The Odyssey, Homecomings, Vacations, and Rock Concerts

Our play for this spring is The Odyssey, and our kids are excited!  Peter and Naomi have non-speaking parts.  Peter's only request was that he be on stage as much as possible.  (surprise!)  Naomi's was that she be in a scene where she gets to eat.  (surprise again!)  Bethany is Helen of Troy (yes, she's lovely) and the Muse of Epics (whose name I do not remember).  She will, I believe, narrate much of the play along with the other Muses.  And Josh is Odysseus!  Lots of lines.  Lots of work.  He's happy.  In fact, they are all happy!

Rachel and Elizabeth get home in TWO DAYS!  Can you believe it? We are So excited to have them home!  =)   They will only be here a couple of days, and then we're off to Panama!  a break!  a vacation!  no school!  no appointments to remember!  no deadlines!  My brain seriously needs this.  If only I didn't have to plan it before we go... but that's ok.  It's for a good cause.    Do you ever have that feeling that you have shoved so many things into your brain that it's about to burst?  And when you look behind you-- there are your thoughts all spilled out on the floor?  It's not a good feeling.  I'm hoping-- really hoping!-- that a vacation will give my brain time to recover from the beating it's taken lately.  Mental exercise is one thing.  The breaking point is something else all together.

Josh has been working on his Eagle Scout project.  I used to wish-- many, many years ago-- that I could be a Boy Scout.  They earned badges and got awards and people clapped for them at award ceremonies while I sat on a folding chair in the audience.  They built model rockets and launched them in the field behind our church while I stood to the side and watched.  Need I say more?  But there is one thing I Do Not envy...  The paperwork!  Josh has filled out, written, lost and kept track of more paperwork for this project than most kids do in all of high school.   Granted-- he is doing an amazing project.   He's putting together a charity rock concert to raise money for a children's home in Uganda.  No small deal.  But if that was all he was doing, it would be no sweat.  Josh is an amazing kid.  It's the paperwork!  All I can say is, Wow.  

And-- you can do it, Josh!  (assuming you get yourself un-grounded, of course.)  =) 

Finally, speaking of paperwork-- about 300 pages of it, actually-- the publisher who has my YA novel, The Other Side of Jacob's Peak, emailed me to say she has finished reading it and would like an electronic copy to share with her coworkers!  =)  Incase you're not sure, this is good news.

I sent out a few copies of the first three chapters of this book last August.  They were accompanied by a synopsis of the entire book.  Before Christmas Lisa Graff from Farrar, Straus & Giroux emailed and asked for the whole manuscript.  She's now read it all, and is interested enough to want to share it with others in the company!  In order for a company to publish a book, the editors all have to agree that it's a good risk, the acquiring editor has to present it to a group including marketing and several others, and everyone has to agree.  Not a short process.  To put it mildly.  Even after they accept it, they almost always ask for edits, and then printing can take another 12 to 24 months.  (sometimes longer)   If it's a picture book,  you have to add time (lots of it) for the illustrator to create the artwork.  And no.  The author does not usually choose the illustrator.  That's the editor's job.  It's amazing anything ever gets into bookstores and libraries.  But I'm working on it!  If this publisher does not work out, I'll send it out again.  If this one does... well... I hardly dare to even think about that.  Like wishing to hard might break the spell.    

      

Now, since my girls are coming home soon, and my mom and sister come a couple of days later, and I haven't cleaned the house or done the laundry, and since I'm LATE to pick up my kids-- I'd better go!

=)