Dear everyone in charge of scheduling things, especially children’s activities: A friendly reminder that there are actually twelve months in a year in play here, not just a five-week span from mid-April to mid-May.

My calendar for this week — which is color coded because that’s how I roll – looks like I was testing out thousands of markers. Yours probably looks similar, and that’s if you’ve found enough time to actually sit and fill out your calendar. And refer back to it. But that might be a bridge too far right now.

In other words:

I’m still writing, when I’m not in the car, on a bench, in an auditorium, in a store picking up some random May-only supply, or doing laundry. Shall we chat about that?

The Unofficial Guidebook to Surviving Life with Toddlers  has been out for a little over a week and the first reviews are in. So far, it’s well received. Not surprising. It’s chock full of funny, strong pieces from great writers. If you’ve read it, please feel free to write a review. That keeps the book front and center. If you know someone who is about to enter the toddler phase with their children or is knee-deep in it, this would make a great Mother’s Day book. Or a lovely addition to any lending library at a pre-school. Or even a baby shower gift!

Novel Work: I finished transitioning from “Zero Draft” to “First Draft” and now have a to-do list that is 30 pages long. That’s good, though, I can start to buttress this story into something more delightful and suspenseful..and, you know, better. My goal is to have it ready for a beta reader by end of summer, bringing a whole new level of terror into the process.

Fabulous Finds from the Internet:

This is salty.

This is humbling.

This made me wonder about humanity’s urge towards sameness in a universe that tends toward chaos.

And submitted without comment.

More exciting news in days and weeks to come, assuming May doesn’t eat us alive.