Thanks to my webdesigner/master/guru Lisa Firke of Hit Those Keys. My site is now updated in synch with Cynsations through the March posts. If you haven’t already, read the Story Behind the Redesign. See also Wild Keys, Lisa’s recently redesigned blog.

Thanks to Cynsations LJ reader Colleen Cook for expressing appreciation at my post on the 2006 CLN conference. And to Gregory K of Gotta Book for his kind words and to A Fuse #8 Production for the shout out about the Susan Taylor Brown interview.

More personally, my husband and co-author Greg Leitich Smith shows off our fluffy white cat Blizzard at GregLSBlog. Blizzard’s full name is Blizzard Bentley. He’s named after the Caldecott Medal Book Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, illustrated by Mary Azarian (Houghton Mifflin, 1998).

Greg‘s debut novel, Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo (Little Brown, 2003, 2005)(author interview) was recommended as a “Try these too” book by the Texas Library Association Lone Star committee. Ninjas–along with Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen (Knopf, 2001) and Stanford Wong Flunks Big Time by Lisa Yee (Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine, 2005)(author interview)–was suggested to fans of Never Mind!: A Twin Novel by Avi and Rachel Vail (HarperCollins, 2004)(excerpt), which made the final list. Greg also is the author of a companion book, Tofu and T. rex (Little Brown, 2005)(author interview).

Speaking of TLA, the Texas Library Association invites contributions to the Library Endowment & Advancement Fund (LEAF). The LEAF is a restricted fund that provides money for special projects benefiting Texas libraries and librarians. You may direct your gift to the area of greatest need or to a number of special funds, including: the Spectrum Scholarship Fund for minority recruitment to the profession; Texas Bluebonnet Award Endowment Fund for TBA activities; Wayne Williams Fund for library grants to purchase children’s books; and Whitten Fund for defense of intellectual freedom. Cyn Note: support your local libraries.

Bookshelves of Doom: “Book reviews, book news, my life and anything else I think is interesting.” Recommended posts include a review of Between Mom and Jo by Julie Anne Peters (Little Brown, 2006)(author interview).

Congratulations to Uma Krishnaswami (author interview) for Honor Certificate for her poem “Lifeline” in Cicada via the SCBWI 2005 Magazine Merit Awards.

David Levithan and Rachel Cohn, the co-authors of Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (Knopf, 2006)(excerpt) will be speaking and signing at BookPeople at 6th and Lamar in Austin, Texas at 7 p.m. June 10. Cyn Note: this is one of the novels on my nightstand; I look forward to it!

Does Everything Fit? by Shari Lyle-Soffe from Out of My Mind.

Katz Connects: connecting authors, illustrators and musicians to school and library events. Clients include: Dr. Alma Flor Ada; Lynn E. Hazen (author interview); Heather Hepler and Brad Barkley (co-authors interview); and Elizabeth Koehler-Pentacoff. Learn more about Susan Katz.

Oz and Ends: “Musings about some of my favorite fantasy literature for young readers” from J.L. Bell. Cyn Note: I learned of this blog from the fabulous Book Moot.

Tracy Vaughn Zimmer blogs about Rules by Cynthia Lord (Scholastic, 2006)(author interview) and Good Girls by Laura Ruby (HarperCollins, 2006)(author interview).

YA Author Gail Giles has redesigned and updated her website. Learn more about Gail, her books, check out readers’ guide and teacher info, and see links. Gail’s latest book is What Ever Happened to Cass McBride? (Little Brown, 2006). See a recent Cynsations author update interview with Gail Giles. Cyn Note: don’t miss the great picture of Gail and her puppy, iPod.