You Just Never Know.

I got an unexpected phone call the other day. It was the mother of a young man whom I had met at the Imagine Schools last January. This boy was one from the crowd of kids who clammered their way to my chair at the end of our question and answer session. He had written a letter to me and when he stepped up to talk he scribbled his address on the back, handed it over and said 'please write to me.'
I had been quite busy with a very demanding play that I was doing at the time and I didn't get back to him as quickly as I might have. After the show had closed I got back to my literary efforts and I found his letter. I jotted off a note making sure to answer the questions he had asked. I sent it off and thought nothing of it.
Well, two days later I get a phone call from this young woman who wanted to know who was writing letters to her son. I was taken aback but at the same time I completely understood where she was coming from. She said that when he had recieved the letter he was elated and was so excited. It concerned her that she knew very little about me and so she had to call.
We had a delightful conversation and she shared that her son was having some difficulties in school but that he really liked the idea of writing. She wanted to know if he could write to me again, 'of course' I said 'any time.'
I thought Wow! Here I started out writing because I had a funny story to tell but I end up being a mentor for a young writer in the making. Life certainly is funny isn't it.

The Missing Title

As this new year begins I have just completed the first draft of Skunk-Guy III. The title that I originally had set for the book has since gone to the wayside. As I was writting the book it became obvious that the my original title gave the ending away. We couldn't have that now could we. It would take the fun out of reading it. So now I am faced with a book draft with no title. It's not that we can't come up with a good title but I have a feeling it will take some doing. I mean I just didn't come up with Norman & The Stinking Space Goo over night ya know. It was an arduous process, many elements had to be considered, several titles were tested and in the end the stinkest title won out.
This third volume introduces some new characters and brings back some more familiar ones. Norman finds himself facing a tremendous challenge when a revenge plot threatens to blot out Skunk-Guy all together, nuff said.
I am also planning my second annual trip to the Imagine School on Broadway this month. I will get to judge a spelling bee and then have some fun with the kids as we talk about Skunk-Guy and writing and whatever else is on their mind. A very nice way to start the year off.