In January, my baby (18, not such a baby to anyone but me) had a tumor removed from her foot.  In February, her liver enlarged and she got jaundice (she turned yellow, which was our first clue).  In March, her last liver test went haywire and she got pancreatitis. 

A tough three months, but it's April now, and the news is very good.  Shes FINALLY feeling better!  Hooray!  The docs still don't know what caused any of this, and we'll be testing her blood for a while just to be careful.  But they've decided her body just found a way to work it all out.   Works for me.  The human body is the greatest mystery of all, don't you think? 

Many thanks to all of you who were patient with me when I had to shift from being a "weird" writer to a mopey mom.  But I think the worst is behind us.  Spring will give me the chance to be wonderfully weird -- as good as new like my brave baby.

I suddenly have the urge to write about the human body's miraculous cleansing systems, though.  I'll bet I can make that fun, if I study and research extra hard.  I'll let you know if I find a way to do that.  I'll even share it with you.  I promise.

Did you notice the terrific display of BABY CHICKEN artwork from the talented students at Lee Elementary in Wenatchee, WA above?  I LOVE them.  Thanks to Beth St. George, their librarian, for having me at her school and for sharing the wonderful pictures. ; ) 

DINOSAUR PARADE is all finished and off to the printer.  The folks at the bookfair in Bologna (Italy) got to see a HUGE picture of the book cover if they walked by my publisher's booth.  How neat is THAT?  I hope I get a picture to share with you soon.  They may let me write a sequel called ICE AGE PARADE soon.  Keep your fingers crossed.  

At Darby Creek, the next book will probably be called  AT THE FEET OF GIANTS, and will be released in the fall 2009.  It will explore all the animals that lived during the day of the dinosaur, but weren't dinosaurs themselves.  I even get to do a presentation about prehistoric bugs in Sandpoint, Idaho in July.  More about that soon.  But we should have lots of curious fun exploring those critters.  

WILD HORSES will be released from Darby Creek in the fall of 2008.  The working cover is below.  It changed a lot because my editor was sick and I got to work with a new editor who had a different vision.  But I think it'll be a great look at wild horses and how they migrated around the world from North America.  I love it, so I hope you will too.

We haven't given up on ALIEN ENCOUNTERS, a look at the facts and the fiction behind UFOs and aliens.  i'm LOVING the research.  So cool.  I hope I have good news about it soon.  It'll be the perfect follow up to TALES OF THE CRYPTIDS -- the mysterious animals that may or may not exist book.  So I'll keep at it until one of my publishers can't resist.  It's going to be NEAT. 

CRYPTID ALERTS!! QUATCHIE (above and to the left) is one of the official mascots of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic games.  For more fun with the little Sasquatch and his friends, check this website out.

Guess that's it for now.  Maine, I'll see you soon!  Delaware, I'm sorry my visits were canceled, but they say I'll be rescheduled for September or October.  Maine, see you on MONDAY.  Anaheim, I'll see you guys in June at ALA, the American Library Association conference.  Everyone else on my calendar, thanks for letting me share my curiosity with you.  Every day is a blessing.   Keep asking questions!

~~Kelly