There are many, many people, experiences and things I am thankful for, but I will limit myself to three for the purposes of this post: one personal, one writerly, and one silly (hopefully it will be obvious which is which).

I am thankful for the woods and the skies and the smell of earth, and for the many beautiful green spaces near my home, where I can go and remember that the world is beautiful no matter what big or small pains are in my heart.

I am thankful for the people I have met through love of writing and reading: the bloggers who have led me to so many wonderful new books, the fellow writers who understand the agonies and delights of striving to create stories, and especially those who have become real, dear friends.

I am thankful for Biscoff spread. (Seriously, if you have a sweet tooth you must try it. Brown sugary spicy cookies in spreadable form. I melt a spoonful in my oatmeal every morning. Yum!)

And one other thing I am thankful for: the wonderfully supportive and awesome worldwide community of writers and artists.

Beloved editor, artist and writer Terri Windling is in need and the artistic and writing community has gathered its considerable forces to help her with an auction. Check out the bewildering list of items for auction to raise money for Terri here. Items from Charles de Lint, Patricia McKillip, Brian and Wendy Froud, Neil Gaiman, George R R Martin, and more are up now or on the way. There’s even a lunch with Tamora Pierce (!!!). Please check it out and spread the word!

I’ve known Terri Windling’s name ever since picking up one of the anthologies she edited with Ellen Datlow, but it was only in the last year or so I started reading her blog. And I seriously feel like my soul expands a little bit every time I read one of her thought-provoking posts on art, myth, nature, music (I’ll admit it helps that she has a cute dog too).

I am wishing two fabulous authors a very happy release day! Elizabeth C. Bunce’s Liar’s Moon and Anna Staniszewski’s My Very UnFairy Tale Life are both officially out now! (And what a great release date too, right? 11-1-11!)

Liar’s Moon is the sequel to one of my favorite reads last year, the YA fantasy Star Crossed, and I am so very eager to see what new trouble Digger has gotten herself into. If you are in the mood for intrigue and adventure in a wonderfully detailed fantasy world, find yourself a copy too! I think it would be especially appealing to readers who enjoyed Tamora Pierce’s Beka Cooper books, or Sherwood Smith’s Crown Duel and Court Duel.

And if you need extra convincing, check out the book trailer!

My Very UnFairy Tale Life is a younger middle grade fantasy, perfect for readers who enjoy whimsy and wacky humor and girl heroes who get to rescue the prince. And evil clowns! I think this one would appeal to readers who enjoyed Patricia Wrede’s Dealing with Dragons and Gail Carson Levine’s Ella Enchanted, among others.

There’s a book trailer for this one too!

I’m very excited because I am actually going to be joining Anna, and A. J. Paquette, author of Nowhere Girl, for a book event on Sunday December 3rd at the Wellesley Booksmith. I don’t have the time yet, but I’ll certainly post it here once things are settled. But we’re going to have craft projects and other fun activities on hand for anyone who joins us! I’ve been plotting and scheming to come up with something appropriately science-fictional for mine, involving coin batteries and many-colored LED lights!

So what’s the theme I alluded to in the blog post title?

Well, all these folks are associated with the Erin Murphy Literary Agency. And so am I! I’m now represented by the wise and brilliant Erin Murphy, and I couldn’t be more thrilled! The past year and a half has had a lot of ups and downs, and I am so grateful to have found a wonderful home at EMLA.

Wow, it’s already less than a month until CIRCUS GALACTICUS goes out into the world. I just got a nice box full of author copies, so it’s finally starting to feel real.

To celebrate, I’ve put up some new content on my website: the full array of beautiful character art created by Loraine Sammy.

You can find the master list of characters HERE. There are other characters in the book, too, of course. Perhaps one day I’ll be able to share artwork of them, too!

Click on the icon to see the full art, plus a little bit more about the character. I tried not to include anything too spoilery, but if you want to be completely unspoiled for the book, you may want to just look at the pictures.

I’ll probably update the character blurbs over time, especially if people ask me specific questions about the characters after reading the book!

You can also click on the art to see larger versions if you want a closer look. I love all the little details, myself: like the pink stitching on Nola’s shoes, and the design on Trix’s boots!

CIRCUS GALACTICUS is due out on 11/15/11, only two months from now! Eek! And I just finished revising my new novel!

To celebrate, I am posting my brand new book trailer! (And using far too many exclamation marks!)

I was thrilled to be able to use some of the fabulous character art I commissioned from Loraine Sammy. I think she did such a great job capturing the personalities!

And I am also very grateful to Hubble and the ESO for making their images and videos available for use.

I hope you guys enjoy it!

Also, if you do watch the trailer, you may notice a quote from Kirkus.

A book that reaches for the stars and provides a thrilling ride.

Yep, the first industry review is in, and it’s a very nice one! I don’t even mind the fact that they think my dialogue is “occasionally melodramatic”, since they also say the “vibrant and tactile descriptions make for a cinematic read.” So, thank you, Kirkus!

Whew. My latest draft (a nearly complete re-write) of the current project is done and off to a few generous readers. Slightly shorter and sooner than expected, but I am happy about it. I’ve been actively writing this book since January, drafting, and then re-drafting as I try to get closer to the heart of the characters and their connection to each other. I feel like this time I’ve gotten close to what I am aiming for. I know it will never be the perfect book in my mind, but I keep trying!

So I’m on a hiatus from that project for the next few weeks while I wait for feedback. It’s an awkward, at-loose-ends feeling that I bet a number of you out there recognize. You pour so much of yourself into one thing, and then you have to walk away, knowing there’s still more to do. But you also need the time away, to see it clearly.

In the meantime my head is a jumbly, rattling sort of place, filling up with tidbits of blogs I’ve been catching up on, images that might be part of brand new projects, and Circus Galacticus stuff I need to work on now that the release date is less than three months away (eep!).

Here’s a miscellany of such tidbits:

My current desktop wallpaper, to inspire me for CIRCUS stuff, like writing the character bios to go with the character art I’m going to put up in a month or so!

I love this! Una the Blade, Barbarian warrior and mother of two. Found via The Mary Sue.

I’ve really been enjoying the series of posts on storytelling at The Cockeyed Caravan (also known as Matt Bird, husband of famed librarian and kidlit blogger Betsy Bird) and now there’s a fabulous checklist that puts it all in one place. Highly recommended!

The famine in East Africa continues to horrify me, and though they are highly distressing to view, this series of photos in the Atlantic is an unflinching and moving account of the suffering. Please consider donating to one of the causes offering relief to the area.

And one business-keeping note: my website is on a new host now, which should fix the slowness issues that were cropping up last month (so if you couldn’t get to the Circus Galacticus excerpt before, try again now!). During the move, I decided to get rid of my domain email address, since I never quite trusted it. I’ve updated everywhere I can find that listed it to just use my gmail address (listed on the Contacts page for my website). Please use that if you want to email me!