My New Boyfriend

His name is Stewie. He lives in Toronto. I hate long-distance relationships. But Stewie might be worth it.

Toronto's "Snowmageddon"

So here is a picture from my hotel room (thanks Ontario Library Association and Tundra Books!) before "Snowmageddon," as the news media were calling the impending storm ... (and yes, that is the foot of the CN Tower - I had a great room) ...

And here is a picture after "Snowmageddon" ...

I was very disappointed. But not as disappointed as the news reporters, who sounded mighty sheepish the next day.

The Mural at Valley Park Middle School

Isn't this awesome?? I thought I'd taken more photos of it, but I guess I didn't ... however I have a link to the artist - his name is Corrado and there's a great photo of the mural on his site (my photo only shows a portion of it). But check it out, Word Nerd is in between Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Artemis Fowl! My book is immortalized on their library wall. Seriously, it's a great mural - all about the joys of reading.

Thanks again to Elizabeth and the students at Valley Park Middle School - you're a great bunch.

CBC Bookie Awards

This is kind of cool - Dear George Clooney has been nominated for a CBC Bookie Award. If you click on the link, you can vote for George! (or, for another title if it happens to be your favorite). I think the Bookies are like a branch of Canada Reads.

I just came back from a few days in Toronto. I was there for the Ontario Library Association's Superconference. They invited me because Word Nerd won the Red Maple Award last year, and all the Forest winners are brought in. My favorite moment was being interviewed by young students Parth and Jesegan. They want me to use their names in my next book. I told them I couldn't promise anything, but at least their names made it into my blog! They asked really smart questions, and they recorded the whole thing, so if they send me the podcast I'll link to it here.

I also visited Valley Park Middle School for the second time. The students there - and their librarian, Elizabeth Galli - truly rock. I love that school. And I love the Swiss Chalet they always order me for lunch! They now have a new mural painted in their library, all about the love of reading - and Word Nerd is one of the books on the shelf in the painting! I'll download a photo soon.

Oh, yeah - I also happened to be there during "Snowmageddon." The storm that wasn't. At least the reporters managed to look sheepish the next morning. I guess the kids must've been happy, though - city-wide snow day!

In other news, I have finally entered the 21st century and am the proud owner of an iPhone 4. Oh, how I love my new phone. When I'm not playing word games with other procrastinating friends on said phone, I am working on my new novel. 149 pages as of today.