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"Vacation, all I ever wanted, vacation, had to get away..." Just like the Go-Go's, we're taking a little break. Check back for more columns, more fiction, more essays, more poetry, reviews, profiles... All the good writing you want, coming back in late July. Till then, please browse our archives!

Check out “Dear Christina” my first podcastThe first one might be a little bumpy but they will definitely get better. One thing is certain, I will not run out of my former student’s success stories any time soon. They just keep rolling in! So I thought, why not feature them in a series of short podcasts? And now I am. I hope they inspire you as much as they inspire me.

Tips From A Multi-Tasking Mom As a busy Mom, "getting it all done" seems to be an unattainable goal. There never seems to be enough hours in the day to take care of all of the projects on our plates! However, with a little shift in perspective we can learn to be proud of the multitude of things we do accomplish on a day-to-day basis. From sharpening your focus to cutting yourself some slack, these tips from a fellow multi-tasking Mom will help you create realistic expectations and cross more items off your to-do list! Not In My House One in five teens abuse prescription drugs. This is a spine-tingling statistic. One that should shake the soul and have you asking, "What can I do to make sure my child is not one of these kids?" You hear the stories, you watch the news, but never do you think this could be happening "in my house." Not until you look at the pain in Gary Neil's eyes ever since his son Harrison died from combining prescription and over- the-counter medications. Read on to hear the rest of his story and find out more information about what some companies are doing to help this epidemic. Clear the Clutter in Your Life Look around you, at work and home. Do you feel overjoyed or annoyed? Your environment affects your moods, attitudes, emotions, and energy level. What things zap your energy? What things make you feel energized and alive? You need to figure out ways to reduce, eliminate, or change your environment, so that it lifts you up rather than brings you down. These tidbits might help clear the clutter and increase your energy.

ExcerptSome writers prefer the silence of late night or early morning, when the neighborhood sleeps. Others seek enlightenment at dawn. Stephen King claims to write in the morning while listening to hard rock, and he says that all writing is telepathy, meaning that it's beamed from some noncorporeal brain into his own. (How it gets through Guns and Roses only King knows.) Most artists call this telepathic phenomenon the imagination, and it works best by itself, without too many external distractions.

Writer Mama will answer all your questions about how to get started, in realistic, easy-to-follow steps. While conversational and easy-to-read, this book also does a lot of hard work for you. It gives you practical advice and exercises that help you get started in a matter of weeks. You’ll get tips on how to:

Use the creative writing prompts and creative writing ideas to create stories, poems and other creative pieces from your imagination. The writing prompts can even help you come up with creative content for blogs and blog stories.

Every week we highlight the best articles, blogs, news, videos and interesting Web tidbits to help you live green, be healthy, and connect with your sense of spirituality. Read our roundup for info that just helps you live better.

The Internet Writing Workshop is a set of mailing lists (groups) that communicate in English by email. We are: A community where writers can submit and critique written works. A forum to discuss and get help on all aspects of writing. A public service educational organization, staffed by volunteers and free of charge.

Verla Kay's website http://www.verlakay.comLive Chat http://www.verlakay.com/chat.htmlOnline Store http://www.cafepress.com/verlakay Help support this website & message board by shopping at this official Verla Kay Blueboarder Store (hosted by CafePress.com)

Find Literary Agents The most advanced database of literary agents available on the web. Search our directory of literary agents. Target your search based on genre of interest, geographic region, query methods, and much more.(Learn more about searching the database)

Sweet Emily. I did this portrait last year for a couple of friends of mine. Until this, I hadn't even attempted a realistic portrait since college. I was fairly confident I would be successful, but I wasn't sure. I just remember working on it, thinking how nice it was to just draw - and really getting into it. I'm lucky enough to get a few jobs here and there that are like this and I am so thankful.Oh, and here's to my 100th post! I am such a slacker, I should have reached this milestone years ago. ;)Labels: Children's, Drawing, IF, Portrait

Here they are, the winners of the 2008 Boston Globe Horn Book Awards.Nonfiction: The Wall, by Peter Sis, published by Foster/Farrar. Honor Books: Frogs by Nic Bishop (Scholastic) and What to Do about Alice? by Barbara Kerley, illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham (Scholastic)Fiction: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, illustrated by Ellen Forney (Little, Brown) Honor Books: Shooting the Moon by Frances O'Roark Dowell (Atheneum) and Savvy by Ingrid Law (Walden/Dial)Picture Books: At Night by Jonathan Bean (Farrar) Honor Books: Fred Stays with Me! by Nancy Coffelt, illustrated by Tricia Tusa (Little, Brown) and A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever by Marla Frazee (Harcourt)Special Citation, for excellence in graphic storytelling: The Arrival by Shaun Tan (Levine/Scholastic)Read the press release for complete details.Labels: Awards, Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards

This Thursday, May 8th, at 6 p.m., I will be reading from (and signing) THE YEAR MY SISTER GOT LUCKY at the Park Slope Barnes & Noble in Park Slope, Brooklyn: On 7th avenue on the corner of 6th street. Reading and signing along with me will be the fantastic teen authors Siobhan Vivian and Suzanne Weyn. Come one, come all! Hope to see you there!

Afterwards I got to catch up with my former thesis adviser, Sarah Weeks, who was telling me about the making of the "charving" video Scholastic did for her new book. So of course I had to come home and look it up... These are some cute kids, right??? (This is the best link I could find for the video. Click on "multimedia" under the "more resources" bar on the right.)

Flux - A new imprint dedicated to fiction for teens. We're hearing some great things from the blogosphere about Josie Bloss's Band Geek Love--like this post from the Ya, Ya, Yas and this one from Book Divas. "I really enjoyed all of the characters and was pleased Josie Bloss took the time to focus on the very endearing secondary characters and concluded their respective storylines in a satisfactory way as well. Overall, I give BAND GEEK LOVE a resounding two thumbs up and will look forward to what Josie Bloss writes next!"

noun [from geography and Shakespeare, 2005] 1. A small forest of words in the great metropolis of Brooklyn 2. A collection of ruminations, photographs, and lists on topics including (but not limited to) books, writing, movies, theatre, current events, publishing, and nonsense 3. The blog of Cheryl Klein, reader, children's books editor, and young lady about town