FIVE FOR FRIDAY

1. It's Poetry Friday! And while I am not able to contribute this week, you should totally get your day off to a good start and head over to Sara at Read Write Believe for Roundup.

2. In the past week I have had speaking engagements at Tuskegee University (for ACETA), Judson College (see previous post), University of Alabama (Women's Resource Center) and today I'll teach a bunch of middle schoolers at University of Montevallo's WRITE IN THE MIDDLE conference. I've so enjoyed making new friends and sharing stories about my experience writing LEAVING GEE'S BEND.

3. Tomorrow is my birthday. 40, baby!! I will be celebrating with some super sweet fellas who said they have some surprises in store. Hmmmm.... I'm not gonna think about it too much because I don't want to accidentally think of the surprise. Hate when that happens.

4. Wait until you see the new quilt I am working on. It's in spring colors and is called "Magic Twist and Stitch 9-Patch." I love how it's turning out!

5. I'm reading an ARC of Kathryn Erskine's THE ABSOLUTE VALUE OF MIKE to my youngest, and we are loving it! Kathy and her daughter stayed with us over the summer, so reading this book feels really personal. And Kathy, if you're reading this, Eric paid you a wonderful comment when he said, "Are you sure she's the one who wrote that book?" The voice is THAT authentically Teenage Boy! Wonderful, Kathy.

Happy weekend, All!