FICTION FRIDAY: Is there such a thing as too much reading? And upcoming blog events.

Okay, I've got a ridiculous number of freelance projects to finish up before the big EDITORIAL LETTER arrives from Viking (I've been warned it's coming soon). Plus, I'm closing in on the 1.5th draft (okay, so I've got a weird numbering system) of my new ms which I know I'll have to abandon for a bit when I start revising AUDITION, so I'd like to get it to something of a neat and tidy place.

Don't know about you, but I just can't handle reading much YA while I'm head-down writing. Sure, the occasional grow-up mystery is nice for sitting in the sun (I like modern broads-who-write-Brits like Martha Grimes and Elizabeth George, or classics like Josephine Tey and Dorothy Sayers), but that's about it besides stuff I have to read for work. Otherwise, my head gets into a funny place and it takes me too much time to ease into my own writing. So, for the next few weeks, Fiction Fridays will be a bit of a smorgasbord.

As I begin the revision journey with my editor, I've been thinking a lot about the many relationships and dialogues involved in book publishing. So, I've decided that August here at the blog will feature the theme "Writing in Tandem" and include interviews with some (awesome!) author teams and fun give-aways.

In October, I'm trying something new. This will be a contest for published or soon-to-be published authors (anything from picture book to YA--published or upcoming 2010 or 2011 titles). The prize will be a reading guide (10 discussion questions; 10 writing and related activities). I've written many of these for Simon & Schuster, Random House, Penguin, Tor Books, and other publishers for a fee, but this one will be on me.

So, back to work now. Hectic but fascinating times. Oh, and still waiting to hear from Missy--otherwise I'll draw an alternate prize winner for the Summer Spectacular swag.