I had lunch yesterday with Austin author Ruth Pennebaker at Roaring Fork, which is at the (relatively) newly remodeled Stephen F. Austin Hotel.

Ruth lives in my zip code (much like, say, Farrah and Tori Spelling live in the same building), so I sometimes run into her at places like Central Market or Waterloo Ice House. When I’m lucky, we run into each other on purpose for lunch.

Maybe it’s that whole journalist-lawyer-author thing we have in common… Nah, it’s probably her dark wit and good heart, but Ruth is someone I not only like but also look up to.

She’s an amazing writer. Her books include: Both Sides Now; Don’t Think Twice; Conditions of Love; and A Texas Family Time Capsule. The first of these three are YAs, which have merited BBYA, BookSense, and like honors.

Nifty Link

Roseanne Thong’s site: learn more about this picture book author. She offers some cool info about Dragon Boats, Moon Festival, Chinese New Year and Wishing Trees on her fun page. Her titles include: Round Is A Mooncake, illustrated by Grace Lin (Chronicle, 2000); Red Is A Dragon, illustrated by Lin (Chronicle, 2001); Once Is A Drummer, also illustrated by Lin (Chronicle 2003); The Wishing Tree, illustrated by Connie McLennan (Shen’s 2004), and has forthcoming books from Harry Abrams, Henry Holt, and Houghton Mifflin.

Roseanne reports that she was referred to me by author Uma Krishnaswami and that she mentioned my site when they both spoke at the National Book Development Council in Singapore. Imagine anyone mentioning me in Signapore. I feel so international!