"A fine run," I thought. I had never eaten from my garden for so many months in a row as I did this past year. Ken said he'd start some kale seeds for the summer in a few weeks. But little bits of green started to show amid the frozen plants. And then there was a warm spell.
Voila. We've already had kale and white bean pasta. I think I'll do something with kale and sausage this weekend. We have some kale seedlings to start when it gets a bit warmer still. Hold your Brooklyn-hipster kale-eating jokes, please. Respect a survivor!
You can see the metaphor coming, right? This one's kind of like a song cue in an old musical, but what the heck. Here comes some more rebirth!
I just signed a contract with Evernight Teen for the sequel to Time Runs Away With Her. It's called In Her Own Time, and it picks up where book one leaves off. Yippeee! Bean and Zak ride again! Spring has officially sprung. I really like In Her Own Time, and I'm really, really chuffed to be getting it out into the world.
Within the new book's covers, it's July, 1970. There are fireworks, a very cool summer internship at a rock and roll radio station for both Zak and Bean, LOTS of music to play on guitar and listen to...and much scarier travels in time. Samantha comes into her own in this book, Juuulia stays Juuulia but pulls a major surprise, and there are lots of fireworks, literal and metaphorical. There are a few of the funniest scenes I think I've ever written. And one character dies. No spoilers here. You'll have to read the novel.
This time, filling out the forms for the cover art was more fun than scary. Fireworks? Headphones? We'll see what Evernight's amazing Jay Aheer comes up with. I know I'm going to love it. This time, I actually know what a blog tour is. I've done book giveaways and a convention. I feel like an old pro. Well, as much as I can feel like an old pro about anything. This is me, after all. But this time, I'm way more excited than nervous.
I'm spending the days in between now and the new book's release writing poems, submitting poems, and doing a little promo for the original Time Runs Away With Her.
But there's yet more news. I had a meeting with my poetry world buddies Rick Mullin and Hilary Sideris at Greenwich Village's Cafe Reggio this Monday. Talk about survivors--and time travel! The Reggio is a venerable dark 'n' dingy coffee house, unchanged from the place I remember sipping an espresso in on a terrible date in 1971. Which is to say it is a fabulous joint. But that's beside the point. Rick, Hilary, and I will be doing a reading down at The KGB Bar from 7 to 9 PM on Sunday, June 5th. I love giving poetry readings, KGB is an impossibly cool place, full of pre-fall-of-the-Wall Soviet artifacts, and I cannot wait! Rick and Hilary, by the way, are terrific, funny poets who write poetry about rock and roll, so it all fits in, you see? I was super-flattered when Rick invited me to come along. If you're NYC-area local or going to be visiting then, I'd love it if you came down. I'll have books to sign and sell--poetry and prose.
Oh, and I have two poems in the current Ithaca Lit. Ithaca Lit is a good mag, and you might like the poems. One of them is about ghosts! They are here.
So I guess that's a pretty good crop of greenery for now. Time to write my poem of the day for National Poetry Month. And I'll keep you updated on developments with the new novel right here on this bat channel. Happy Spring!