay at home, watching the festivities on TV. Anderson Cooper always shows Key West star Sushi in the famous red pump, dropping to the ground at midnight. And this year our own Mimi McDonald did her Sarah Palin impersonation on camera. (Hope some of you caught her on CNN.) We may be a small town but....

As for New Year's resolutions -- I promise to get more posts on my blog (I wonder if I promised the same last year?) No, really -- I have three almost ready to go. I do. No kidding. The next will be about a tiara. Don't believe me? Ask Meg Cabot.

Love,
Judy

The Not Very Fun Thanksgiving

2008-12-09T11:47:00.020-05:00

Key West -- You know that children's book, The Worst Christmas Pageant Ever? Well, we had our worst Thanksgiving ever. Now that's it's over we're laughing - or trying to. Flew to New York to be with Larry, Randy, and Elliot for the holiday weekend. Long story short -- never got to see anyone. Spent a lot of time on the bathroom room floor with the dreaded stomach virus. This is not something you want. Even though it comes on fast and goes away just as fast -- it's definitely not fun.

Can you believe in the midst of it George snapped this pix with his iPhone? I was so sick I didn't even care. Actually, I didn't even know!

Had to be "hydrated" at the doctor's office. Once, when we were "babysitting" Larry's dog, Mookie, she was so depressed by his absence, she refused to eat or drink. We took her to the vet, who "hydrated" her. She came back renewed, as playful and frisky as a puppy. I was hoping I'd feel the same way. Alas, I did not feel playful or frisky.

Mookie

George caught it from me. (I didn't take a photo of him.) Then I got a sinus/vocal cord infection. Couldn't speak at all. No kidding, could barely produce a grunt. By then I was so run down I couldn't have gone anywhere even with the doc's blessing. She kept me in NY for another week. I never left the apartment except to see her. But I did sit in my window on Thanksgiving morning and caught some of the parade. For a healthier, happier Thanksgiving see my 2007 blog.

While confined I read Wally Lamb's new book. I'm a big fan of his. At the end of the novel there's a note from Wally telling of the trouble he had getting this book off the ground. As a writer I found that note fascinating. He tells of a first sentence he had in his head -- a brilliant first sentence, I thought -- but ultimately he veered from it and wrote a different story. Two years ago Wally came to the Key West Literary Seminar and read a story from what was then his novel in progress. It was a disturbing story about a young boy and his run-in with a school janitor. That story became a blip in the big new novel. But no matter what he writes, he writes it so well, and observes his characters so keenly, I can't put it down.

There's another story line in this book about a woman who was once a Miss Rheingold. As a little girl I fantasized about being a Miss Rheingold when I grew up. I once told that to George and when I came home the next day I found a sign on the back of my desk chair -- Miss Rheingold 1982. How sweet is that?!

We're back in Key West now. There's no better medicine than the Key West sunshine and warmth. Next week Larry, Randy, and Elliot will arrive and a few days after that, Amanda and Jim. We'll all be together for the holidays. Randy and Elliot promise a do-over Thanksgiving dinner. And that means I'll get to cook with Randy. Always a treat.

Hope your Thanksgiving was joyous and that you got to share it with family and friends.
Love,
Judy

Remembering Gretchen

2008-11-13T11:11:00.013-05:00

Key West -- My friend Gretchen Feldman died this week. It's not that it was unexpected but that it was, as she put it a year ago, ludicrous. That's when she learned she had stage 4 lung cancer. She didn't smoke. And at that point she had no real symptoms. Oh, maybe she'd lost ten pounds but that was good, wasn't it? She'd wanted to drop ten pounds. And she'd had some GI distress over the summer, but who didn't? She and Sam and George and I had dinner last November when we were in New York for Thanksgiving week. They had come down from the Vineyard where they lived year round, to see an oncologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering hospital. What do you say when your friend tells you the diagnosis is for real - though she can't believe it and neither can you? Only a 4-letter word will do.

We met Sam and Gretchen at a dinner party on the Vineyard just before the presidential election of '92. We were all Clinton supporters and excited by the possibilities. I was seated next to Sam and Gretchen was across the table. They were from Baltimore and so was George. They knew the Cooper Camera Mart, started by George's father. Gretchen and I didn't really get to talk that night. She was beautiful, with a dazzling smile, but quiet, observant . Sam, handsome and outgoing, had all my attention. It wasn't until later that I got to know Gretchen. The first time they came to our house on the Vineyard, Gretchen carried a huge bucket of wildflowers from her garden. They lived "up-island" and I hadn't yet seen their beautiful home overlooking Chilmark Pond, and just beyond, the ocean.

Gretchen was full of surprises. She was a serious artist. Her watercolors were big and bold. Her Vineyard scenes grew more and more abstract, full of deep, rich colors, making them look almost like oils. When we first met she was also doing studies of Vineyard animals. George fell for a painting of a cow that was so loose and had such humor we bought it on the spot and to this day it hangs in our livingroom, making us smile each time we pass. Randy is a huge fan of Gretchen's work and several of Gretchen's paintings hang in her home.

Who would have guessed that Gretchen also excelled at ping pong? Larry holds a ping pong tournament at our house every summer and one year Gretchen and Sam stopped by. All the players were at least twenty years younger than the four of us. I had no idea that either Gretchen or Sam could play. I thought they were just being sociable. But they were the stars of the night. Sam played our young neighbor in the finals while Gretchen played her daughter, Leigh. Gretchen won.

The next year Sam bought an outdoor ping pong table like Larry's and I knew from then on the rest of us wouldn't stand a chance.

Once I confessed to Sam and Gretchen that I was teaching myself to do crossword puzzles but it didn't come easily. My mind works in interesting ways but whatever it takes to do crossword puzzles eluded me. I was proud that with practice I could now do the Monday and Tuesday puzzle in the New York Times (the puzzles grow progressively more difficult until the Saturday puzzle, the toughest of the week). Gretchen confessed that she didn't bother with them until at least Thursday. Who knew?

Gretchen and Sam's daughter, Dene, was married at their Vineyard home. Though it was July and too early for a hurricane, a fierce tropical storm hit the island. It had a name but I can't remember -- only know it started with a B. All day we waited for the phone call that would tell us plans had been changed - the wedding would be moved to the Hebrew Center, or some other indoor venue. But the call never came. The wind howled as we headed up-island. The tents, as planned, were out in the open field overlooking the ocean. Inside the big tent, Larry and I kept looking at each other, each of us quietly planning our exit strategy if the crew couldn't hold the tent down. Worse yet, if the tent collapsed. But Gretchen and Sam were smiling and telling all their guests how they also had married in the rain and look how well it had worked out for them.

All of this is superficial, of course. You can't really get a feel for Gretchen from reading anecdotes. The real Gretchen was a private person. She didn't talk about herself. Sam and their two daughters and their three grandchildren were the most important people in her life. That much I know. I once saw a photo of a gorgeous young couple at their house in Baltimore. It only took a second to realize they were Gretchen and Sam. Theirs was a love affair to the end.

Which brings us back to that ludicrous diagnosis. Gretchen underwent chemotherapy. She said she could withstand any treatment as long as it would make a difference. In early September the Craven Gallery on the Vineyard hosted Gretchen's last show. She was there looking thin, but elegant, in a crisp white shirt and flowing pants, her silvery hair cropped short, as always (though I know she was never happier than wearing an old t-shirt or a sweater she'd ordered from a catalog). Her paintings were abstract and colorful. "They're cells," she whispered to me. "Can you tell?" Of course. That made perfect sense. The cells in her body were running amok but in her paintings she could do with them whatever she pleased.

The last time we saw Gretchen was the day before we left New York for Miami to campaign for Obama. She was rooting for him. Sam had instructed us to amuse Gretchen. No problem. The four of us sat around their apartment telling stories (some at the expense of Sarah Palin) and laughed and laughed. Gretchen said their lives centered on the C-words -- campaign and cancer. We laughed about that, too. I held my true feelings inside until we'd left.

I bought a stunning painting at Gretchen's last show.

When I unwrapped it in Key West the name she had printed on its back was Fat Cells II. She was still making me laugh. It will hang in my study so I can see it every day. And when I do, I'll think of Gretchen. Not that I need a painting to remind me but I like having a part of her here with me. She was my "girlfriend" and I'll miss her.

Cherish your friendships while you can.
xx Judy

Yes, We Did!

2008-11-07T11:46:00.001-05:00

A night to remember!

As my friend Letty Pogrebin says:

"WE ARE OUT OF OUR MINDS WITH JOY, RELIEF, AND DISBELIEF. BUT IT'S NOT A DREAM, IT'S TRUE! IT'S REAL! CONGRATULATIONS TO AMERICA FOR RESISTING THE POLITICS OF FEAR AND VOTING WITH ITS BRAINS AND ITS BEST SELF -- FINALLY!
AND DEEPEST THANKS TO THOSE OF YOU WHO TOOK TIME AWAY FROM YOUR BUSY LIVES TO WORK TO MAKE THIS MIRACLE HAPPEN."

Yes, it is a miracle!
Let's remember that as the hard work begins. No one, not even Barack Obama, can fix this mess quickly. I have no doubt that the best and the brightest candidate won. Let's stand behind him and his team for the long haul. He's going to continue to need us as much as we need him.

Biting My Nails Until....

2008-11-04T15:53:00.003-05:00

Key West -- we arrived back home on Friday night, following a busy week of campaigning in the Miami/Boca area. It feels as if we've been on the road for a month, and actually, now that I look at the calendar, we have.

First came Madison, Wisconsin. That was on October 14. I still had the last of a sinus infection but flew anyway with my doc's blessing and some meds. Gave the Charlotte Zolotow Lecture at the university on the 15th. George says it was my least focused speech -- maybe because my friend Lois Lowry told me the audience would know every word I'd ever written or said so I'd better do something new. Trouble is, I only have so much to say (this wasn't a political speech - I was being honored as a writer). I've learned that from now on I just have to say what I know. The audience was very warm and generous in their response. They probably just thought I was slightly ditzy.

That was the night of the final debate so I was rushed back to my hotel, where I'd already ordered up a pasta supper to be delivered by room service. Missed just the first 30 minutes which I saw later. (Wow -- this seems like such a long time ago!)

Next morning I met several classes of 6th graders at the Governor's home. His wife, Jessica Doyle, was a school librarian and regularly invites school children into her home -- gives them a tour (they even met Governor Doyle) -- then talks with them about books. I read a scene from Here's to You, Rachel Robinson, as these kids had just started middle school and I thought they would relate to Rachel, a 7th grader who has to deal with a difficult older brother. It started a good discussion about family relationships. Turns out Governor and Mrs. Doyle know Amanda, my stepdaughter. Small world.

That afternoon I had my first taste of campaigning for Obama - first, at a house party for mothers and daughters (and some sons), later at an Obama campaign office. I discovered that in Madison, Wisconsin, not only is everyone friendly, but most voters support Obama. So I didn't have to work very hard and my guide and liason to the campaign, Heather Colburn, was perfect in every way. I learned a lot from her. I wish I had her at my side wherever and whenever I have to speak on any subject. One funny question from an almost 12 year old girl who is already a political junkie -- "What do you think of Sarah Palin?" I knew it wasn't appropriate to say anything negative about the other candidates so I thought for a minute, then said, "Well...I like her jackets." (This was before the story broke about the money spent on her campaign wardrobe.) The crowd cracked up. But I meant it.

On the flight back to New York every time I yawned to open my ears I heard a strange whooshing sound. I kept asking George if he heard it, too. He didn't, of course, since it was coming from my ear. Oh oh.

This explains why, when we left for Miami (to campaign) a few days later, we had to take the train. A leaky blood vessel in my ear made flying not a good idea. We actually looked forward to a day of reading on the train without interruptions. I read American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld. She wrote Prep, a wonderful first novel, and this one, totally different, was equally enjoyable and well written. George read Porter Shreve's When the White House Was Ours (no, not that White House). I almost didn't care that our train was over three hours late getting to Miami. Or that we'd already spent one night on the train. But the thought of spending another wasn't something either one of us found romantic. (The reality of Amtrak isn't the fantasy we grew up with from watching movies.) But, hey, it saved my ear.

We stayed at a hotel in Coconut Grove because 30 something years ago George spent a month there and remembered it fondly. Mitchell Kaplan, who owns Books&Books, one of the great independent bookstores in the country, was a huge help in scheduling a couple of Obama events for me. The most interesting was at a Hebrew Day school in Miami Beach. The campaign freaked out because Joe Lieberman was speaking at the same school the following night. They were sure I'd be asked questions about Israel that I wouldn't be able to answer so they sent two experts on the middle east. This was supposed to be an informal gathering of moms (and some dads) with the middle schoolers. I doubt they would have asked me any hard questions about the middle east. But this way I didn't have to worry. And neither did the campaign.

We met up with Letty Cottin Pogrebin, and a young, talented political comedienne, Katie Halper (who also teaches history at the Dalton School in NY) in Boca Raton. We all shared a condo with a fantastic ocean view, donated by a generous Obama supporter from NY. It was a real bonding experience. The three of us spoke at 6 events in less than 3 days. George gave us moral support and drove us from place to place -- a good thing because he has a great sense of direction, not to mention a GPS in his iPhone. I would get lost even with a GPS.

We performed the "Judy, Letty, Katie" show at an art gallery, a women's center, and at four house parties. Our goal was to reach those voters still on the fence about voting for Obama. Amazing to me that so many of these intelligent women had been frightened by the malicious lies and ugly rumors -- exactly what the opponents had hoped for. The politics of fear! But after each event 3 or 4 women came up to tell us we'd helped them feel better about voting for Obama. Every vote counts, every vote has consequence. We fell into bed at night exhausted, often after very late suppers at the few restaurants that remained open until 11pm. And we were only on the road a week. I can't begin to imagine what it was like to be on the campaign trail for 22 months. Well, I can....but I don't want to go there. What strength and stamina it takes! It's too much for anyone and I hope we never have to go through a campaign that lasts this long again. I hope it as a voter and I hope it for the candidates.

George is working at the polls today -- as a Voter Protector. I haven't heard from him since noon when he reported all was well in Ramrod Key. Don't know where he's traveled since then. Monroe County covers all the Keys with Key West being the end of the road.

I have photos from each event but George has the camera with him and who cares anyway?
Tomorrow this will all be history. I'm pretty much a wreck -- too superstitious to admit the polls look good for my candidate. A friend is having an election party starting in an hour. I'd rather climb into bed and watch the returns on my own but she's having sandwiches and 100 chocolate cookies and we have nothing to eat in our house so maybe I'll wander over. But even if the race is called at 8pm I won't believe it until all the votes have been counted. Or as my mother would have said, poo poo - then she'd spit on her hand. The translation being, It should only be! or, Don't count your chickens until.....

Hope you've all voted. Whichever candidate you support voting is our privilege as well as our duty. I always cry when I vote. I'll cry tonight, too, whichever way it goes.
xxx Judy

Forever Thirteen...

2008-10-18T12:57:00.004-04:00

This is the multi-talented, high energy cast of the new Broadway musical 13. And what a great evening at the theater! My friend, Dan Elish, is co-writer of the book and I felt like such a proud Mama. Dan has written kids' books - funny ones! - but, like me, has always had theater in his blood. (You know my fantasy, right -- to do a musical based on Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself). Once we held a reading/sing through for a play Dan was working on at our apartment in NY. It was such fun. But 13 is something else. Exhuberant, funny, yet surprisingly moving. The audience loved it -- kids and adults. Catch it if you're coming to NY or if you live here. Bring the under-thirteens with you. It will speak to them. The dancing is fabulous, right down to the curtain call when a couple of guys in the cast put on their tap shoes. I was thrilled to meet them all backstage and have my photo snapped with them.

Don't Read That Book!

2008-10-05T15:06:00.011-04:00

...because it's dangerous...because you might have questions and I don't want to answer them...because too many kids like it...because it might present different points of view...because it could get you thinking...
Yes, Banned Books Week is here again!

And so apropos -- because my last post was about Maurice Sendak. Who can look at Maurice's deliciously funny illustrations for In the Night Kitchen and not be reminded that the book was banned in some places because Mickey, in his little boy dream, is shown floating naked through the night sky, then falling into a huge vat of batter at a bakery? In some places librarians actually drew clothes on Mickey. As if the body of a little boy is something to be ashamed of. Did you ever meet a small child who didn't love running around naked? It's the adults who are uncomfortable about nudity, not the kids.

But don't get me started. I've had my share of banned and/or challenged books, too.

Last weekend I was in Chicago celebrating our intellectual freedom at a Banned Books event held on the plaza outside the McCormick Freedom Museum. If you live in Chicago or you're visiting, check it out. It's a great place to take the kids. And I guarantee you'll come away with a new appreciation for our First Amendment rights -- something we take for granted until those rights are threatened or worse yet, taken away while we're not paying attention.

While in Chicago I did a TV interview about the event and talked about what the ALA Freedom to Read Commitee, and the National Coaltion Against Censorship have meant to me. I talked about how frightened and lonely I felt when my books were first challenged in the early 80's. When they were the center of an organized campaign to "rid schools and libraries" of Judy Blume books. Those who wanted to censor were determined to remove not just the books they didn't want their own kids reading, but books they didn't want any kids to read.

Ban Fudge?
Last week I received a surprising e-mail. Surprising because it had nothing to do with language or sexuality (the usual reasons my books are challenged) or lack of moral tone, whatever that means, or undermining authority -- other reasons given for challenging my books. No, this was surprising because it was from a mother telling me she was demanding that Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing be removed from her daughter's classroom. Here's an excerpt from that e-mail:

***

"My daughter was assigned your book, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, to read and write a report on. I am appalled by the fact that you had a child swallow a turtle; had the parents not care whatever about the older child's loss of a pet; and then had the father replace the animal with a puppy, with the whole family treating the episode as a joke. Perhaps when you wrote this in 1972, it seemed funny. However, children are now aware of animal's rights and that pets (even reptiles) feel pain and fear. Improper supervision of a 2.5 year old child is another matter, especially in light of the fact that the child was known to be out of control in the first place.
I am asking the teacher to pull this book from her class list.

***

The desire to ban books is contagious. There is no safe book. Humor is suspect. Anything children enjoy is suspect. This mother is carrying PC to the nth degree. How sad to think of all the funny books she probably won't let her kids read. The next day the teacher sent an e-mail to me:

***

Judy -- Recently, I was shocked to hear one parent voice dismay over the silly antics of a toddler and his brother. I have boys and have been around as a teacher of them for 15 years, and I know similar things happen. Your hilarious books have inspired many very reluctant/ non readers to transform into literature butterflies in front of my eyes. I will continue to read them and have them available. Keep writing, no one can get into the mind of little ones like yourself. The parent sent me a copy of an email she sent you, and believe me, she was alone, the other parents love the book, and remember your work fondly. They were excited I was using it for Literacy Circles, as the parents always are. Please, I am a big fan, doesn't matter how many times I read your books with the children, I still laugh out loud and wipe the tears away as we take turns reading. I remove books for nobody, especially classics!!

Now that's a teacher I want to hug! She's not going to allow a parent to bully her into removing a book. She deserves our thanks and appreciation. The kids in her class are lucky. They'll remember her fondly, I'm sure.

Most Banned Book of the Year
I met Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson in Chicago -- authors of the most banned book of this year-- And Tango Makes Three --

a picture book based on a true story about two male penguins, Roy and Silo, at the Central Park Zoo.

The fear of sharing this charming story about nurturing male penguins reminds me of a picture book by Charlotte Zolotow published in the '70's -- William's Doll-- and the brouhaha surrounding it. As if giving a boy a doll would turn him into a homosexual.

It makes me proud that on October 15 I will be giving the Charlotte Zolotow Lecture at University of Wisconsin. Maybe I'll start off by telling that story.

So celebrate! Read a challenged book. You'll find plenty to choose from.

Happy Birthday Wild Thing

2008-09-21T14:41:00.012-04:00

New York-- A few weeks ago we went to an 80th birthday celebration for Maurice Sendak at the 92nd Street Y in New York. It was a wonderful night of readings and music and funny stories, starting off with Where the Wild Things Are, read in yiddish (a language spoken by Maurice's family when he was growing up). You didn't have to understand a word of yiddish to follow along with the illustrations, projected on a large screen. It was charming and very funny.

Meryl Streep read from The Sign on Rosie's Door. Has anything ever been read so well? Dave Eggers told us about a novel he's writing based on Where the Wild Things Are. We saw clips from a movie in progress, directed by Spike Jones, also based on Wild Things. And then Maurice -- who seemed to genuinely enjoy this tribute came up to the stage. Truly an evening I won't forget.

So Happy Birthday Maurice! You and your incredible work will always be an inspiration to me. Did you know the first book Randy ever read aloud was Little Bear with your gentle and funny illustrations? Thank you for that, too.
Love,
Judy

Hockey Mom

2008-09-07T13:00:00.001-04:00

New York -- It occurred to me while listening to Sarah Palin deliver her speech at the Republican Convention that I'm a "hockey mom," too. That's right. Make that 35 years as a hockey mom. Hey, I go back so far I boiled Larry's mouthguard in Hawaiian Punch (his choice). When I took Larry to a Rangers game at Madison Square Garden he explained to me that blood and vomit bounce on ice. The things your 10 year old can teach you! It's been a long time since I've seen Larry on ice but at 45 he still plays in a league twice a week. Funny that I never thought to include hockey mom on my professional resume.

Aside from being female, this may be the end of what I have in common with Sarah Palin and, to be honest, I was never one of those pit bull moms. I don't think I'd ever heard of pit bulls in the 70's. I was more of a yellow lab, but that could be a question of style. No doubt Sarah has her own style. And she's a good speaker whether or not she writes her own speeches. But it's her politics and religious right beliefs that scare me most.

I agree with Obama that children of candidates should be off limits. But in this case, Bristol's pregnancy at 17, says a lot about Sarah's politics. She's against comprehensive sex education in schools. She favors "abstinence only" programs. She doesn't want teens to learn about birth control. She doesn't want them taught that condoms, when used properly, can protect them not only from pregnancy, but from disease. She's anti-choice for women of all ages -- she's against abortion as an option even in cases of pregnancy caused by rape or incest. She would overturn Roe v Wade if given the chance. I'm not telling Sarah what's right for her family and I don't want her deciding what's right for mine. Or for any of our families.

I feel for Bristol. In my high school class three top girls became pregnant during their senior year. Abortion was illegal then. Some girls were so desperate they chose to have unsafe, illegal abortions. A woman I know lost a daughter that way. She bled to death. Some girls were sent to live with relatives in other states so no one would know, then gave their babies up for adoption. For others, hastily arranged marriages were the answer. For my classmates, those early, unwanted pregnancies changed their lives and their futures forever.

It is said that when Sarah became mayor of Wasilla she wanted to ban some books from the public library. When the librarian refused, she fired her. Public outcry caused Sarah to relent and the librarian got her job back. Once again, Sarah wanted to decide not just what was right for her children, but what was right for all children.

Her father taught science, yet she believes that creationism should be taught side-by-side with evolution in public schools. Her strong religious views will no doubt shape all her governing policies. This is a scary idea.

A young man who's been writing to me for years e-mailed after watching Sarah at the Republican Convention. He was impressed. This young man, whom I consider a friend, is gay, unemployed due to downsizing at his company, depressed and without health care. For all these reasons and many more he should be listening carefully and reading widely on the issues at stake in this election. I can't believe he can be so easily fooled. But if he can be, then others who are undecided can be, too. I'm worried. And scared -- or did I already say that?

This election is too important to our future and the future of our children and grandchildren to decide in haste. Whether John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate because she's a woman and he was pandering to those women disappointed by Hillary's loss, or whether he choose her because of her conservative and deeply religious views, and was pandering to the right wingers (without whose votes he cannot win the election) of his party -- we'll never know. It's the first and biggest decision he's made in this election. Did he make it in haste when push came to shove, or did he give it the long and careful consideration it warranted? Everything points to a quickly made, purely political decision. Even one of McCain's inner circle gleefully announced this election is about personalities, not issues.

I don't know about you, but I'm making my decisions based on the issues. There are no "do overs" here. We have to choose a leader whose judgment we respect. One who doesn't make important decisions based on gut feelings. That's why I want the calm, thoughtful, intelligent, knowledgeable candidate who will surround himself with the best and the brightest. That's why I'm supporting Barack Obama.

What I don't need is some sarcastic hockey mom who describes herself as a pit bull, who flaunts her pregnant teenager and her new special needs infant, a heartbeat away from the presidency.

Yesterday on Today

2008-08-27T17:37:00.026-04:00

Click to view!

Yesterday I was on the Today Show with Hoda and Kathie Lee. Turned out to be fun. That's how I judge every appearance on TV. Did I have fun? Because if I did then it was worth it. But I'm never really sure until I see it because I'm vain enough to want it to look good, too. (Will I outgrow this concern and become less superficial? Are you kidding?)

We're still on the Vineyard so our day went something like this:

MVY Airport -- Arrive at 8:30 (after staying up way too late the night before to watch the Dem Convention on TV. More about the convention in another blog -- but wasn't Michelle warm and lovely? And how about Caroline Kennedy introducing her Uncle Teddy? George and I went through a box of Kleenex between Caroline, Teddy and Michelle)

Arrive NY 11am -- Starving. Not used to skipping breakfast.

Sarabeth's -- taxi from La Guardia directly to Sarabeth's (my favorite place for breakfast, brunch, or lunch in NY and Key West). Fill up on a delicious veggie frittata.

Vicky, Christine, Barcelona -- George has to see this movie, Woody Allen's latest, as it's about to open at the Tropic Cinema in Key West and he has to write a column about it asap. He checks his iPhone and it's playing at Lincoln Plaza Cinema, a short walk from Sarabeth's. Do you know how long it's been since I went to a movie at that time of day? Neither do I. Maybe junior high when I'd meet my girlfriends for lunch at the Martine Shop in Elizabeth, New Jersey, then catch an afternoon movie. Never mind that I swore I had to shop for a jacket to wear on TV the next morning. George wants to know what's wrong with the jacket I'm wearing. Okay -- point taken -- we go to the movies. We both love it.

Robert Stuart Salon -- have to hustle up to Amsterdam and 84th St. where we have back-to-back haircuts with Robert starting at 3pm. No way am I going on TV without a haircut. I barely look in the mirror on the Vineyard (this is true!) but there are some things that are necessary and a good haircut is one of them.

Feline -- two hours to spare before meeting friends for an early dinner. The local day spa can fit me in for a pedicure. I race over to 75th St just off Broadway. I don't know/trust anyone on the Vineyard to do a pedicure. I once got an infection from a bad job so would rather cut and polish my own toenails than risk that again. Don't realize how ragged my fingernails are until the nail technician asks if I wouldn't also like a manicure. Wow -- I'm almost a Big City Girl again.

Dovetail -- George and I meet up outside this restaurant, one that opened while we were away. Even though the poached chicken is described by our wait-person as tasting "kind of like raw chicken" our friend orders it and pronounces it delicious. My meal is too fancy/foodie for me but then I like a simple piece of grilled fish with fresh veggies.

Convention-mania -- get back to our apartment, turn on the TV and wait for Hillary. What color is that pantsuit? Or is it our TV? But she does a good job and I know my publisher is going to love that reference to the sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits. They publish Ann Brashares. Hope Ann also got a kick out of it. Hope, too, that Hillary's sisterhood will now support Obama.

Wake-Up Call -- literally. 7am. Into the shower and out. My hair is too soft. Maybe the difference in water? Maybe a product used yesterday when Robert did my hair? It doesn't want to curl. Falls flat. I scrunch and fluff, hoping for humidity. Eat a piece of dry toast. Too nervous to eat more than that. Try on four jackets hanging in my closet, all with my standby black pants. Settle on the blue. I knew I would. Then have to decide between my trusty western boots, or summer sandals. Instead, go for the one pair of real shoes in my closet. Wore them to a wedding last fall or was it the fall before -- yes, it was the fall before. Hated them then. Love them now. Ta dah! I'm ready.

Cupcakes -- Beverly (my editor/publisher) and Noreen (publicity) accompany me to the NBC studio at Rockefeller Center. On her way to meet me, Beverly stopped at a Whole Foods to get me cupcakes. A very sweet gesture. But cupcakes first thing in the morning? Even I have my standards.

Makeup -- I remind the makeup artist to go easy. Natural, I say. Then I remind her that I'm very old. I wait for her to say something reassuring. She doesn't, but she smiles. The hair person works magic with a hair dryer wearing a sock (at least it looks like a sock). My curls return. I'm escorted to the set. Grab a couple of tissues in case my nose runs on set. (It doesn't.)

6 Minutes or Less -- it feels a lot longer when you're doing it.

Relief -- it's over. We stop by the apartment so I can change back into jeans and sandals for the trip back to the Vineyard. I gobble up both of the cupcakes. Pretty good.

Vineyard -- we get back in time to see the delegates cast their votes at the convention.

Jenny -- 6:45 -- get to the restaurant in time for dinner with Jenny Allen who has just performed the latest version of her one woman play in progress. She's fabulous and so is her play. I'm still sporting the eye makeup from the show though I sponged off the rest of my face. George thinks the eye makeup is sexy. Maybe I should learn how to apply it myself.

Designated Driver -- that would be me. I don't drink and George had several glasses of wine with dinner.

Joe Biden -- made it home in time to catch his speech as the Dem candidate for Vice Prez. George and I go through another box of Kleenex. Favorite moment, aside from Biden's strong speech -- a shot of Michelle O, hands over her face, moved to tears by the story of Joe Biden's life. (Missed Bill Clinton's speech but have it ready to watch later.)

Tonight -- is the Big One. I'm already feeling nervous for Obama. I'll bet he doesn't try on every suit in his closet before an appearance. I'll bet he knows what he says is way more important than how he looks. You know I'll be rooting for him. He's my candidate.

Dog Days

2008-08-20T13:00:00.001-04:00

On the Vineyard I've been reading and staying up way too late at night to finish the most unforgettable novel I've read in a long time -- The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by first time novelist David Wroblewski.

It's a big, compelling, beautifully written, yet totally accessable book. I'm glad I didn't read too much about it before I picked it up. I knew that dogs were an important part of the story and I wondered if I'd relate. I've never had my own dog. Mookie, Larry's dog, was the first dog I ever loved.

She was also the first dog I ever knew well. I called her my grand-dog. George and I took care of her when Larry had to be away. She stayed with us in New York and one November afternoon George took her with him when he went running in Riverside Park. He was gone a very long time. I later learned he was afraid that he'd lost Mookie . He thought she was right there with him and then, she wasn't. He searched everywhere, asked everyone if they'd seen a small white and brown dog. By then it was late afternoon and growing dark. I don't know what George must have been thinking as he crossed Riverside Drive, a busy street, and entered our apartment building. Surely he knew I would...um...better not to go there.

But when he entered our lobby ready to face the music, there was Mookie! She'd crossed Riverside Drive on her own and come home. Amazing - since she didn't even live there. I don't know what we'd have done or how we'd have gone on if we'd been responsible for her disappearance.

Another time, Mookie was in our care on the Vineyard. It was around Labor Day weekend and I was watching the US OpenTennis finals on TV when I realized I hadn't seen Mookie in a while. She wasn't anywhere in the house. We searched outside, down by the water, out in the woods - but no Mookie. Again, it was late afternoon and growing foggier by the minute. We live a mile down a dirt road, with other dirt roads going off in different directions.

We got on bikes and covered the area, calling to her. Nothing. We knew that when Larry left town Mookie always tried to find him. It was Larry's idea to take her with us to the airport. She would know that Larry was getting on a plane and since she didn't like to fly, she'd accept his absence. But I was sure she had followed his scent all the way to the airport. I convinced George that we had to drive there right away. So we did. (What was I thinking...Lassie Come Home?)

When we pulled up I saw a policeman who recognized the panic in my voice. He hadn't seen a small white and brown dog but suggested I call the police and report her missing. Of course! Why didn't we think of that first?

We learned the police (or was it animal control?) had indeed picked up a small white and brown dog on Lambert's Cove Road -- this is a busy road at the beginning of the mile long dirt road leading to our house. My instinct was right -- she was trying to find Larry. I hesitated before asking -- was she okay?

Yes, he said, but she was a very bad dog. She'd brought traffic to a stop on Lambert's Cove Road on a Sunday afternoon. The police were called by someone in a car who couldn't get to where he was going because Mookie kept zig-zagging across the road. When they arrived they couldn't catch her. Mookie could be scary if you didn't know her. She was an alpha dog. She growled. She snapped. They had to catch her with a net. Even then, she wouldn't let them get close enough to read her tag or her tatooed ID. She was taken to doggie jail but at least she was safe.

I said I would get her right away. I was told I'd have to wait until the next day. That doesn't make any sense, I said. So George and I drove there. Mookie was in the last kennel. A runaway curled up with a stuffed teddy bear she'd been given.

She was chagrined when she saw us, tail between her legs. I told her I'd get her out if it took all night. And it almost did. I called everyone I could think of -- I said things I couldn't believe I was saying -- I threatened: If you don't let me have her tonight I'm going to sleep outside her kennel and write about this for the local paper! One call led to another. I talked to a lot of animal lovers that night and I've never forgotten their understanding of my situation and their kindness. Finally, someone knew someone who knew someone with a key. Arrangements were made to meet him.

At last Mookie was rescued. By then it was quite late. We kept her in our bedroom all night.

We didn't let her out of our sight until Larry returned home and when he did and I told him the story he said, You should have let her spend the night in jail. Maybe she'd have learned a lesson.
Gee, thanks Larry!

And those were only two of Mookie's many adventures. There were so many more. She once rolled out of Larry's car onto a highway.

She once jumped into the water and tried to catch Larry, who was sailing into Vineyard Sound.

He and George had to drop the sails, scoop Mookie out of the water, bring her back to me in a dinghy, then continue their sail.

I wrapped her in a blanket and held her for an hour until she stopped shaking.

Mookie lived to be sixteen. I can't see a Jack Russell without thinking of her -- without missing her, the humor she brought into our lives, the unconditional love she had for Larry.

Did reading The Story of Edgar Sawtelle remind me of Mookie? It reminded me of her loyalty and her intelligence. But the Sawtelle dogs are something else. All I can say is it's a good thing I'm not trying to write a novel this summer. There's no way I can even read another book right now, let alone write one. I'll savor this story and the characters, both human and canine, for a long time. Thank you, David Wroblewski, for writing this book. Read it and let me know what you think.

Happy Reading!
And Happy Dog Days of Summer,
Judy

Going, Going, Gone!

2008-08-12T13:22:00.012-04:00

Today is pub date for Going, Going, Gone! the third book in the Pain & The Great One series. I'm always excited on pub date. Even though I already have a small box of copies sitting in my writing cabin (and I've already sniffed the book, something I do right away, even before I read it) the idea of the books being in stores and libraries gets me going. It means soon young readers will be sharing these stories and letting me know what they think.

But it's a bittersweet day, too, because I was scheduled to sign the book at Bunch of Grapes bookstore next week. Sadly, on July 4th, because of smoke and water damage due to a fire next door this great independent bookstore is closed for the season. I'll miss meeting the kids, both locals and visitors. I signed Soupy Saturdays there last summer, but wasn't on the island in May, to sign Cool Zone. I hope the bookstore is up and running next summer when Friend or Fiend? the 4th and final book (for now, anyway) in the series is published. It doesn't feel right to be here and not be able to hang out at Bunch of Grapes, browsing, buying, and signing books.
(You can read more on my July 9th post -- Happy July 4)

The Pain & Great One series is being published in the UK, too. So I've been doing interviews with British newspapers and radio, and last week, Irish Radio. The presenter on that show wanted to talk only about the books she read when she was growing up (Margaret, Deenie, Forever). I love talking about my early books but in this case I was so frustrated I just started yakking about the Pain & the Great One, telling anecdotes until she pulled the plug. I probably won't be invited back on that show. But that's another story.

The first three books are also available on CD's from Listening Library. Friend or Fiend? will be recorded in September. I get to read the part of Fluzzy the Cat in all four books. Fun!

If you've been reading my blog you know I've already finished writing Friend or Fiend? and Jim Stevenson has done wonderfully funny cover art. Now we're waiting to see his illustrations for the inside of the book -- always a treat. Both the US cover and the UK cover feature the Great One smushing an ice cream cone against the Pain's forehead. The UK editor has asked if the ice cream could be bright yellow or pink instead of chocolate. Since the story is about how the Pain eats only white food, and that means only the white kind of vanilla ice cream and the Great One likes chocolate best, I don't see how that's going to work. Here's a peek at the first round of cover art.

I'll tell you about the real sister who smushed an ice cream cone against her brother's forehead in a post I'll write soon.

For now,
Love,
Judy

Mutton Chops VS. Walrus Moustache

2008-07-24T15:16:00.002-04:00

In June our friend Elizabeth Winthrop invited us to dinner to meet James Stevenson, the illustrator of the new Pain & Great One series. There's a tradition in publishing to keep the author and the illustrator of children's books apart (unless they're working as an official team). But aren't we always working as a team? It's never made sense to me. It has to do, I think, with the fear that the writer will impose her/his ideas on the illustrator instead of allowing the illustrator to interpret what the writer has written. A battle of the wills -- I'm more important than you! vs. You're nothing without me!

But when you have such respect as I have for James Stevenson, when you're thrilled that he's agreed to illustrate your work, you're not about to try to control what he draws. Instead, I find myself eagerly awaiting his illustrations -- laughing over them, thinking how well he brings my characters to life. Even Fluzzy the Cat has benefited from Jim's magic. With a stroke or two of his pen he shows exactly what Abigail, Jake, and Fluzzy are thinking. So this was my chance to thank him in person. Besides, he'd already finished three of the four books so I didn't think there was any danger in a face-to-face meeting. And I might have waited a very long time to meet Jim if not for our mutual friends.

And what a treat! Jim is just like his illustrations -- wry and witty, but charming, too. And he looks like Grandpa Pete in the 3rd book in the series, Going, Going, Gone! coming August 12. Well, not really -- but he has the same fancy moustache. This started an interesting after dinner conversation -- what exactly does one call his style of facial hair? Not even Jim knew. We started out with mutton chops -- but we were wrong --

because just the other day I found a website that shows and names all sorts of beards, moustaches, and yes - even mutton chops, which are actually a kind of side-burn -- and I can now report that Grandpa Pete (and Jim) both sport a walrus moustache. Anyway, that's my conclusion.

Thanks Elizabeth, for bringing us together!

There's more to this story. It's about having routine colonoscopies, something we don't necessarily want to talk about. I had my first ten years ago -- too long, I know, but hey, at least I did it. I always think of Audrey Hepburn who died of colon cancer and I say I'm doing it for her.

We all loved Audrey when we were teenagers. We wanted to be her. And after her career as a movie star she went on to do great work for UNICEF.

My colonoscopy was scheduled for Wednesday, and Monday night of that week was the only night Elizabeth could get us together with Jim and his wife. What to do?

Nothing was going to keep me from meeting Jim. Never mind that I was on a liquid diet. I arrived at Elizabeth's carrying my can of clear soup. (Most people need only one day of liquid diet before their colonoscopy but I need two - a long story that I'll spare you.) And next time I'm invited to dinner at Elizabeth's house I promise I'll eat real food which smelled so good I could hardly stand sitting at the table sipping my boringly clear soup!

For those who don't know, the colonoscopy procedure is nothing. Really. Besides, they give you feel-good drugs. It's the prep that gets me, though even that isn't so bad. Well, I can't say it's fun but after, you feel so good knowing you've finally done it, you don't mind. And the little polyps they sometimes remove and biospy could save your life.

So if you're 50+ make an appointment for that colonoscopy. We have a friend whose life was saved this year - at 50 - because he had the procedure. I've been told I need to have another in just 3 years and you can bet I'll keep that date, not just for Audrey, but for myself.

xx Judy

A Different Kind of Fireworks

2008-07-09T13:50:00.019-04:00

HAPPY JULY 4TH?

No, this photo was taken from the window of our apartment in New York on June 24 as we were packing to leave for the Vineyard. Talk about surprises! I heard the booms, ran to the window to see what was going on, and for the next half hour stood mesmerized by this incredible display. Have no idea what was being celebrated in Central Park. I just hope whoever/whatever it was enjoyed it as much as we did. The next morning we flew to the Vineyard. What a send-off!

But on the real July 4th, as family and friends were gathering all over the island for the holiday weekend, word spread that a morning fire, originating in the basement of our favorite Vineyard Haven restaurant, Cafe Moxie, burned it to the ground -- and seriously damaged it's neighbor Bunch of Grapes, one of the best indie bookstores in the country. The restaurant and the bookstore shared a common wall. Bunch of Grapes is still standing but suffered such smoke and water damage that it will remain closed for the season. The business district of Vineyard Haven is very small and Bunch of Grapes - a large, welcoming, and well stocked bookstore - was the linchpin of Main Street. People came from all over the island to browse, to buy books, to attend special events, to see and be seen.

Our first summer on the island, 1983, Randy (she'd just graduated from college) got a job at Bunch of Grapes. Every afternoon she'd ride her bike into town and when the store closed at 9pm, she'd ride home again. I worried at first about her riding home in the dark, then through a path in the woods, but eventually I got used to it, and Randy loved working at the bookstore. She introduced us to the store and to its dynamic owner, Ann Nelson. George and I spent hours in the store that summer and every summer since. Can't remember how many book signings I've had there. Many. I remember one where Ann's mother served lemonade and cookies to the kids waiting in line. I always tell booksellers this story but it seems nobody wants to encourage sticky hands at a bookstore these days.

This summer I was slated to sign Going, Going, Gone! when it comes out in late August. But as of Monday, all events at Bunch of Grapes have been cancelled for the season. What a loss this year round bookstore for readers of all ages and all interests is to the island community! Ann's son (she recently turned the store over to him) is promising to rebuild. I called Ann to say our family is ready and willing to volunteer, and I know many other island residents have done the same. I think I'll call again today. You can read more about the fire; Cafe Moxie and the young couple who recently bought the restaurant; Bunch of Grapes and Ann Nelson - all with photos - at the Vineyard Gazette.
A sad start to a summer season though we're grateful no one was hurt.

On July 5th we celebrated Larry's birthday with a small family dinner. Randy cooked (risotto with fresh island peas -- heavenly) and baked (Aunt Frances's chocolate cake with mocha whipped cream frosting -- yummm). I was her sous chef. Larry prepared shrimp (I'm allergic to shellfish so stay out of the kitchen when it's around). Larry's birthdays usually bring many island friends to our table, and the atmosphere is more raucous than reflective. This year was different but no less enjoyable.

Larry, with his friend Kathryn - behind them is Randy with her cat, Keith (who inspired Fluzzy in the Pain & the Great One series.) Missing -- Elliot, who's in Spain, Amanda and Jim, who are in New Mexico, and George, who's taking the picture.

Moms get to go sentimental on the occasion of their children's birthdays (even when those children are in their 40's). I remember waiting and waiting through an early summer heat wave for him to be born. Of course, in those days, we didn't know the sex of our babies. We didn't know much of anything. My due date was Memorial Day. And Larry wasn't born until the 5th of July! I was 25. I'd gained 45 pounds. Had just two "mumu s" that fit by then. One was an orange and blue plaid, the other a white and turquoise print. I wore them everywhere. Washed them at night. It was the summer we got a color TV. The summer I fell in love with the Mets. Randy was just over two years old. I could hardly carry her. My mother came for the weekend to help. When I went into labor after dinner my mother got so worked up she had a spontaneous nosebleed. I was more worried about her than having the baby. Still, I bathed Randy and put her to sleep, then took a shower, and by the time we got to the hospital there was no time to spare. Larry was born just before midnight. I was out of it for the rest of that night. It wasn't until the next morning that I got to hold and bond with my baby boy. Back then they kept you in the hospital for a week. (I think I was looking forward to having a week off.) My mother phoned to say Randy would eat only applesauce and oreos. She was concerned. What should she do? The pediatrician assured me this was okay. And it was.

Happy Birthday, Larry!

xx Judy

On the Road Again: June - Part Two

2008-06-30T16:15:00.000-04:00

June 1 -- Flew from LA to NY on Sunday. Not enough time to do anything but unpack, get a haircut...

And then we were off to Boston. Lively event at Pine Manor College hosted by the 5th graders at Ward Elementary School in Newton. Open to the public. Randy and Elliot came, too. Elliot said, "I'll always come with you for a talk -- but no more book signings. Waiting around for an hour and a half while you sign books isn't that much fun." I totally understand. Especially when you're 16 and starving. Especially when you got braces on your teeth that morning. (PS We had a great dinner but it wasn't until close to 9pm and it wasn't easy for Elliot to eat anything.)

(5th graders from the Ward School)

Spent an overnight on the Vineyard with Randy, Elliot, Larry. Got to see our beautiful peonies in bloom after all. Lilacs, too.

Then back to NY for a few days --
again, not enough time to connect with friends but we did manage a couple of meals with Mary and saw a great play August: Osage County.

Then it was off to Minneapolis. Many years ago I had a visit from a young woman, Karen Nelson, who drove cross country and stopped in to see me in Scotch Plains, NJ to explain the Kerlan Collection -- a library devoted to children's books. For years I've been sending manuscripts and papers to them on loan. Now, finally, I was going to see the collection. And it was impressive! Sorry to have missed Karen (Karen Nelson Hoyle) who was away but we did meet some of the library specialists who very kindly assisted me in my research.

I was hoping to find something for George Ella Lyon who is writing a book about Dick Jackson (my first and most extraordinary editor) and how he works his magic with his writers. Going through those boxes was like visiting my past. An emotional experience. Our time was limited so I got to see just a sample of what I'd sent over the years, going back to Margaret.

That night Minnesota Public Radio, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, and the Loft Literary Center, sponsored an event at the beautiful Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul. It's Garrison Keillor's home base for A Prairie Home Companion. I love that show. It's also where they shot the movie version so I was pretty excited about appearing on stage there.

I was interviewed by Kerri Miller, who was warm, funny, and on top of everything. To listen to the show go to: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/06/16/midmorning2/

After, another book signing -- ending late -- you know what that means -- scrambled eggs and toast at a diner, my late night comfort food. Thanks everyone in Minneapolis, for making this a great event.

No time to write about politics. But I still hope to get out and work for Obama. Here's a picture of Amanda and Jim with our candidate, taken when Obama was in Albuquerque, giving a speech about women. And what a strong speech that was! Almost as strong as Amanda.

I promise to do a better job of keeping up-to-date over the summer. No deadlines -- that's reason enough to celebrate!

Happy Summer to all of you!
I'm trying to remember how it feels to relax. Will let you know...
Love,
Judy

On the Road Again : June - Part One

2008-06-30T11:58:00.000-04:00

LA -- We left Key West on May 29, heading for the west coast and the biggest book convention of the year, BEA. If you have a book coming out in the fall, your publisher may ask you to attend. It's a way to introduce the fall list to the booksellers. Since Going, Going, Gone! will be published in September I was invited to speak at the Children's Book&Author breakfast in front of about 1200 booksellers and publishers (that was the expected audience, anyway).

I said Yes! because 30 years ago, at the first Children's Book&Author breakfast, the guest speakers were Dr. Seuss, Maurice Sendak, and me. I don't think anyone on this year's committee realized that and I didn't tell them because I have a priceless (to me) photo of that event taken by Jill Krementz and I decided to share it with the audience. I mean, we're talking 30 years ago! I wonder if anyone in this year's audience attended that breakfast? Do I even have to say what a thrill it was for me to appear with two of my heroes in Atlanta, May, 1978?

(This photo is copyright by Jill Krementz and may not be reproduced)

When I first began to write I wanted to be the next Dr. Seuss (to my left in photo). Everything I wrote was in rhyme -- very bad rhyme. Fortunately, I was taking a course at NYU in writing for young readers, and my teacher suggested (very gently) that I might want to try prose. Whew! Thank you, Lee Wyndham. And Maurice -- well, who doesn't love Maurice and his incredible work?

When that photo went up on two huge screens, one on each side of the dais and I told the audience (because I'm not sure they recognized us) who we were -- well, it was a magic moment for me. I think I forgot to tell them Elliot took that photo to his kindergarten class for sharing. All the kids knew about Dr. Seuss and Maurice Sendak. I doubt any of them had ever heard of me but Elliot got a lot of points for having his grandmother in the picture.

This Book&Author breakfast was very different -- instead of being the new girl on the block I was the grande dame (or something) sandwiched between a group of young(er) turks. Naughty boys all (or pretending to be naughty boys -- I'm not sure). First we had Jon Scieszka, the first national ambassador for young people's literature, warming up the audience. Then we had Eoin Colfer (Irish writer/comedian) introducing each of the three speakers in alphabetical order. First speaker was Sherman Alexie. I'd recently read his first YA book, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. He was charming and told a poignant story about one of his fans. Then it was my turn. Then Neil Gaiman (black leather jacket, jeans, curly black hair) a sexy looking guy with a British accent. No wonder he had groupies lined up at his book signing afterward.

Here we are just before the Book&Author breakfast.

(to my left, Neil Gaiman, to my right, Eion Colfer, Sherman Alexie, John Scieszka)

In the world of children's books it felt very odd to be the only woman on stage. What was that all about? Or did the planners of the event think the audience would enjoy the guys more? Hmmm.... in 1978 it was the same thing, wasn't it? Either way, the early morning audience (we began at 8am) seemed to enjoy the raucous program. Maybe it woke them up. I know it woke me up -- it was freezing on the dais! I kept thinking about Neil's black leather jacket and wishing I'd had mine with me. But, okay -- I admit it was fun! When the audience is with you it feels really good.

On Saturday night Random House Children's books hosted a party for 300 guests at Dodger Stadium. I once saw a movie set in LA where two families were competing for most outlandish Bar Mitzvah of the year. One of them was to take place at Dodger Stadium. I couldn't help thinking about that movie during our party.

The nine Random House writers sat in the dugout and as Chip Gibson (head of RHCB) introduced us we ran out.

I was Judy,The Scooter, Blume.

Then each of us was escorted to a table under an umbrella to sign -- No, not our books -- but baseballs. Nine signatures on each baseball. The RH Team! Did I mention I was freezing? Never again will I go to LA without a leather jacket and boots.

Best part of the evening -- I asked Chip if I could use the loud speaker system to wish George a Happy Birthday. Wow!! Then everyone joined in, singing Happy Birthday to George. He handled it well.

June, Part Two to come...

Almost ...

2008-06-27T14:47:00.005-04:00

It's been a hectic month but I've just sent in revisions on the 4th book in the Pain and Great One series and will be doing a catch up blog over the weekend. And there's a lot to catch up on!
xx Judy

May is Full of Promises

2008-05-26T10:08:00.002-04:00

Key West --May was full of promises.

May 7 --Visited a 4th grade class at Poinciana School in Key West. The kids were well prepared with questions but there's always the unexpected when you visit with a class of 9-10 year olds and this time I got a marriage proposal. That's right -- first he professed his love for me, then he sent a girl from his table to give me a message -- he wanted to marry me. He understood that meant I'd have to divorce George but that was okay with him. George doesn't seem worried.

May 8,9 -- Gail Rosenblum, reporter from the Minneapolis StarTribune came to Key West, along with photographer Steve Rice, for a story to coincide with an event on June 12 at the FitzGerald Theater in St. Paul, sponsored by the StarTribune, the Loft, and Minnesota NPR.

Gail interviewed me at length. I think she knows more about my life and work than I do. Steve was also making a short video that will run on the paper's online site (info to come). Then we rushed off to tap class where Gail observed, and seem to genuinely enjoy, our group. Steve followed us with his video camera. Bruce (our teacher) put us through one of our best, and fastest moving classes. I thought we were going to drop by the end, but troopers that we are, we all made it to the end.

May 10 -- Today would be my mother's 104th birthday. She died twenty years ago. But there's still so much I'd like to talk with her about. So many questions I wish she could answer. She always wanted a great grandchild and she'd be thrilled to know Elliot, who's named for her. We always celebrated her birthday and Mother's Day together. Even after I became a mother, I thought of Mother's Day as her holiday.

Yesterday I received a package from Randy with a blue hoodie, perfect for the Vineyard. Holidays mean a lot to her and I feel sad that we're not together this year. I know we will be soon -- I'm speaking in the Boston area on June 6 and I'll stay with Randy and Elliot. Also spoke with Larry, Amanda, and Elliot. Sweet. I'm lucky!

May 13 -- Pub date for Cool Zone. Exciting! This is the second book, following Soupy Saturdays, in the Pain & the Great One series. Can't wait to hear from kids telling me what they think. There's a story about a bully on the school bus who finally gets what he deserves, another about losing a first tooth. All of the stories are about life in school.

May 14 - I'm working 7 days now, writing and revising Friend or Fiend, the 4th book in the Pain & Great One series. (The third, Going, Going, Gone! will be published in September.) Just today when I added up the pages of my manuscript I realized I have 15 too many. This is better than having 15 too few but it might mean cutting one story from Friend or Fiend. Or cutting down each one. My goal is to send it to my editor next weekend. That will leave me a couple of days to pack up here and prepare a talk for the Book&Author breakfast at BookExpo in LA on May 30th. (Update -- I cut one story out.)

Although I have to stay away from the political blogs for now (in order to concentrate on my book) things are looking good for my candidate, Barack Obama. I'll be holding my breath until it's official (see my April 1 blog on why I'm supporting his candidacy).

Have also been working on a Q&A intro to The Best American NonRequired Reading, an anthology edited by Dave Eggers. I'm a fan of Dave's and couldn't say No when he asked. Will I never learn?! This is a stressful time. I'm trying to take it one day at a time but time is running out.

I'm missing dogwood, lilac and peony season in the northeast.
I hope spring brings them to you -- or something equally fragrant and beautiful.
Love,
Judy

Alert -- 50 Free DVDs

2008-05-01T14:20:00.002-04:00

Sheila the Great on DVD....
First 50 Teachers to Write Receive Free Copy!

May, 2008—Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great is finally available on DVD through Judy's website. This is Judy's favorite of any adaptation of her books. She hopes teachers and parents will enjoy it with their classes or at home. The DVD also features a discussion between Judy and her son, Larry, who directed the movie. If you're a teacher and would like a copy, send a message to Judy's Guest Book telling a bit about your class. The first 50 teachers to write (include your school's snail mail address) will be sent a DVD.

Where the Wild Things Are

2008-04-26T13:12:00.007-04:00

Key West - No, I'm not talking about the democratic primary or John McCain though things are getting pretty wild. Every day it's something else. I'm still ardently supporting Barack Obama (see my post of April 1). And with the Indiana and North Carolina primaries looming I've been obsessed. If I weren't working on a tight deadline I'd be in one of those states right now. Instead, I have very different Wild Things (forgive me, Maurice) in mind this morning. Key West is a small city and we live close to our neighbors on small lots so I've been surprised, to say the least, by some of our recent visitors....

CHAPTER ONE
Iggy

Yes, this creature sometimes allows me to see him. Here he is at our outdoor dining table, right outside my study. Interesting, isn't he? So prehistoric!

I've been told that after iguanas eat they need to rest their bellies on a warm slab in order to digest. Concrete around a pool is a favorite choice on a sunny day. And once they've digested -- well, they're ready to poop. If you're lucky they'll let it out on the concrete, not in the pool (they love to swim). Not that I'm happy having to clean up iguana poo around the pool, but I'd be less happy if it landed in the water.

I know where "Iggy" lives. In a tree near the pool. And I know what he likes to eat. He's especially fond of a flowering vine climbing the wall outside my bedroom. I know he's got friends, too, because sometimes they congregate on the roof of our house. Not that I can resist watching when he's around but I've been warned he, like all iguanas, carry salmonella on their skin, so no touching!

CHAPTER TWO
Free Range

George parked the jeep at the post office in town and when he came back he found an egg on the seat. An egg! The post office is a favorite hang-out for local chickens. For those who don't know, chickens are protected in Key West. They're all over town. If I were a chicken I'd want to live here. So George found this egg in the jeep and knew it was unlikely that some passerby had dropped it there. This means while he was gone a chicken flew into the jeep (it's open) sat down, laid an egg, then left. George was pretty excited. He brought the egg home, refrigerated it, and meant to eat it right away. But by the time he got around to it a week had passed and without thinking he mixed it in with his scrambled eggs one Sunday morning. I kept waiting for something bad to happen. But nothing did. After all, it was truly an egg from a free range chicken.

CHAPTER THREE
Wolverine

We were awakened at 4:30 in the morning by screaming and splashing in the pool. Our bedroom is at one end of the pool and we sleep with the doors partly open. You know how it is when you're awakened from a deep sleep -- neither of us could figure out what was going on. But when we looked we saw what appeared to be two animals at the side of the pool, and another in it. They were screaming in distress. Pretty scary, actually. George ran for his camera but he's like one of those guys with a gun who keeps the gun locked in one place and the ammo locked in another. He finally managed to get his camera out of its zippered case but finding and attaching the flash was something else. Meantime, another of the animals either fell or jumped into the pool, trying to rescue the first. My initial reaction was, we have to save them! But at this point we didn't even knowwhat they were. By the time George got it together and stepped outside with his camera, the two who were poolside (by then only one was left struggling in the water) lumbered off, leaving just the one screaming swimmer.

When he finally made it out, George caught him on camera. Looks like he was in shock (the animal, not George). We put the picture up on the computer screen but it wasn't clear to us at 4:45am what it was. Wolverine? George asked. Do we have wolverines in Key West? We went online to check. No wolverines. But look at that face. Raccoons? Yes. there's a south Florida raccoon -- a smaller, blonder version of the kind we know so well from the northeast -- but these guys were neither smaller nor blonder. They were the real deal. If it hadn't been the wee hours I like to think we'd have spotted that striped tail from the get-go. Wet and bedraggled, here's our 4am swimmer!

All of this on a small, heavily populated island just 90 miles from Cuba.
xx Judy

Dancing Queen

2008-04-06T11:43:00.024-04:00

Key West -- On Friday mornings I take a tap dancing class. My teacher, Bruce Moore, is the best! I come home singing and dancing every week. And Bobby Nesbitt is in my class! Bruce and Bobby are a talented duo who perform in Key West, sometimes together. Bobby is a piano man with a great voice. Bruce was a Broadway baby, who sings and dances. The rest of my class is a varied group -- everyone from grandmas, to brave guys who've always wanted to tap, to anyone who loves to dance and can get out of work from 11-noon.

Some learned to tap as kids and their feet have never forgotten. Some started last year when Bruce announced his class. I started when I moved from New Mexico to New York in the mid '80s and discovered a tap class over the local bagel shop. I was 45 at the time. Little did I know that Bob Audy was one of the best tap teachers in the city. I stood in the last row of the basic beginner class for the longest time, learning from those in front of me. For a couple of years I was obsessed. Forget about writing. Tap was all I wanted to do.

(Back in the day - 25 years ago!)

Many of the students were Broadway hopefuls. Some were preparing for auditions. I've never been in such good shape as I was then. I was determined to do double pull-backs for my 50th birthday, but I didn't make it. Oh well.
Growing up in Elizabeth, NJ, I took ballet lessons, starting in the baby class with Elsa Heilich. Miss Heilich (as we called her) wore beautiful outfits to teach. I remember her all in red with red ballet slippers. Her hair was pitch black (now that I think of it, probably dyed). There was piano music. We wore dotted swiss ballet dresses.

In 3rd and 4th grades, when I lived in Miami Beach, my mother found a dance/acrobatic studio. But it was nothing like Miss Heilich's. I was enrolled in a Saturday morning class. The star of our class wore a tutu and could do perfect cartwheels and backbends. She had toe slippers! I hated her. Okay, I didn't really hate her, I envied her. No matter how many times I practiced my cartwheels up and down the beach I never got both legs up straight.
That year we all saw Margaret O'Brien and Cyd Charise in The Unfinished Dance. The local shoe store claimed they had the actual slippers that Margaret wore in the movie. They held a contest -- I've written about this in Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself. The winner would get a free trip to Hollywood and maybe a screen test (my memory is vague here, confused between reality and what I wrote in the book). But of this I'm sure -- my fantasy was winning that contest. Alas, my feet were too narrow to fill out Margaret' s slippers. Big disappointment.

Back in New Jersey I wanted to take tap class but my mother considered tap vulgar. Jewish girls took ballet, others took tap. So I never learned.
Cut forward -- I stopped going to Bob Audy's tap classes after 5 years when he moved his studio to midtown and I realized my writing was suffering because my focus was on tapping. Soon George and I were coming to Key West for the winter. I always packed my tap shoes just in case. Once or twice I wore them to parties where I threatened to dance but never did.

And then, magically, Bruce Moore announced that he'd be giving tap classes! His classes remind me of Bob Audy's. Okay, there's no piano. And we're in a small room at the back of a gym (Body Zone South) in a strip mall . And sometimes there's a guy grunting on a mat on the floor. But none of that matters. Because we're dancing!

There's nothing like tapping to take you out of whatever else is going on in your life. For one hour you're thinking only of your feet, the beat, and the thrill of learning a new routine. Better yet, you're not thinking at all. It's just happening! Thanks, Bruce, for bringing tap to Key West!

Twenty-five years have past since my first tap class. But here I am with Bruce, doing a triple time step.

Why I Support Obama

2008-04-01T12:21:00.017-04:00

Key West -- if you've been reading my blog you know I'm supporting Barack Obama for President. Some people have asked why so I've decided to share my reasoning with you.

Integrity + Intelligence + Inspiration = Obama

The first time I was old enough to vote in a presidential election John Kennedy was running against Richard Nixon. I was 22, married, expecting my first child and living in suburban New Jersey. My husband, a lawyer, belonged to the Young Republicans club. He expected me to help his cause by making phone calls urging people to vote for Nixon.

I never made those calls. And on election day I was thrilled to pull the lever, casting my vote for Kennedy. I’ve never responded well to being told what to do. I prefer to make up my own mind.

Like so many others, I was inspired by John Kennedy and excited about the possibilities for our country. Coming out of the sleepy, complacent fifties, he made me believe that change was possible. I believed in him the way my parents believed in Roosevelt. I remember the night Roosevelt died in April, 1945. I was seven years old and just recovering from chicken pox. When my parents heard the news on the radio, they fell into each other's arms, crying. I cried, too, although I didn't have a clue.

My generation wept the same way when we lost John Kennedy. Then Martin Luther King. Then Bobby Kennedy. We mourned what might have been. In the dark days that followed, those of us who were young and idealistic were forced to grow up fast. I watched the Vietnam war unfold on TV as I played on the floor with my two small children. I became a skeptic about politics and politicians. Yet there was never an election when I didn’t vote. For me, voting was both obligation and privilege.

I’ve never spoken publicly about my politics. But I’m speaking out now because at last we have a candidate who makes me believe again. A candidate who I see as America’s best hope, a candidate with the potential to be transforming, one who inspires not just my grandson’s generation, but my own, and my children’s. Friends who know Barack Obama personally, friends whose opinion I trust, tell me he’s the real deal, and I believe them. As Bill Richardson said when he endorsed Obama, “There’s something special about this guy...”

I have friends who disagree. They tell me it’s disloyal to support Obama when we have the chance to elect the first woman president in this country. They say I’m betraying the Women’s Movement and all that we fought for. I would be the first to stand up and thank the Women’s Movement for giving me the courage to change my life, and I am forever grateful to those who came before me.

There was a time when I supported Hillary (in her run for Senate) but that was before she voted to authorize war in Iraq, then supported Bush a second time in his confrontationist policy on Iran. This election is about choosing a leader whose judgment we respect. I can't respect or trust the judgment that led to those votes. And I'm deeply disturbed by the growing anger and resentment of some Hillary supporters. I’m starting to believe them when they say they’ll vote for McCain (or not vote at all) before they’ll vote for Obama. What does that say about their agenda?

My daughter experienced sexual harassment on the job as a young, commercial airline pilot. She'd planned on voting for Hillary in the Massachusetts primary. I respect her right to make her own decisions. But days before the election she was bombarded by fliers from Hillary's campaign, so negative and hateful she began to rethink her vote. Like many feminists she’s discovered it’s not always about gender (any more than it should be about race or religion). Feminism means we get to make our own decisions. We get to decide who we’re voting for based on our belief in who will make the best candidate, who will make the best president.

Whoever is elected in November is going to face a daunting challenge. No one person can clean up the mess it took 7 and ½ years to create. That's why I want the calm, thoughtful candidate I believe will surround himself with the best and the brightest. I believe the decisions Obama makes will be made based on what’s best for this country. And he's not bringing eight years of baggage into the White House.

I want a president who can make us proud as Americans. How great would it be after 7 and ½ years to have an articulate leader, an eloquent speaker, one who is not only willing to talk, but to listen? I believe Obama will be that kind of president. Plus, he has a sense of humor. He has two young daughters and a working wife. He's smart. And let's not forget the magic. Nothing wrong with having the ability to connect with people around the world --young, old, and in-between.

You know, every year at this time I’m asked to send “words of wisdom” to graduating seniors around the country. I tell them I think the single most important part of their education is to learn to think for themselves – to weigh the pros and cons then make up their own minds. I ask them to take responsibility for their own actions. I’d like to see all our candidates do the same.

In some ways an election is like life – a lot of muck comes your way. It’s hard sometimes to slog through it. It’s exhausting. It can be scary. You can feel like you’re drowning in it. You’ve got to work hard to pull yourself up and out of it, then to rise above it. We need a leader who can help us do that, then pull us together. That's why I'm supporting Barack Obama.

All I ask is that you make an informed decision. This election is too important for us, and for our kids and grandkids, to decide in any other way.

Thanks,
Judy

Highlights

2008-03-22T11:18:00.020-04:00

Key West -- The highlight of the week was a 5 day visit from Larry and Elliot. Elliot had a 2 week spring break. This was good news for him, but I can't help thinking, what are working parents supposed to do? Randy is lucky. She was able to take a week off and go skiing with Elliot (he's a snowboarder, she's a skier). Then she went back to work, Elliot flew to Key West, and Larry came down to hang out with him. I love watching the two of them together. It must be great to grow up with a fun uncle. I got smart this time and kept my mouth shut (no reminders about sunscreen, or annoying questions about anything). But when Elliot ordered squid ink pasta with clams, mussels, and shrimp, I had to hold my tongue. (I'm allergic to shellfish and get uncomfortable when he insists on eating it, afraid that maybe he'll be allergic, too.) But nothing bad happened, not even from the sushi -- yes, sushi! Looking the other way wasn't as hard as I'd thought and it made for a relaxing, fun time for all of us.

Here are three generations of my guys: (from left) Larry, Elliot, and George.

I left some books in Elliot's room. I find the only way to get a teenager to read a book you think he should read, or even a book you think he'd like, is to leave a pile of books around and let him decide. He picked up Daria Snadowsky's Anatomy of a Boyfriend and read it in an afternoon. It's not unlike Forever. At the bookstore we bought a couple of Nick Hornby books -- seems to me a 16 year old would really enjoy his writing. But Elliot chose a completely different book to read on the plane going home. Hey, reading anything is a positive step! Now I'll get to read the Nick Hornby books before sending them on to him.

The highlight of the week before -- a visit from Michael Casey -- his first trip to Key West. Michael's been highlighting my hair since -- well, since I first got highlights about 27 years ago. My hair hasn't yet turned gray. Strange, I know. It just keeps getting darker. Michael says it's genetic. He's the best, not just at being a hair colorist, but being a friend. He lives in NY and knows everything about the theater. So, when we come to town I ask him what plays we absolutely can't miss. While he was here he also highlighted my hair. Wow -- this was a first for me -- a home visit. Thanks, Michael!

Please don't ask how I'm doing with my book that's due in April, Friend or Fiend. Let's just say we have no more visitors scheduled for this season and tomorrow -- yes, tomorrow! -- I'm going to settle down, focus, and not allow anything to distract me from my writing. Except maybe politics. Speaking of -- am thrilled that Bill Richardson endorsed Obama. And what a brilliant speech Obama delivered this week on race. I watched/listened twice. I know exactly what Bill Richardson means when he says, "There's something so special about this guy..." Now, can we please leave religion out of this campaign and get to what really matters?

More soon.....
xx Judy

I'd Rather Be Tapping

2008-03-06T09:51:00.015-05:00

Key West -- I'm having a hard time writing the fourth, and final, book in the Pain&Great One series. "So what else is new?" George says, reminding me that I always feel this way when I start a book. I have a title -- Friend or Fiend -- and I have a rough draft of the title story. And an even rougher draft of the second story, which may turn out to be two stories. That would be good! That's how it works when you're writing a novel. One thing leads to another to another. But with short stories it doesn't work that way. And the Pain&Great One books are made up of seven short stories, all about the same brother and sister - Abigail and Jake. I've never been a short story writer so these books have been a challenge, but what fun each time a story is finished and it works! (That's what I have to keep reminding myself.)

The second book in the series, Cool Zone, will be published in May. A "reader's copy" of the third book, Going, Going, Gone! (due out in September) arrived at my house yesterday. That's like a preview copy, but without all the illustrations, revisions, and corrections. Still, it's so exciting to get a first look at a new book. It's like a birth -- you forget everything that went into it, the difficult days, the pain, the feeling that you'll never be able to do it -- and you just rejoice. You did it!

But now the next deadline is looming. This book is due in May (for publication in May '09). I've been writing by hand this morning and it's going better than it went yesterday. Sometimes when I'm struggling it works better to scribble than to type. There's a brain/hand connection. Also, yesterday I was feeling low about the results of Tuesday's primary. I hate it when the campaign gets negative. I hate that getting negative can bring in votes. I don't usually let whatever's going on in the real world affect my writing. (Wait! Do I really mean that? How about after 9-11 when I thought I'd never write again?)

Now I'm thinking about taking a shower. If I take my shower between 10am and 11am I can listen to the Diane Rehm show on NPR. I love my bathroom radio! I love the Diane Rehm show.
Of course, that takes me away from my characters, but it also gives me a break. This is very different from having a good first draft of a whole book. Once I have that, you can't get me away from my desk. (Well, okay - you can. But I'm not looking for excuses the way I am now.)

All in all, I'd rather be tap dancing!
Which I get to do tomorrow morning.

Here's a picture I can't resist sharing. A Fudge fan put this book into the hands of his baby sister. When I need inspiration I turn to my readers. And you know what? It almost always works.

OTHER NEWS:
A DVD of Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great

is available for the first time. I hope teachers and parents will share it with their kids and classes.

*A new brochure will soon be available replacing the ancient one we've been sending out for years. It's made up of several pages from my website, handsomely designed by the talented Mark Tuchman. And now that that's done -- he can get back to the website and animating my Home Page.

Teen Alert!!
A Blogfest is coming, starting on March 12 and lasting for two weeks. My book Forever is published by Simon Pulse which is why I've been asked to participate.

More soon.
XX Judy

Politics and Oscars....

2008-02-27T11:45:00.017-05:00

Key West -- Amanda and Jim came to town last Thursday (Feb 21). She was stressed from months of running Bill Richardson's presidential campaign (and doesn't he look relaxed and happy sporting his new beard now that it's over?) Without a break, she's gone right into managing Tom Udall's campaign for Senate. On Friday we hosted a fundraiser for Tom's campaign. I've known Tom for 28 years but until now I'd never heard him speak as a Congressman (which he's been for 5 terms).
He was impressive, as well as warm and friendly to the 85 guests who had gathered in our garden to meet and hear him. Tom voted against the war in Iraq from day one. He's a superdelegate, too, and explained why he's not endorsing either of the democratic presidential candidates at this time.

George's introduction to Tom was funny but some people didn't get it. George's former wife has been married to Tom Udall for many years (at least as long as George and I have been together and that's 28 years). Amanda grew up with all four of us -- Tom and Jill (her mom) and George and me. At her wedding seven years ago, both "Dads" walked her down the aisle. I knew Jill when we all lived in Santa Fe. She gave George my name as someone he might want to have dinner with when he came out for a semester to be with Amanda. (He was teaching at Columbia Law School then.) This may sound very seventies but it's worked out well. So when George introduced Tom, saying, "He's the true family values candidate!" those in the know got his joke.

Once the party for Tom was over and he flew back to DC, Amanda and Jim got some much needed R&R. Wish we could have kept them here longer -- you could actually see the stress disappear day by day. On their last night in town we all went to the Tropic Cinema for their annual Academy Awards party.

Key West's amazing Christopher Peterson worked our red carpet as Joan Rivers. He's a fabulous guy who not only is a super entertainer, but is always ready to help out by lending his talents to a non-profit (like the Tropic). Here he doing his Marilyn Monroe bit.

Here are Amanda and Jim with "Oscar."

Even a local rooster got into the act.

Then back to our house to finish up the Key Lime pie they brought home from Blue Heaven.

********************************************************************************

While we're talking politics I confess to being obsessed by this primary campaign. I haven't been as excited about a candidate as I am about Barack Obama since I was voting in my first presidential election for John Kennedy. I watched the 20th debate with sweaty palms, praying neither one would get negative. I'll support either Democratic candidate but I'm hoping it's Obama. He makes me believe in the possibilities. Yes, I know it's going to be a mess for whichever candidate is elected. But he's so smart. I have to believe he'll surround himself with equally smart advisors. If he's running next fall, I'll be out there working for him. Someone asked me the other day, Are you voting against Hillary? And I answered, No, I'm voting for Obama. Then I gave her my reasons. There are some women who think if you're a feminist you should only be supporting Hillary. I think being a feminist means we've evolved to the point where we get to choose who we think will be the best candidate and make the best president, regardless of gender, race, or anything else. But, hey -- if Hillary's the candidate, I'll be out there supporting her. Will be glued to the tube on Tuesday night (March 4).

Oh, about the Oscars -- loved the couple who sang the song from Once. I was rooting for them. So glad they won. Maybe they should give Oscars to political candidates?
XX Judy

I Know It Must Be True Because....

2008-02-18T10:36:00.014-05:00

I heard it on the radio. Tuesday, February 12, 8am (I was in the shower at the time enjoying my trusty shower radio. The announcement came on just after the news and caused me to drop my bar of soap.) Today is the birthday of Judy Blume. She's seventy. What?! Is this a joke? I turned off the shower, wrapped myself in a towel and ran to give George the news. He said, Happy Birthday!

Okay, so it's not the first time my birthday's been announced on the radio. And I've never lied about my age -- I'm proud of it! -- but that number -- that Seven-Oh! I've never paid attention before. Not when I turned fifty. My mother had died the summer before and I wasn't in the mood to celebrate. Not when I turned sixty. I was on a book tour for Summer Sisters the summer before and was busy moving into a new house in Key West that February. But this one feels like a milestone. On the one hand I feel incredibly lucky -- I'm healthy, active, my mind and memory work well (in my opinion, anyway) I have more creative energy than I did a couple of years ago, and George thinks I'm hot (hot-ish?)

On the other hand, there's a lot to think about -- things I'm not sure I want to think about -- like how many good numbers are on the other side of 70. I think about the party I gave my mother to celebrate her 70th. I thought she was old, didn't I? I think about my friends who are seriously ill. About how we have no idea what's coming down the road. But then I realize this isn't productive thinking. And I decide to focus on the bright side. I decide to go with 70 is the new 50! (Okay, so I sound like the anti-Dennis Hopper in that commercial).

Although I'm a party girl (in the sense that I like giving and going to parties) we've been pretty much partied out in Key West this month. So instead of a party George took me away to a magical, romantic island. This is no hassle travel -- just an hour from Key West by car and boat -- no airport, no security, just throw a bag in the back of the truck and off we went to Little Palm Island.

I loved every minute of our time there -- well, except some of the dramatic weather -- but even that made our time more memorable. On the 12th, the sky was lit by lightning from about 6pm. For those of you who don't know, I'm phobic about thunderstorms. I panic, I need to be in a small, dark space. I'm like a frightened dog who crawls under the bed during a storm. But once I realized there was no thunder -- just lightning -- the panicky feelings eased. Hmmm -- maybe I'm right when I say the phobia began on July 4th when I was very small and my father sat me on the hood of our car so I could see the annual fireworks display. I think it was the unexpected boom after the sky lit up that scared me. Maybe now, with some help, I can conquer the fear. That would be something!

We sat on the porch for dinner -- George made sure I faced away from the lightning.

We enjoyed dessert (no singing waiters, just a message written in chocolate sauce, and a yummy molten chocolate cake) on another porch, while we listened to a very good jazz trio.

The next day we had a windstorm with 50+ mile an hour gusts. We didn't care. Each of us wanted nothing more than to sit and read. My friend Cynthia gave me a copy of Sue Miller's new novel The Senator's Wife to take away with me. I found this story of loyalty, betrayal, marriage, and friendship, engrossing and I've been thinking about it and the characters ever since. It's one of those books that sneaks up on you slowly. Don't want to give any more away.

Our last day was glorious. Blue sky, sunshine, absolutely perfect. I took out a kayak and explored the mangroves.

While George had a snooze....

We took the 6pm boat back to Little Torch Key and on the drive back to town caught the kind of sunset Key West is famous for.

Thank you for all your birthday wishes! I hope you have happy birthdays, too. And now, it's back to real life. The fourth book in the Pain&Great One quartet is due the end of April and I haven't started writing yet. (But I have been thinking!)
Love,
Judy

I Love a Parade

2008-02-08T09:32:00.000-05:00

This blog is starting to have too many pictures of me. I'm going to watch that from now on. But when you're Grand Marshal of a parade -- well, you have to show it, right? How else would you know I got to sit atop a fuzzy pink cushion?

Why did I agree to be Grand Marshal of the International Women's Flag Football "Kelly McGillis" Tournament? This is what I told the local paper when they asked the same question: Because I believe in encouraging girls and women to go for it! If sports is their passion they should get the same respect as young men who play on teams.

Also, I was horrified a couple of years ago when a local parent complained about the IWFFA playing on the fields at her daughter's elementary school because she assumed (and feared) that her daughter would be exposed to lesbians. Gimme a break!

And I thought it would be a hoot! How often do you get to be Grand Marshal of a parade?

Okay, so it wasn't much of a parade. There were no marching bands. And it was all over in half an hour. But I had the fun of riding behind the Key West Blue Jays as they chanted and even turned cartwheels up Duval St. These are the youngest players in the tournament.

The international teams dressed up for the occasion. Here are members of the Swedish team. Love their "locker room" theme.

And here's a member of the Finnish team. Have no idea what their theme was.

As the parade headed up Duval St. a guy called out to me, Are you Kelly McGillis? Missed my chance on that one.

Jimmy Weekley, former mayor of Key West, who happened to be walking down the street, seemed really surprised to see me atop my fuzzy pink cushion, instead of grocery shopping, which is where he usually sees me since his family owns the local grocery store.

Can't say the sidewalks were crowded with well wishers. Strangers on the street are funny -- when you wave to them, they either wave back enthusiastically or act as if they don't see you. Or worse, as if you're going to ask for something they don't want to give. But most people gave the players a thumbs up. Yay, team!!

Good luck to all the women who'll be playing flag football through the weekend! See you at the next parade.
XX Judy

Injured

2008-02-06T14:56:00.002-05:00

Key West -- First it was George, stepping off a friend's deck, glass of wine in hand, to greet me at a housewarming party. Which was really sweet -- except he missed the two steps, wound up on the ground with cuts and bruises on one leg (nothing new for my accident prone honey) and a stress fracture of his ankle on the other. So now he has a soft cast and a Big Boot.

Not that The Boot is about to stop George. Can't ride his bike? He rented a tricycle for the week. The seat looks like it belongs on a John Deere tractor. Impressive!

On Monday, riding my bike home from the gym, I paused to check traffic on a cross street, leaned way over and to the left because a car was blocking my view and Boing!! A searing pain shot from my lower back to my leg. Have no idea how I got the bike across the street and up on the sidewalk. After that I couldn't move. Stood there holding onto the back of my bike basket. Managed to dig out my cell phone and called George. He and a friend with a car rescued me. The friend said I looked like a Seward Johnson statue. I guess that explains why the guy in the truck who saw what happened didn't make a move. And the woman walking her dog, too. She stopped to chat, explaining that her dog always sniffed for the longest time before deciding where to do his stuff. I didn't say a word, which didn't bother her or her dog.

George and friend got me into the car, then drove me home. Lucky for me the wonderful Stacy (physical therapist) was in the neighborhood. She says, 72 hours and I'll be okay. Actually, I'm pretty much okay now, unless I decide to move around too much. No bending from the waist. Lots of icing and new stretches. But this means I'll miss tap class this week. Sad. (Though after seeing the funny but painful movie, The Savages, with those Sun City, Arizona dancers and residents riding around on trikes....well, I didn't like thinking that was my future.)

This afternoon I'm going to be Grand Marshal of a parade. Ride down Duval in a convertible, waving like the Queen. I've never been in a parade. I wish I still had my baton -- not that I'd be able to twirl it with my bad back. George says, Don't tell them you hurt your back and don't walk like it either. You don't want them to think you're some old woman. Thanks a lot, George!
So, off to get ready!

Writers and Readers in Key West

2008-01-24T17:30:00.001-05:00

I started this entry ten days ago. But it's turned into a diary of this year's Key West Literary Seminars. Just for the record -- I'm on the board and a member of this year's committee, along with Bob Richardson, Jim Gleick, and Liz Lear. Maybe that will help explain my elation at how well it went, and my exhaustion (for real) now that it's over.

Tuesday, January 15 -- We're in the midst of the KW Literary Seminars.
This year the topic is New Voices and instead of our usual Thursday to Sunday Seminar, this time we're hosting two.

Most years the Literary Seminar is presented to an audience of about 400 readers, making it very different from the usual writers' festival. This year is an exception as we've given out $70,000 in scholarships, allowing many new writers to attend for the first time. After all, we wanted those New Voices! There were also scholarships for teachers and librarians. And between the two weekend Seminars, there are nine writer's workshops taking place. As I write this my friend Hilma Wolitzer is conducting her workshop in our garden. She has 12 students and they're laughing a lot, making me wish I could be a part of it. I also wish she could give me a seminar in how to conduct a writers' workshop. Hilma is at the far end of the table, in white.

At last weekend's seminar I introduced two New Voices on stage. The first, Mary Hays, published a totally original, funny and smart novel, Learning to Drive, a couple of years ago, and has just finished a second.

I loved introducing Mary as a New Voice because she's a woman close to my age. New Voice has nothing to do with birth date. Most of the New Voices on stage were those of young writers. But the audience adored Mary. She let them see the possibilities in themselves. Mary was my first secretary - in Santa Fe, 1978. We became fast friends. She made the writing life less lonely for me because it was such fun to hang out with her at the "office" (a room in my house). She's droll, smart, and captured everyone's attention by her fantastic reading from Learning to Drive. Check it out.

The second New Voice I introduced was Bich Minh Nguyen.

We talked on stage about her first book, a memoir, Stealing Buddha's Dinner, and how writers deal with subjects of family and childhood. Bich charmed the audience with her reading. Can't wait to read her novel in progress (Short Girls). In the meantime, check out her memoir about coming to America from Vietnam as a baby and growing up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. If you remember Chef Boyardee and Hostess Cupcakes, you'll relate. Even if you don't, you'll love the characters in this book.

Other Favorite Moments from the first Seminar:

*Uzodinma Iweala, talking about and reading from his first book Beasts of No Nation. I urge you to pick up this book. It's like no other. The voice is haunting and original. Uzo is a recent graduate of Harvard and now a first year med student at Columbia. Jim Gleick and I heard him read 18 months ago at the 92nd St. Y in New York and agreed we had to have him in Key West. What a pleasure to spend time with him here.

*Kristen-Paige Madonia, winner of the Marianne Russo Scholarship, reading her story Cheap Red Meat on stage. As one of the judges of the fiction award I was floored by Kristen-Paige's polished work. Talk about new voices! She's a real talent. She's finishing her first novel.

And then there are the parties. The Key West Literary Seminar is famous for its parties. Following the opening lecture on Thursday night everyone heads over to the tropical gardens of the Audubon House for a gala champagne reception. The following night there's dinner for everyone (all 400 of us) on the grounds of the Lighthouse. Then a party for speakers, board members and local (and visiting) writers at David Wolkowsky's penthouse above Fast Buck Freddie's, everyone's favorite KW department store. And Saturday night we're feted at the Customs House.

Mary left on the 6am flight on Monday morning and I tried to catch up with work and real life but by afternoon I took to my bed and slept. It's always great to spend time with visiting friends and even better when they enjoy themselves on your home turf -- it's just that during the Seminars I want to spend time with all of them at once -- and I don't want to miss any sessions -- so by the time it's over I've run out of steam.

Monday, January 21
A couple of days off and we started all over again. This time I hosted Carolyn Mackler and Gigi Amateau, emerging voices in YA literature. (Carolyn's on the left, Gigi's on the right)

We had a rousing 3-way talk on stage about the past, present, and future of honest book for teens. We touched on censorship (shocked that the audience had no idea!) and even asked each other the question: if Catcher in the Rye were published today would it be published as a YA novel? Our consensus -- probably. Carolyn and Gigi are thoughtful, engaging, talented writers and the audience enjoyed getting to know them and their work. (This audience isn't especially tuned in to children's or YA books.) They also read from their novels and appeared on panels.

I think I was less anxious during the second seminar and enjoyed the parties more than the first weekend. Maybe because I knew it was almost over?

Personal Highlights: Meeting and hearing Nell Freudenberger talk and read. My daughter (who reads as many books as anyone I know) put us onto Nell. Thanks, Randy --

Lee Smith's funny and moving opening night address. She made me remember why I started to write in the first place.

Dan Menaker's Friday morning session -- the perfect overview of our topic -- New Voices.

Junot Diaz -- if you haven't yet read The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, read it! Amazing, original, pure Junot!

Jim Gleick talking on stage with Janna Levin about physics (of all things) and literature. I told Janna if she had been my physics teacher I might have paid attention and learned something. I might have even learned to like the subject.

Spending time with Tayari Jones, after being mesmerized by her on stage reading from Leaving Atlanta.

Elisabeth Scharlatt, on and off stage. Catching up with an old friend and a brilliant publisher (Algonquin Books).

I've left out so many people -- and so many sessions -- and so many lunches!

But certainly our Saturday night dinner was one of the best moments during the second session. Here we are at Blue Heaven on a balmy, starry night.

From the right: Nell Freudenberger, Kristen-Paige Madonia, me, Carolyn Mackler, Tayari Jones, Elisabeth Scharlett, my sister-in-law and super-reader, Maggie Smith, Gigi Amateau. George took the pix.

And here's how we finished the meal -- with the best Key Lime pie in the whole town.

Happy New Year and other Expectations

2008-01-05T11:43:00.000-05:00

Key West -- I can't believe it's January 5, 2008 and I haven't posted anything since the day after Christmas! So, first of all, wishing all of you a very Happy New Year. Second, my excuse for not blogging? World events? Politics? Not really, although there's certainly been a lot going on.

But closer to home -- actually, at home -- let's just say having the family here for the holidays was great fun but there was no time for anything else. I did write a piece about a long ago New Year's Eve date and paired it with a photo of a snake who's been hanging out at our house -- a good snake -- which is more than I can say about that New Year's Eve date --

but it seems silly to get into that now that New Year's Eve has passed. I'll save it for another time. It had to do with expectations and disappointments, sort of what the holidays are all about these days.

Every year, before our family joins us in Key West, I remind myself not to say anything that could be taken the wrong way. Every year I fail. Every year I wind up exhausted from trying to please everyone. Every year I fail at that, too. But all in all I think we had a fine time being together. Never mind that I got it into my head to host a New Year's Eve supper for Key West friends my family has come to know. I saw it as a couple of "clans" sharing supper before everyone went off to their late night activities. Before I invited anyone I asked Randy if she wanted to help me do this. She's a good cook and with two of us working together, serving veggie lasagna to 30 guests isn't as big a deal to her as it is to me. Yes, our guest list grew to 30. And my idea of sitting around informally developed into a sit down candlelit buffet.

It was an incredible night -- starlit and balmy. Two of our official "servers" Randy and Elliot donned Tropic Cinema aprons.

Elliot and his friend, Tom, were happy to sit opposite Meg Cabot and her husband at the table. Meg got them to explain the differences between Face Book and My Space. Later, Larry took Elliot and Tom to Duval Street where they watched Sushi descend in a red shoe at midnight.
(Link to come)

Here's what Elliot gave me for Hanukkah this year.

I'm not really a handbag afficionado though I think this is great fun. And I have saved the bags my mother and grandmother beaded in the late 1940's. Also, I was determined to get this collector's item at a charity auction last year. It was made by the Florida Keys College librarian.

Can you imagine the fun I have carrying this bag to parties? Beverly Clearly was my inspiration when I started to write. I wasn't about to allow anyone to outbid me for this purse.

And so, we start a New Year. I have a significant birthday coming up. I can't decide whether to celebrate or ignore it. Usually I'm in favor of celebrations.

I hope all of you find something to celebrate in '08.
Love,
Judy

Up and Running

2007-12-26T11:13:00.000-05:00

Key West -- hope you had a merry day yesterday. My elves were hard at work and I'm thrilled to say the New Website is up and running under it's permanent name judyblume.com. Check it out and let me know (judyb@judyblume.com) what you think or if you find any glitches. Some pages, mainly in reference, are still Under Construction. (Love that page! I'll probably never get another chance to drive a bulldozer.) Our web designer, MarkTuchman, will be animating the Home Page after the holidays. Can't wait to paddle my kayak through the Sea of Words. None of us can believe that after all these years of planning, organizing, designing, proofing, programming -- this site is finally a reality! A million thanks to Larry, who spearheaded this project, to Mark for his brilliant design, Melissa for her programming, and to George who worked with all of us to get it on the web for Christmas Day. What a gift!

And thanks to all of you for reading my books and this blog!
XX Judy

'Tis the Season

2007-12-22T16:42:00.000-05:00

Wishing You All Very Happy Holidays!

Elliot sent me this picture of his cat, Keith, yesterday. They had another 7 inches of snow and are counting the days until they join us in Key West. Larry arrived here last night.
He and George have been "playing" with computers all day. This is how they have fun. George's latest is an olpc. I have to say, it's impressive. And so is the program, One Laptop Per Child (laptop.org). Check it out.

I know he'll be donating more computers. That's the thing -- there are so many great programs to support this time of year. It's hard to choose. I concentrate on those I really know, in Key West, on the Vineyard, and in New York.

My gift is being with my family for the holidays. I hope you get something you want this year, too.
Love,
Judy

Coming Soon!

2007-12-14T17:16:00.000-05:00

Key West -- We are this close to launching the new website! This is how the Blog will look. We've been asked to wait another week before putting up the rest of the site, until the whole team has a chance to give their approval. I've been proofing pages like mad, while I should have been revising Going, Going, Gone! the third book in the Pain & the Great One series. Now I'll be working all weekend to get the changes back to my editor next week. But no complaints. I'm in Key West. The weather is beautiful, and the garden is lush and green.

In case anyone is interested, here's how I've been spending my time away from my desk:

1. Flushing out my nostrils with saline solution -- sinus problem caused by the flight down.
I could be a poster girl for this product, I've gone through so many cans since discovering it.

2. Physical therapy - twice a week for my shoulder, injured last May. My sweet PT assures me I'm making great progress, as I lay on her table writhing in pain.

3. Weight training at the gym twice a week with Bill Yankee, "Gym Teacher to the Stars." That's what we call him because back in Cleveland he was a gym teacher (also taught science -- and nobody is more fascinated by reptiles than Bill).

4. Interview with Stella Magazine, a Sunday supplement of the Telegraph, a UK newspaper.
Enjoyed the reporter and photographer so much we all went to lunch together. Wish there had been time to give them a guided tour of Key West but they were both flying back to NY.

6. Book signing at Voltaire, Key West's new indie bookshop. We all love having Voltaire in town.

Sorry to hear about the brutal weather around the country. I could feel guilty for being here -- but then I remind myself of what happened to this town two years ago when it was struck by four hurricanes in a row. So it's okay that's it's beautiful now and that I'm enjoying it, right?
More soon.
Love,
Judy

Goodbye Winter

2007-11-26T15:34:00.000-05:00

New York -- The Saga of the Winter Coat Continues:
I was back in my new winter coat on Friday. George thinks it's so cool (actually, he used the word "cute" but that's embarrassing) he took a pix of me heading out to a restaurant to meet friends for dinner. If you promise not to gag you can see it. It's not a bad thing for your husband to admire you in your new coat. Especially after 28 years together (anniversary coming up next week!).

We had a lovely time with the family over Thanksgiving weekend. Here we are following brunch at Odeon on Saturday. I know, it's really hard to see everyone clearly. I promise to do better over Christmas in Key West.

For the record,we are: Randy, Larry, and next to me George, and Elliot. Amanda couldn't get away. She's the busiest person I know, running Bill Richardson's presidential campaign.

It's time to pack up for our flight to Key West tomorrow. I always pack too much, especially sweaters and scarves. But you never know -- sometimes we get temps as low as 60 in winter. Go ahead, laugh! My grandson does. He can't believe I sometimes wear socks and sweaters and even a leather jacket in Key West. I like to think if I pack it, I won't need it. It's my little game. The kind of game I learned from my mother.

Getting back to Key West means getting back to work. First I'll be revising Going, Going, Gone... the 3rd book in the Pain & the Great One series. Then I'll start thinking about the 4th book which I'll have to write over the winter. I like knowing what my winter writing project will be.

Hope you're all recovering from your holiday weekend. I just ate the last piece of Randy's apple pie. Yum!

More from Key West....
Love,
Judy
PS If you've been browsing here and wonder what's going on with the blog colors, we're getting ready for the launch of the new website (soon!) and are experimenting.

Thanksgiving Day

2007-11-22T11:02:00.000-05:00

New York-- and a Happy Thanksgiving to all! It's going to be 65 degrees today! Who knew? The new black winter coat will spend the day in the closet but I'm not regretting the purchase yet because tomorrow it's supposed to be freezing! Hey, I remind myself. Life is about more than the weather. When I was growing up in Elizabeth, NJ we went to the high school football game on Thanksgiving morning. I remember all kinds of weather but nothing like this. What a treat for those on the street, watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, not to mention those who are marching in it. The parade passes by our building. Here's the view from our window.

I choke up when I hear a marching band. Don't ask why -- I've no idea. George looks at me as if I've totally lost it. Maybe it has to do with a childhood memory. Whatever, I cried several times while craning my neck out the window to watch what was going on 12 stories below. Couldn't tell from up here what this group in green represented but I liked the way they twirled.

Speaking of twirling -- when I was 9 I wanted desperately to twirl a baton. We lived in Miami Beach then and went to the Orange Bowl parade where I first saw baton twirlers up close. I was given a baton for Hanukkah that year and I practiced and practiced, throwing my baton up in the air and trying to catch it. I got hit in the head more than once. Never did get to twirl with a marching band but if you give me a baton (or any object resembling one) I'll do a couple of figure eights for you.

Now that the parade has passed it's time to get ready for the rest of our day. We're gathering at my former husband's house. Among the many things I'm grateful for today (and every day) is that John is married to the wonderful Myrna and that we've become one extended family. It means a lot to our grown children, to Elliot, and to us.

I know this can be a tough (and lonely) time of year for some of you who have written to me and I'm thinking of you today.

For those of us lucky enough to have friends and family to share the holiday -- enjoy!
Love,
Judy

Autumn in New York

2007-11-21T09:47:00.000-05:00

New York -- We flew to NY on Saturday to spend Thanksgiving week with friends and family. On Sunday morning it was so cold in the city I bought myself a winter coat! It's probably been 20 years since I've bought a coat. I'm only here for a week, I kept telling myself as I walked across the park, freezing. Yes, but it's a long week, I argued. And what's the point of being here if you can't comfortably walk everywhere? Finally, I convinced myself to go for it.

On Monday morning when we woke up it was snowing! This is the view from our bedroom window. You can't see the snow but it didn't last that long anyway. The trees in the park are just past peak color but still beautiful. They're a month behind schedule. Usually by Thanksgiving, the trees are almost bare.
The city is packed with visitors from other countries. George and I were counting how many languages we heard while walking through the park to 5th Ave. The visitors are shopping like mad. Only they think the prices are affordable. Still, I'm glad they're enjoying our city.

Looking forward to Thanksgiving Day when I'll see Randy, Larry, and Elliot!
Love,
Judy

Astro and Jazz

2007-11-08T13:03:00.000-05:00

Key West -- I got an offer I couldn't refuse to fly down with some friends and their dogs last Saturday. I like dogs but I'm allergic to some of them. I get giant hives wherever they lick me. And once, when I was a senior at high school I rolled around on the floor with a standard poodle at the home of our family doctor. By the time I got home my face had swelled, my eyes were nearly shut, and I was wheezing. The doctor told my father, who was a dentist, to give me a shot of adrenaline. No one knew then that I have mitral valve prolapse, a benign condition that can make getting adrenaline dangerous -- and if not dangerous, frightening. My heart pounded, I shook all over, and I was scared out of my mind.

So the idea of spending three hours in a small cabin with Astro and Jazz was of some concern. But I'm happy to report the dogs weren't allergic to me and I had no trouble with them. They were excellent travel companions.

I'm so glad I decided to go for it. If I'm going to be locked up working for two weeks this is where I want to be. I love New York but I no longer like working there. When I look out the window I want to be outside. I feel as if I have to have some kind of mission every day to get me out of the apartment. In Key West I work at a desk facing a garden. When I slide open the big glass doors I feel as if I'm outside in the garden.

Did I say I was able to send my editor 4 stories from the third book in the Pain&Great One series (Going, Going, Gone!) before I left? That means I have to finish two more stories plus some words of wisdom from Fluzzy the Cat. I'm giving myself a week for each story.

The problem is, the first story seems to have turned into two. I'm not sure I want it to be two. So I'm letting it rest for a couple of days while I get going on the next story. In this one the family is visiting an eccentric grandpa who lives near the Everglades.

George once took me on a canoe trip through the Everglades. We camped out for a week. Never saw another human. But saw plenty of incredible birds and even a group of 3 alligators. I'd read a book about poisonous snakes in the Everglades the night before our trip began. Not smart! I had leather dress boots with me (low heeled I'm happy to say) and never took them off, not for 7 days and nights, not even to portage through thigh high gray muck because my book said snakes and alligators (I think it said alligators) can't bite through leather. So while the Pain&the Great One won't be on a week long trip through the Everglades, Grandpa Pete will surely take them out in his canoe to see the birds and....you never know what might happen. Stay tuned...

Getting Back to Work

2007-10-18T11:58:00.000-04:00

New York -- I took some time off after my book tour. October was such a beautiful month in the city -- every day as warm as the perfect summer day -- I spent hours walking through the park. George and I even had a couple of late lunches at outdoor cafes, something we never make time for. One afternoon, as a special treat, George took me home in a horse and carriage. I've done this maybe two other times in my life.
The driver didn't get it and tried to give us the tourist treatment, explaining the various park attractions to us. We finally had to tell him we lived in the city. He let us off at our corner. A real indulgence -- one we won't do again anytime soon.

Watched the baseball playoffs, rooting for Elliot's team - the Red Sox - since my team (the Mets) was already out of it. I hate to admit this but I've become attached to the Red Sox players so I'm glad I have a team to root for in the Series. Wish the games didn't start so late. I'm trying to stay awake until the end of each one but it's not easy. So far we're two games up!

Spent all day yesterday in the recording studio as Kathleen McInerney captured the voices of The Pain and the Great One and all the other characters in Soupy Saturdays on a CD. And guess who got to read the part of Fluzzy? Not easy coming up with the voice of a cat. Actually, I think Fluzzy will sound a lot like me. Kathleen recorded Cool Zone, too, so the CD will be ready when that book comes out next May (and yes, I'm Fluzzy in that one, too!) We had a director, a producer, and a sound engineer. Kathleen was amazing! We kept feeding her mashed potatoes and cups of water to soothe her throat (her choice).

Tomorrow George is going to Key West. I was planning to fly down with him but I still have so much to do in the city I'm going to have to wait -- maybe until after Thanksgiving. Now it's time to get back to work. I've promised my publisher at least two finished stories for the third book, Going, Going, Gone this week, and the rest of the stories are due by Thanksgiving. Help!!
I think the trick will be to clear my desk and no matter what, to get started writing first thing every morning -- no e-mail, no Blogging, no distractions -- until I've spent three hours at the computer. George says he'll come back and keep me company if I decide to stay for the extra few weeks. I've got drafts of almost all the stories and since rewriting is the part of the process I like best it shouldn't be too hard. (Remind me I said that! Thinking about it is always so much easier than actually doing the work.)

I'm reading Tom Perrotta's The Abstinence Teacher. Imagine my surprise at finding a reference to Are You There God? It's Me Margaret early in the novel! I really like his writing. Hope to finish the book tonight. I'm always guessing how a novelist is going to end his/her story but this one has me puzzled. And no, I never do what my friend Mary does -- read the last page first! It kills me when she does that. Well, maybe if I'm not enjoying the book and am just curious, but if I'm involved with the characters, never!

Hope I'll get to post another entry soon but at least you'll know what I'm doing if I don't.
Happy Halloween to everyone who enjoys Halloween!
Love,
Judy

Banned Books & Bonfires

2007-10-07T14:31:00.000-04:00

Massachusetts -- Just as I was talking about Banned Books on Friday night at Elliot's school, a huge bonfire was lit in the field in front of the library. I knew this was going to happen (it was part of Spirit Week). I just didn't know how dramatic it would be. I mean, there I was, standing in front of a floor to ceiling window in the school library, talking about what book banning means -- and right behind me is this perfect reminder of a time and place where books were thrown into a bonfire and burned. I hate to remind anyone that not that many years ago in America a couple of religious zealots actually burned books they had stolen from the library because not only didn't they want their children to read them, they didn't want anyone's children to read them.

For me, it was an emotional end to Banned Books Week -- with students and faculty filling the cozy library, celebrating the freedom to read. Thanks, Alison, for making it happen. And thanks to all of you who came.

Love,
Judy

Soupy Tour --The Longest Night

2007-10-03T09:55:00.000-04:00

New York -- Last Friday night beat the record. Arrived at the bookstore 5:15, left the bookstore close to midnight. You know my fear about nobody showing up for a signing? This was the opposite. I felt like Mother Hubbard. I can't imagine how JK Rowling does it. Thanks, guys, for a five hour wait. You are incredibly loyal readers! I also met teachers, librarians, grandparents, babies in strollers, people who grew up with my books, and a guy who waited for hours to bring home a signed book to his wife. I wrote a note asking her to be especially nice to him that night. But I admit, there were times when it all felt out of control. It probably did to those of you who were there, too.

Before the signing these young reporters interviewed me for Kidsday, a part of Newsday. Thanks for your thoughtful questions! You are all young Brenda Starrs ( I wanted to be "Brenda Starr, Girl Reporter" when I was a kid).

Somewhere around midnight we left the bookstore and Beverly and Christine (from Random House) took me to the Sweet Hollow diner for scrambled eggs and toast. By then I felt pretty much like toast myself. (Make that soggy toast.)

Saturday -- The next afternoon we were at it again -- this time at Bank Street Books in Manhattan. When someone in my life has a baby I call Bank Street and ask them to send a package of some of my favorite picture books as a gift. I love sending books to help build a new baby's library.

Also, my friend Mary who teaches K-first grade told me that I should thank Bank Street college for "The Breaf-kast Cafe" a story in Cool Zone, the next book in the Pain and the Great One series (due in May). They're the ones who came up with the first grade program used in Mary's school that culminates with running a restaurant at the end of the school year. I based my story on a visit to their Breakfast Cafe.

It was great to greet and sign books for so many readers! Also, had a surprise visit from my friend Rachel Vail and her family. Rachel is a great writer. If you don't know her work, check it out. I've known her since before her first book was published. I like to think of myself as one of her Fairy Godmothers. Not that she wouldn't have made it without me. My agent dropped by too, and Beverly, Christine and George were at my side. Also met many students from Columbia Teachers College which gives me hope for the next generation of teachers. Thanks to everyone who came, who waited on line on the street (lucky for all of us it was a beautiful day) and who were still in a good mood when they got to my signing desk.

Sunday -- Dozed through the humiliating defeat of my Mets. I can't even get into that and the disappointment it brought. How could it have happened?

Monday -- we were at it again, this time in New Jersey (no, not baseball -- signing books). Only instead of signing in front of my readers, I was taken to a room where I signed in advance. Since this book store event took place at a school I had teachers and the librarian for company -- and what good company they were! Brenda gave me neck massages as needed. Someone provided pretzels and candy bars. I'd filled up on pasta before leaving home having learned my lesson on Friday night -- but I did feel the need for one Nestle's Crunch just before I went out to do my program with the kids.

And would you believe, the very last question was asked by a girl in a Phillies shirt! (The Phillies smashed the Mets in Sunday's final game of the season.) I'm afraid I made her so uncomfortable about her shirt she tried to cover the letters across her chest. Sorry for that.

Met the grown daughter of my brother's high school friend. He's an identical twin and I had a mad crush on them when I was about 13 and my brother was 17. I once made them baked potatoes (the only thing I knew how to cook) hoping that would make them like me. But when they came to the house and I offered the potatoes, they said, No thanks! Sandy married Faith, who was two years ahead of me at school. She was a cheerleader. I never managed to do a cartwheel, a backbend, or a split so cheerleading wasn't in the cards for me. Here they are at their 50th wedding anniversary.
Happy Anniversary!!

And so, the official tour for Soupy Saturdays is over (though I'm hoping to do two signings in Florida before the holidays -- one in Miami and another in Key West). Will keep you posted.
The best part was meeting so many of you. And my publisher was happy when the book hit the best seller list. I'd like to say that doesn't matter but who am I kidding?

So -- on to other things, starting with a visit to Elliot's school tomorrow where I'm going to meet with a creative writing class and give a talk about Banned Books Week. Did you know -- this is Banned Books Week? So read a banned book! Talk about the freedom to read and how important it is to all of us. Check out censorship on my website and join National Coalition Against Censorship

Love,
Judy

We Got Mortified!

2007-09-27T09:53:00.000-04:00

Last night George and I went to the Mortified show in NY. We had the BEST time! We laughed until our sides ached. If you live near any of the cities currently producing Mortified shows catch one. (It's not a show for kids.) The audience last night was mainly 20-30 somethings. The couple next to us were married with three kids and having a date night. They loved it just like we did. I mean, we were all adolescents, right? And we all had those moments in our lives.

How I wish I'd kept my teen diaries with my secret code words so if my mother ever got her hands on it she wouldn't have a clue what I was writing about (Ha!). I even kept a series of rubber bands wrapped around it (it had no lock and key -- it was one of those freebies sent out by insurance companies at Christmas time -- but it did have a hard cover) so I would be able to tell if my mother read it. I'm sure she did though she never admitted it. If you've saved your diaries, poems, songs, stories -- you, too, have a chance to get mo rti fied.

Here are some of the performers who shared their adolescent angst with us last night. Yes, there were also guys in the show but they didn't make it into this pix. Thanks everyone! Thanks, too, to David N. who started the whole thing and invited us to be his guests. Dave, we'll meet up one of these days!
XX Judy
PS Meg, you'd love it!

Soupy Tour -- Pillows

2007-09-25T14:05:00.000-04:00

New York -- back in our apartment and to tell you the truth, there was less stress on the road. On the road you know what you have to do, and you do it! At home you need to unpack, do the laundry, grocery shop, keep all the appointments that were set up before the road trip, catch up on work (or at least, look at it) -- well, it's real life. This is nothing new to any of you, I know.

The hotels we stayed at had the most luxurious pillows on the beds -- stacks of them. I loved sinking into them. I'm supposed to be allergic to feathers and down so buy only non-allergic pillows -- but I didn't have any allergies while we were traveling -- and last night, as I stacked up my own pillows (I sleep on three, angled so they don't hurt my neck) I found them, well, lacking. There's something about that crisp hotel linen and those stuffed pillows.

I remember my first book tour (16 cities) for Wifey, when my kids were 15 and 17 and we lived in Santa Fe. At my request my publisher flew me home to them every weekend. It's not easy to get in and out of Santa Fe. You have to fly to Albuquerque, then drive or take a bus up to Santa Fe (about an hour). I'd get home late Friday night and have to leave again on Sunday afternoon. I'd try to be Mom while I was home but I was so tired I'm sure I didn't do the best job. Traveling with George makes it a lot more fun on the road. And my grown children don't need me in the same way they did when they were teens. I can just call to say hello. Two weeks isn't a big deal to them. To me it feels as if I've been away for ages.

The doorbell is ringing...be right back...
Wow -- the most beautiful flowers were just delivered. No, not from my secret admirer, from my publisher, thanking me for getting through the book tour. Sweet.
Wishing you all something sweet, too.
XX Judy

Soupy Tour -- Girlfriends

2007-09-22T11:37:00.000-04:00

LA to Santa Fe --George and I had planned on going to the Get Mortified show on Wednesday night in LA but he was feeling too sick that night to leave the hotel. So I missed it again! But one of these days, maybe in NY next week, I'm going to experience the fun/angst/mortification of David N's show. I'm trying to get David to do a show in Key West, maybe at the Tropic Cinema. I know my friend Meg Cabot is a fan so between the two of us maybe we can make it happen.

At breakfast at our LA hotel we shared our space with these little guys.

Also got to meet (finally) my new movie agent. I told her I'd love to see a feature made of one of my books during my lifetime! But that's an ongoing story....

In LA I met with old friends Steve and Lin who started the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators For any of you who are interested in children's books you've got to check out SCBWI. It's the best. I only wish it had been around when I started to write. It's been ages since I've had the chance to have a Girls Night Out with Lin. We gabbed for four hours over dinner. What a treat! And at the end of the evening when Lin said she had to get up early to catch a plane to Albuquerque I couldn't believe it! We were on the same plane so the gabfest continued (George asked if there's a Guinness Book of World Records for consecutive gabbing?) Not only that, we're at the same hotel in Santa Fe. Lin is celebrating her friend's birthday and we're celebrating Amanda's 40th. Talk about coincidences!

Now, after two days in Santa Fe, George is feeling much better. He's been hiking in the mountains with Amanda and Jim. My old friend Helene (we met when we both lived in Los Alamos, the setting for Tiger Eyes) drove down from Aspen so we could spend time together. Also had a visit with Bill and Barbara, two of my first friends when I moved to New Mexico in '76. Dinner with Ruthy (Smart Women is dedicated to her) Paul, and Helene at a restaurant that used to be the Periscope back in the 70's. Loved telling the young staff that we knew it then. They looked at us as if -- Oh, these guys must have been wild once upon a time!

We dropped in to an independent bookstore in downtown Santa Fe -- Collected Works . Was so glad to see it's not only still in business but is thriving -- and they had 6 copies of Soupy Saturdays. Bought five copies to give to my friends' grandchildren (didn't want to buy them out!) Promised I'd come back some day and do a signing.

Santa Fe is so beautiful this time of year. We keep forgetting what a beautiful city this is. George is lobbying me to spend more time here. Ditto, our friends. And I admit, it's been wonderful spending time with them, and Amanda and Jim. A great break. Wish there were more time -- way more time.

Tomorrow's a travel day. Then three more book signings in the New York area next weekend. Hope to see some of you there!
XX Judy

Soupy Tour -- Survived (So Far)

2007-09-19T16:37:00.001-04:00

San Francisco to LA -- George has caught a nasty cold. I'm the one who usually winds up sick from flying around and meeting my readers but so far I've been lucky. (My mother would tell me to knock on wood.) Am Purell-ing like mad and flushing out my nostrils with saline and doing other things you definitely don't want to hear about.

San Francisco was the last official city on the road. Patricia, the make-up artist, worked her magic. I got to wear the blue leather jacket on two TV shows (I'd bought it in Miami last winter then saved it for the book tour -- nevermind that I saw it on sale at half price in NY in June -- oh well!) And the booksigning at Books, Inc in Alameda was the perfect end to the Soupy road tour. When we walked in an hour early for the 6:30 signing there were already people seated. One girl, maybe 8 or 9 called out, "Judy -- I have a question!" I stopped to listen and she asked, "Are you nice?" I couldn't help laughing. I mean, that's a first! I told her I'd let George answer her question and he said, "Well, she's nice to children!"

Allison and Fhay from Current TV were there. Fun to see them again. And Jeff (Geoff?) who was hosting the event had a great sense of humor and added to the success of the evening. I admit, when I came out from the office later and saw the crowd that filled this small store, I had a moment when I felt Uh oh! You know that feeling when you think there's no oxygen in the room and you're going to pass out? But it only lasted a minute and I don't think anyone noticed -- someone opened the door or turned up the air conditioning, or something, because suddenly there was a breeze and we could all breathe again.

During the Q&A a boy with purplish hair asked how old I am. It's usually a boy who asks that one, and it's usually a boy who asks, "How much do you make?" (though I haven't heard that question on this tour.) As for my age -- I always make it into a math problem. I tell them my birthdate and wait for someone to get it right. I've heard everything from 25 to 95 but this crowd was quick to come up with the answer. I did a few tap steps to prove that physical age doen't mean much. It's how you feel inside. (Good they didn't see how quickly the energy faded once the signing was over). I was at the store for almost 4 hours so we didn't get back to the hotel until after 10pm. Too late for a proper dinner but we did get some scrambled eggs and toast. Thanks everyone for coming out and for waiting so patiently! I love it when the store gives out tickets then calls the customers up by number -- Now serving numbers 130-175. It reminds me of a deli or a bakery.

Had a couple of interesting moments when a fox terrier (a real one) picked up a kleenex from the floor and started munching it. His owner wasn't part of the signing -- she was just a customer browsing and didn't seem at all concerned at her dog's antics, not even when he went after a stroller and I called out to alert the mom to keep an eye on her baby. The "baby" turned out to be two adult cats. No wonder the dog was so interested. The crowd loved it -- That's Alameda! they said. Reminded me of Key West.

The next morning I was at it again, signing 200 copies for the NCIBA (that's Northern California Independent Booksellers Assoc). How I wish I could have stopped at all the independent bookstores in the area.

No time to see the friends I'd hoped to see in the Bay Area though we did get to have lunch with Dave and Vendela, a real treat. In Double Fudge I paid homage to Dave by having Peter and Jimmy Fargo play a game of sock hockey. Later, when I let Elliot and his friend try it in our apartment, they used brooms instead of hockey sticks and a package of Lipton Soup as a puck. What a mess! The game ended in hysterical laughter -- the kind you know can quickly turn to tears because the kids are so worked up and the hour is late.

Had a tour of 826 Valencia
What a great place. Chatted with a group of 7th grade boys who are regulars, then a group of younger girls, all being helped with their schoolwork by a dedicated group of volunteer tutors. Inspired George and me to try to get something going in Key West.

Raced to the airport to catch our plane to LA only to discover I'd lost my Afrin. (I'm not "allowed" to fly without it because of my sinus problem.) My hero, George, left me at the airport and hopped a cab to a drugstore. We missed the 6pm plane but enjoyed the quiet time, reading, until the next one, at 8:15. Finished a very good book by Vendela Vida, Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name. A different and haunting story, one I won't forget.

And now we're in LA for two days. George is asleep on the bed, though it's a gorgeous day. Poor guy -- he really feels bad though he'd never admit it. I'm on the computer, watching over him.

On Friday we go to Santa Fe to spend the weekend with Amanda and Jim. Then back to New York for three more signings. Check the calendar to find out if there's one near you. Hope to see you there.
Love,
Judy

Soupy Tour -- From Hill to Hill

2007-09-16T23:10:00.000-04:00

Seattle to San Francisco -- Opening night of the Seattle Children's Theater production of Disney's High School Musical was exuberant --with the most talented, energetic cast! It's been 20 years since I've been there and the new theater complex is a wonder. Like all non-profits, they depend on the generosity of the community. They have an amazing theater program for young people who are interested in performing, set design, and everything else that makes a production possible.

University Bookstore hosted my book signing on Saturday afternoon. The Huskies (the U of Washington football team) were playing at the same time, and the U. Bookstore is on campus. Need I say more? But my loyal readers somehow made it anyway. Thanks, guys! One of my favorite questions from the Q&A before the signing came from a grown up reader who asked -- How about a book where Fudge is grown up and has a child exactly like the child he was? (A kind of pay back, I guess.) I told her that wasn't in the cards. Fudge is never going to grow up, at least not in any book that I write. I explained that's one of the reasons I've created the characters in Soupy Saturdays. Then another adult asked for a sequel to Summer Sisters and I had to tell her that that wasn't in the cards either.

After the signing, Stesha, who's in charge of special events at the store, passed around her delicious home baked chocolate chip cookies, which got me through the stock signing. Thanks to Stesha and her staff for a great job.

Then we headed to the airport for the flight to San Francisco where I had an early morning call for a TV show the next morning.

When I got to the station I thought I saw a box of colorful candies sitting on the table. (Yes, I'd had a proper breakfast in the room at 7am). But when I took a closer look I realized it was pots of makeup. The guest before me, Rhoda, who's written an autobiography-- Rhoda, the First Ninety Years -- had brought her own makeup artist with her and she looked great. How come I hadn't thought of that? Getting up at 6am and trying to get on eyeliner and mascara without getting a blob of one or the other in my eye, isn't my idea of a fun way to start the day. Noreen, the Random House publicist who'd met us in Seattle (after Elizabeth had returned to NY) saw me looking longingly at the makeup. Well, I wasn't just looking. And I wasn't exactly begging but I did make a case for professionally applied makeup -- after all, they wanted me to look my best on camera, right? And look at Rhoda -- look how natural and healthy she looked. Noreen took pity and cut a deal with Patricia, the makeup artist, who "adjusted" my makeup. It must have looked okay on camera because Noreen arranged for Patricia to meet us tomorrow morning before the first of two shows. That means an extra hour of sleep.

Later, I did another interview with Current TV outside in the park. Walking up the hills in Seattle and now San Francisco has to be the best cardio exercise ever!

I loved the two young women, Allison, the producer, and Fay on camera, who worked with me. We started at a fountain where a very large dog walked up to me, sniffed, then walked away-- which cracked us up -- and wound up at a playground where 2 year old T. hung around. Eventually, he went down the slide with his Dad and it looked like so much fun I tried it too!

Okay, -- time to get the makeup off and get to bed.
Love,
Judy

Soupy Tour -- Connections

2007-09-14T16:24:00.000-04:00

Seattle -- Cruised Lake Washington yesterday afternoon on a tour boat. What a perfect afternoon on the water. Later, stopped into a shop, Nubia, with intriguing windows -- I can't resist art to wear so dragged George into the store with me. He sat in a chair and read while I browsed. The owner suggested a jacket for me but I explained we lived most of the year in Key West and I didn't need anything like it. She told me her son had spent time in Key West, that he'd worked at a fabulous movie theater there, had fallen in love with film, and was now back in college in Seattle, studying it.

"Could it have been the Tropic Cinema?" I asked.
"Yes," she answered, "and my son raved about the guys who started it."

At that point I introduced her to George (Mr. Tropic Cinema). George remembered her son who'd been a projectionist at the Tropic for a few months. Is this small-world-stuff or what? I mean, we're in Seattle and the Tropic is in Key West, but we're all connected!? At that point I really had to buy something to commemorate the moment so I got this silvery shirt with uneven sides.

This morning I did a one hour NPR show. I wondered what we'd do for an hour but the time flew by. The host, Steve Scher, was great -- really fun and easy to talk to. Thanks to those of you who called in, and all of you who listened. Then a rush to make a TV appearance on what I thought was a news show but turned out to be more of a talk show with an audience. There was a yellow lab wearing a bandana in the first row (on the floor, not in a seat) and I had to resist the urge to keep looking at it. I half expected it to ask me a question.

Break for a manicure -- hey, I'm signing books again tomorrow -- can't have ratty nails! If any of you reading this are in Seattle, I'll be at University Bookstore at 1pm. Meeting my readers is always the highlight of any tour! So far I've heard from just two disappointed adults, both grandmas. One, because I spelled her granddaughter's name wrong when I signed her book (I've promised her a replacement, properly signed) and another -- whose granddaughter was the first child I met in Detroit at Borders. She was at the cafe, clutching a copy of Soupy Saturdays. I asked if we could take her picture for the blog, then forgot to post it. So here it is now. Sorry, Alex.

Off to opening night at the Seattle Children's Theater.
Love,
Judy

Soupy Tour -- Pigs on Parade

2007-09-12T17:19:00.000-04:00

Seattle -- All over town there are Pigs on Parade. Each pig is decorated by a different artist and all are for sale -- to benefit a good cause, I'm sure. This one is my favorite.

Did a couple of phone interviews this morning. One from a reporter who called back five minutes after the interview to say she realized she'd pushed the wrong button on her tape recorder and didn't get any of what I said. She confessed this was her first interview and asked if I would please do the interview again. At that moment I remembered another, lengthy phone interview many years ago, and how I just couldn't do it again. This time, the young reporter sounded so distraught we did a second, abbreviated interview. I'll bet she'll hit the right button from now on.

The other interview was with a reporter from a Dallas paper, focusing on the 35th Anniversary of Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. 35 years! The Dallas Children's Theater is doing a production of Tales... which reminded me that that play originated here in Seattle at the Seattle Children's Theater in 1986 -- and that I happened to be here on a book tour on opening night. That was a real thrill! The play has made the rounds of children's theaters around the country ever since. When Elliot was about seven I took him to see a production at the Kennedy Center in DC -- in which Fudge was played by a 400 pound man (talk about non-traditional casting!).
Seattle Children's Theater is opening a play this Friday night based on High School Musical. Is Disney taking over the world, or what?

To those of you who observe Rosh Hashannah, L'shana tova.

XX Judy

September 11

2007-09-11T18:37:00.000-04:00

Seattle -- flying on September 11 brings back all those memories of six years ago. Not that I'd ever forget but it makes me think about the people boarding their flights that morning. How you never know what might happen or how or when. How random it all is.

We landed in Seattle on a beautiful sunny afternoon. Called our kids. Needed to connect.

Soupy Tour -- Gimme Writer's Cramp Any Time

2007-09-10T23:50:00.000-04:00

Chicago -- after a Monday spot on the noon news, and a sandwich back at the hotel with George and General Petraeus (the latter on the tube) I decided to catch up on my Blog – which turned out to be a Big Mistake – because instead of resting up for the evening event, a book signing in Skokie, I tried to upload photos into just the right place in my post and kept getting everything wrong. (Where are you Meg Cabot when I need you? Meg's blog is my inspiration!) This can be very frustrating to a novice like me. Never mind time consuming. Two hours flew by and next thing I knew it was time to leave for an interview with B&N. I think it will be downloadable as a podcast from their website.

Judy, my author escort, reminded me that she’d met me way back in the mid-70's when she worked for Kroch’s (a bookstore) and I was on tour (probably for Wifey) and my marriage was falling apart and I cried my way through the city, trying to pull myself together for interviews, then falling apart again. I’d actually forgotten about that. Who’d want to remember? It was a hellish time in my life. I couldn’t wait to introduce her to George to prove I’d gotten it right this time. Lovely Elizabeth, from Random House, was also with us. She’d flown in to Detroit on Saturday to be with me at the signing and continued on to Chicago. By Monday evening we'd bonded -- that's how it is on the road. So, off we went to Skokie, in the rain, with Judy our author escort doing a fine job behind the wheel. Of course I was thinking, Rain!-- that means no one will show. (That old anxiety still cropping up.)

But it was a great crowd and a great mix of young kids, parents who grew up with my books, teachers, librarians, the curious, and those loyal 20-somethings who always choose Just As Long As We’re Together and Here’s To You, Rachel Robinson as their favorites. We did a Q&A, my favorite way to interact with an audience. After the 5th “Where did you get the idea for Fudge?” question we got down to the business of signing. Three hours later I was a zombie (stretching out my arm and fingers to avoid writer's cramp, which I've learned to do because I had it once, in Australia and I couldn't sign anything, let alone my name -- but George volunteered to sign for me, and you know what? -- no one minded at all. ) But in Skokie I signed everything, including one boy who went home with my autograph on his forehead – with his mom’s blessing. (Please don't ask -- I'm not doing that again!) I wonder if I was using a washable sharpie or the permanent kind? I guess he’ll find out.

Four year old Lev Mickey, who knows all the Fudge books by heart, and is on his way to knowing every word in Soupy Saturdays agreed to a photo with me. I told him, “You are really special!” And he answered, “I know.” Everyone around us broke up laughing. I’d like to meet him again in twenty years (okay, make it ten).

And here’s how an author spends her time following a three hour signing. (Actually, I signed stock earlier, and I'm thankful I did because at that point I could barely stand up, let alone sign more books). But, hey – I loved every minute of it! Thanks to all who came out to meet me. I know it was a long wait. I know you were hungry and tired by the time it was over. I got to eat a bowl of pasta at 10pm. It was SO good! Hope you went to bed with full tummys, too.

Special thanks to the team at B&N in Skokie, especially Mary Anne. It couldn’t have been better!
XX Judy

PS I read that Junot Diaz was reading from his new novel Monday night at the Chicago public library. I said to George, “Let’s go!” Then I remembered that I had a book signing at the same time. Sorry, Junot. He’ll be joining us in Key West in January at the Literary Seminar.