Funk? Doldrum? Under the weather?

I've been in a weird mood/humour/whatever the past few days.

I can't tell if I'm fighting off a cold, if maybe it's chemical sensitivity to the mothballs I bought and strewed about the closet after finding that all of my red clothing has been gently nibbled (but, naturally, only on the fronts, just below the collar, where it's easily visible), or if it's just some changing of the seasons thing since we're now officially in Fall.

Yesterday, I couldn't focus enough to read anything. I had read Dana Stabenow's latest Kate Shugak, A TAINT IN THE BLOOD, on Tuesday, not quite straight through, but in two large chunks interrupted by lunch at Sara's mother's. It was perfectly fine, although it took place too much in Anchroage to be as satisfying as many of Stabenow's earlier books in this series have been.

After, I read a mediocre mystery with an angel as the sort of sleuth. I kid you not. It had a similar feel to Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stokehouse southern vampire novels, but not as well done, alas. The paperback uses the same cover artist, Lisa Desimini (who also does children's books).

After that, I couldn't settle on whatt or ead next. I kept picking things up, and putting them down. I started a ediocre Australian YA fantasy titled OLD MAGIC by Marianne Curley. Now I don't know if I should just give up on it (it's really not worth finishing) or slog through to the end because I've made it this far (am probably more than halfway because I kept TRYING yetserday, until I figured out what was wrong.

For comfort reading, I really could've used some character I already know and like, but had nothing like that around.

I also tried starting THE NO.1 LADIES DETECTIVE AGENCY, which so many people have enjoyed, but it didn't work for me yesetrday. (Today I've been making better headway.) It's not really a novel, but instead a series of interconnected stories.

Finally, last night, I hit upon Terry Kay's memoir of her mother, THE PRIZE-WINNER OF DEFINACE, OHIO: HOW MY MOTHER RAISED 10 KIDS ON 25 WORDS OR LESS, which was just right. It's a charming, uplifting story of the era of jingles contests and the like,a nd how one woman kept up hope and spirits despite alpoverty, alcoholic husband, etc.

The book is chock-full of jingle entries and other light verse bits that her mother sold to various papers, and is really a lovely read.

Today, I'm back to finishing the No.1 LADIES DETECTIVE AGENCY, which is picking up as things go on, or at least, I've resigned myself to its format more.

Or maybe I'm just in such a better mood after reading THE PRIZE-WINNER OF etc.

Another new book

Got an email today from my editor in Colombia saying that my bilingual picture book PIZZA PARTY is out and asking where copies should be sent.

This is a nice courtesty on their part, something missing from some of our Spanish publishers, alas. (Neither Sara nor I have copies of NO HAY NADA COMO EL ORIGINAL still.)

PIZZA PARTY has a different illustrator; a Mexican artist, I believe, who the publisher met at the Guadalajara bookfair, but I don't know who it is nor have I seen any of the art yet.

This is, I believe, the first time I'm being published in Latin America, although many of the books published in Spain are distributed in different countries there.

In theory, PIZZA PARTY was also published in Korea (English language rights only), although the publisher only sent me copies of two other books of mine they did (THE PENNY DRAGON and DANCING COWBOY) but not (yet) this one... And my editor is no longer witht he company, so I have no clue as to who I should contact in order to ask for a copy. (Luckily, payment was on acceptance, not publication!)

(In the why-one-should-never-throw-anything-out department: THE PENNY DRAGON was a homework assignment I wrote for a class my sophomore or junior year of college; I was quite happy to get paid $500 for it a decade later!)