Lately, at the end of the day, I feel like I’ve run out of words.  I spend my days either writing or thinking about writing while I do other things, and then my brain is just plain done, and all I can manage is an hour or so of Top Gear before I fall asleep.  Everything else just kind of bounces around in my head.  It’s not an unpleasant thing at all, but it means I owe some friends a phone call or an e-mail, and it also means that there are some things I’ve been meaning to share that I haven’t gotten around to yet, so here goes.

It’s pretty sunny in Rochester today, but we’ve got lots of rain in the forecast, and since it’s Rochester, snow isn’t out of the question yet.  But in May, I’m headed to the Lake Austin Spa Resort to talk about STAY and writing at the For The Love of Books program, and it has me looking forward to spring in the best way.  I mentioned it on Facebook awhile ago, but I wanted to post about it here, too.  My event is on May 21st, and if you’re looking for a place to unwind, Lake Austin seems like the perfect place to do it!  I can’t wait!

I’m a member of The Fiction Writers Co-op.  Since many of us visit, call in, or Skype with book clubs, Claire Cook came up with the brilliant idea of making a list of Co-op authors who work with book clubs as a resource to clubs who would like to include authors in their discussions.  Therese Walsh, Rebecca Rasmussen, and Ann Mah helped put the list up online, and you can see it here.

FOUR of my friends have debut books coming out in a few weeks and I’m SOOOOOO excited about them.

1. Rochester author, news anchor, and editor of the New York Cork Report, Evan Dawson is celebrating the April 5th of his debut book, Summer in a Glass, the stories behind Finger Lakes wines, with a book tour of New York wineries and bookstores this spring and summer. 
2. Rebecca Rasmussen‘s debut The Bird Sisters hits shelves on April 12th, and has been getting rave reviews.
3. Rainbow Rowell‘s debut novel, Attachments will be out on April 14th.  I got to read an advance copy of Attachments and contributed a blurb for it.  It is absolutely on my list of all time favorite books.  And I can’t get enough of her blog either.  
4. The Violets of March, Sarah Jio‘s debut novel, is out on April 26th, and I’ve been dying to read it for almost a year now.