I haven't had much time the past couple of weeks to read a lot of LJ or post.  I know, you have missed me.  I understand, I have missed you ,too.  But I'm back today and would like to catch you all up on what has been going on. 

Let's see....

Well, Halloween was a success.  The girls dressed up as Zombies, and were the cutest darn zombies I've ever seen.  I made their costumes this year, which I am very proud of, even though I just bought some cool clothes from Goodwill, cut them up and rubbed them down with cocoa powder to make them look dirty.  Still, I was very happy that my kids did not have store bought, packaged costumes.  And the hat that the little one wore was priceless.  We ratted their hair out all crazy, sprayed it with their color of choice (and of course sparkles, because little girl zombies have sparkly hair, you know) and did their zombie makeup.  You can see pictures on my Facebook page (you can friend me, look for Heather Sherwood Burton, if you want).

Last Friday I was lucky enough to get to spend a portion of the day at the ISLMA (Illinois State Library and Media Association) conference in Springfield.  I manned the SCBWI booth for a while.  The cool part was getting to meet and hang out with great authors such as Andrea Beaty (one of the 3 Silly Chicks), Ruth Spiro (Lester Fizz, Bubble Gum Artist), Esther Herschenhorn (S is for Story), Cynthia Liu (Paris Pan Takes the Dare), Alice McGinty (Darwin), Scotti Cohn (One Wolf Howls) and Kim Hutmacher (Paws, Claws, Hands, Feet). 

It was awesome.  I got to hear some inside stories about how their books were created, and see drawings of new books coming out.  Cynthia was so sweet.  She asked me about my work and gave me some really great advice.  She seemed genuinely interested, and I was just in awe.  Andrea was so cool, so full of energy.  I just loved her.  And Esther, of course, is just great. 

I went to my monthly SCBWI critique meeting last night with a rekindled inspiration to do something, anything.  So I pulled out an old PB manuscript that I just love, and have decided to start sending it out.  I asked my group to help me freshen up my cover letter, and today I will do a little research, and send it out into the big, scary world.  Here we go....