1. Guys. Guess who gets to be on a panel at Comic Con in NYC?

By far one of the coolest things to ever happen to me. I guess I should wait until after I go before I say that? Nope. Don’t need to wait. Mark Hamill is going to be there. Jason Mamoa. Kim Harrison. Brandon Sanderson. Tahereh Mafi, whose SHATTER ME just shattered me, really… gah!!! I’m. So. Pumped!!!

2. Have you seen the book trailer for THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER? Amazing! That’s how you do a book trailer. Congratulations to Michelle Hodkin, who is a great person & class act. I can’t wait to read MARA next week!

3. Quotable Friday. This week, my husband’s words from a few days ago. Spoken in one of many recent pep talks given to encourage me through the pressure of deadlines for one book, marketing demands for another. I thought this was quite smart (but don’t tell him I said that.)

You can’t teach experience.

Some things you have to just slog through and figure out on the fly. And there’s a certain release in that. I don’t know how to handle much of what doing. Learning as I go. Bungling about a little, but I’ll figure it out. And so will you. Here’s to learning as we go, everyone.

4. Finally, for no particular reason, I give you Ivan.

1. Story Masters – Three huge writing gurus. One weekend in Houston, Texas. Have you heard of this? Donald Maass, Christopher Vogler and James Scott Bell. It’s like Woodstock for writers, people. Be there. If you can’t be, then read their books, yes?

2. 826 Valencia – This is a non-profit founded in San Francisco by the brilliant Dave Eggers. Have a look at what they do. You’ll be inspired. It’ll make you feel good about the world again.

3. Moi – I wanted to tell you about all the awesome things I did this long weekend, but… I worked. A lot. Which was good. I got on a decent streak with the writing. Yesterday, I gave myself a break and played football in the street with my kids, my husband and their friends. You know what? Throwing a spiral feels so good. And it’s much easier than writing a good scene. (I’m sorry, but it’s true.)

In addition to writing Book Two, I’ve been asked to gather some of the world-building materials I used to create the UNS. I hope you find the behind the scenes stuff interesting. (Do you?)

Finally, Ivan is now, at eight months, up to eight pounds. Any guesses on how big he’ll get? I’m thinking thirty pounds…