So, way back when - before surgery, before radiation, before I had any clue what this year was going to hold for me - I signed up to attend the LDS Storymakers Conference in Provo, Utah. At the time, I thought it would be good for me to sign up for Boot Camp, two sessions of intense manuscript critiquing. Since I've started writing countless novels, but have never even come close to finishing one, I thought this would be the perfect thing to pressure me into getting my ideas out of my head and onto the computer screen. I had until April to come up with something. Plenty of time, I thought. Well, guess what? It's now April. I leave for Provo on Thursday. So, yeah, I've been writing. I've managed to hammer out almost 20 pages. Don't laugh. Considering that I still can't make it through the day without an afternoon nap and a very early bedtime (like 8), I'm actually pretty proud of myself. My pages suck big time, but at least I have pages, right?

Even though writing has kept me from blogging, creating fiction is good for me as a reviewer. It reminds me that crafting a novel is A LOT harder than it looks. It's easy for me to glance at someone else's work and pick out its every weakness - the process becomes much, much more difficult when I'm evaluating my own "baby."

Anyone else going to be in Provo this weekend? I'd love to meet up with some of my "bloggy friends" at the conference. I'm still sad that I won't be in NYC for Book Expo America, but I'm glad I'll be able to do a little bit of book/author hobnobbing in Utah. It's almost the same thing.

All this rambling is my way of explaining why I've been away from the blog for a week. I'm still reading. In fact, I'm in the middle of The Ocean Between Us by Susan Wiggs. Look for a review of the book and a very exciting giveaway on April 23.

I also need to announce the winner of my Kaki Warner giveaway. Congratulations to Linda, who wins a copy of Pieces of Sky (which I reviewed here). If you'll email me your address, I'll send it on to Kaki's publicist, who will get your book in the mail right away.

Okay, it's 9:30 and I'm fading fast ... Have a great week everyone!