This won't be a long post, Readers. I just finished a delightful visit with the third and fourth graders of Sylvan Park Elementary (Nashville), thanks to librarian Joyce Claassen. I have just a few minutes before I need to be at Opryland Hotel for an interview at the National Radio Broadcasters convention. It's been a busy, busy year so far, and I'm excited for three days of adventure this weekend (to find out what, you'll have to keep reading).So what does a school visit look like?1. Walk in with two boxes of books (boxes I hope will be empty when I leave), sign in, and make my way to the library or classroom.2. Watch a hundred or so well-behaved, healthy, intelligent, ten- or eleven-year-old literary critics file into the room and sit down, criss-cross applesauce, on the carpet.3. I tell them that my main job is as a singer-songwriter, but that I like telling stories with books, too.4. I tell them what it's like to be a writer, and show them some of my drawings--including that of the toothy cow. (I expect to be blacklisted soon for showing such an awful beast to these poor, unsuspecting children.)5. I tell them about the need for conflict in a story. I tell them about the need for revision in any work of art.6. I read a chapter from On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness.7. I take questions. This is my favorite part. I was once asked if there would be an explosion at the end of book five. (The answer: nope.) I'm often asked if there will ever be a drawing of Gnag the Nameless. (Maybe. I shudder to think of it.) Today a little boy asked a three-part question (his parents must let him watch C-SPAN), the third part of which was, "If they make a movie of your books, can I be in the commercial?" (Answer: yes. But don't hold your breath.)Here are a few pictures from my visits this week in Waddy, Kentucky, and here in Nashville.
So what's the adventure this weekend?In the Peterson house we make a big deal out of turning ten. That means you get to choose an adventure, and if there's any way to pull it off, we will. Asher, who turned ten in December, is a Lego fanatic. His dream is to visit Legoland in San Diego, California. It just so happens that we have good friends who live there, and I've saved up enough frequent flyer miles to get us out west. So for exactly one day this week, I'll be strolling Lego-tastic landscapes with my favorite ten-year-old on the planet.Thanks for reading the Wingfeather Saga, folks. Book three is coming.