Thanks to everyone who turned to the November page of their Perma-Bound 2005 Author and Illustrator Birthday calendar and wrote to say how excited they were to see me there. I never thought I’d qualify as a “Miss November.”

That said, I’m hononored to share the page with Abenaki author Joseph Bruchac. His featured books are Skeleton Man (2001) (read excerpt) and The Dark Pond (2004). Mine are Jingle Dancer (2000), Rain Is Not My Indian Name (2001) (read excerpt) and Indian Shoes (2002). All are these are published by HarperCollins (though Jingle Dancer still carries the pre-buyout Morrow label on the spine).

Happy birthday to November babies: Betty Bao Lord (3rd); Bram Stoker (8th); Neal Shusterman (12th); Astrid Lindgren (14th); Daniel Pinkwater (15th); Marion Dane Bauer (20th); Elizabeth George Spear (21rst); Megan Whalen Turner (21rst); Yoshiko Uchida (24th); Crescent Dragonwagon (25th); Charles Schultz (26th); Kevin Henkes (27th); Louisa May Alcott (29th); Madeleine L’Engle (29th); C.S. Lewis (29th); and Mark Twain (30th).

Cynsational News & Links

The Art of Fiction: Where Do I Begin Revising by Lisa Lenard-Cook from Authorlink. November 2005.

Boffo Idea and Killer Sample Chapters Make the Sale: An Interview with Libba Bray by Susan VanHecke from Authorlink. See also a recent cynsations interview with Libba Bray.

KidMagWriters.com: November issue includes a round-up of editor likes and dislikes in Editor’s Speak; a special report on Moo Cow Fan Club (a new magazine); a look at the east coast SCBWI conference; and an article on writing “as told to” teen profiles in That’s A Fact.