Well, folks, it's finally happened.  The sixth book in the Melvin Beederman series has arrived (to my house, anyway.  It won't be in book stores until the end of the month.  For a sneak peek at the cover art, click "books" on this website and scroll down.  Does Rhode Montijo rock or what?

I'll keep you posted as to when and where the launch party will be.  Actually, the "where" is a given—Adventures for Kids book store.  The when I'm not sure about yet.  Most likely the end of May or the first part of June...before school lets out for the summer. 

I was in Texas most of last week for the Texas Library Association conference (and a school visit) so it's been a while since I've been able to blog about anything.  And this brings up a few issues: first, the experiment worked...I haven't blogged in a few weeks and life still went on.  Second, I have two weeks worth of experiences to expound on (wouldn't it be weird if we called ourselves expounders instead of bloggers?).  So here's the latest news.

1 - I visited a school in Flower Mound, Texas (yes, that's a town), where I signed 450 copies of Melvin Beederman books.  I know what you're thinking.  Holy book-signing cramp!

2 - That evening I went to dinner with a few other Holt authors (and one from Roaring Brook), some of the Holt staff, and about 25 invited guests.  I know what you're thinking.  Holy weight-gain-while-in-Texas!

3 - Over 200 people showed up to my talk the next day.  I know what you're thinking.  Holy thank-God-for-Toastmasters.

Indeed.  Greg 

Lots of things on my mind these days.  I just finished reading The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt, which I liked a lot and had planned to blog about it...but not yet.  I'm currently reading Elijah of Buxton by Christophere Paul Curtis, which is a fine book, but not a good as The Wednesday Wars.  I had planned on blogging about this one too...but not yet.  Both of these are the latest Newbery Honor books, by the way, which makes them pretty darn groovy.

But these posts will have to wait, because I came across a video by Red Skelton where he has a few things to say about The Pledge of Allegiance.  I've always been a patriot and a faith person and his words hit home for me.  See if they do for you as well.  Check out the Inspirational Video of the Week !  Greg

When I was in college I had an early morning running class.  I figured, hey, show up to class and I'll get an A (and let me tell you, my GPA needed it).  No such luck, the teacher was an ex-Marine and had us running intervals that very first day.  But after I while, my body adapted and I found that when I got to my next class, though my body was exhausted, my brain was wide awake.  Talk about noggin power!  Those endorphins were kicking in big time and my mental concentration was amazing.

And so, thinking back on this experience, I figured a good way to ease into my writing would be to do something physical.  Not running...God no!  I decided to do 50 pushups followed by a yodel.  The problem was, I didn't have much breath left after those 50 pushups.  Now I simply stand on a chair (or table, if the wife isn't looking) and do a Tarzan yell at the top of my lungs, then settle in to cranking out those paragraphs.  My writing tip for the day.  Tarzan yell, then write.  Greg

I was going to start off by saying that I'm as high-tech as a peach, but peaches sound a little too feminine.  So let's go with brick.  The reason I bring this up is that I'm putting together my powerpoint presentation for the Texas Reading Association conference, where I'll be heading in a few weeks, and I've encountered a glitch, a term here that means my scanner is giving me worries.*  And I'm a brick!  There's only one thing to do, I figure...blog about it.  I'm feeling better already.

In other news, remember that April is National Poetry Month.  Be sure to check out Gregory K's Blog , where he will be posting an original poem every day during April.

*Lemony Snicket's voice used with permission.