It's 2011!

Okay, it's starting to get real, this Second Book stuff. Trying to be a good author, I just set up a Facebook page for SMALL PERSONS even though I have no clear idea what to do with it. Apparently I'm supposed to connect everything in some giant web, so that anything I say on this blog or Twitter immediately goes to Facebook.

This just seems so foolhardy to me. But I'll try to do it, even though at the moment Twitter is convinced that I'm somehow blocking its cookies when I have done everything in my power to do otherwise. (I'm sorely tempted to reach for a "blow your cookies" joke but will refrain. THAT's how good an author I am.)

Anyway, here's today's news:

Sort of oldish news, but today it's official: SMALL PERSONS got its third starred review, this time from the august librarians at School Library Journal. Eva Mitnick of the Los Angeles Public Library, may their fines ever increase, says, in part:

Every character, human or Parvi, is drawn with singular care and humor, from the disgracefully clumsy Inepta to Mellie’s patient, maybe-new-friend Timmo. Spells turn people into drooling frogs and irascible bonging clocks, the truth-seeing magic of the moonstone turns out to be something of a liability, and Mellie “grows into her grandeur” just in time to save the Parvi as well as her entire family. Readers will share the girl’s irritated fondness for the ridiculous and lovable Parvi. A great choice for all who favor funny and intelligent fantasies with quirky characters and an unpredictable, fast-moving plot.

The American Library Association's Booklist liked the book, too: Together with her parents and Timmo, the nosy neighbor kid, Mellie’s odd predicament is to return to the world of the fanciful by facing what is real. This clever tale also wraps a story of acceptance, both of self and family, in the fairy dressing. I can't link to the actual review, but I'm grateful to Heather Booth for her kind words.

And in other news: