A SEQUEL to His Dark Materials in the works, poetry and Escape Plans

I never do the Friday poetry thing, but this Jack Prelutsky nonsense has been winging around in my head:

I Made My Dog A Valentine

I made my dog a Valentine
She sniffed it very hard
Then chewed on it a little while
And left it in the yard.

I made one for my parakeets,
A pretty paper heart,
They pulled it with their beaks and claws
Until it ripped apart.

I made one for my turtle,
All he did was get it wet,
I wonder if a valentine
Is wasted on a pet.

They're wasted on me if they don't use lots of glitter glue, just so you know. I'm partial to silver and purple. In case anyone wanted to know. (Ahem.)

Colleen from Chasing Ray is letting us in on an important opportunity to share books with young people in need of dreams. Via Books2Prisoners, Colleen is spearheading an effort to collect review copies of books from bloggers and reviewers and use them to build libraries in several New Orleans area juvenile facilities. As you can guess, the book situation in Louisiana is still bleak, thanks to Katrina, and the juvenile detention situation is bleaker still. Much focus has been on the public libraries, but the juvenile facilities are really lacking, and with the increased lawlessness in that city, they're filling up fast -- so your middle grade and up, multicultural and sci-fi adventure books can help fill a real need - give a young person a chance to see a different world, and more. There's a wish list set up by Colleen; just fill in her email (colleen at chasingray dotcom, only sans spaces and with the @ symbol), and you can find what they're looking for. The address to send your own review copies of books yourself is:
Books 2 Prisoners
831 Elysian Fields #143
New Orleans, LA 70117

ATTN: Nik Bose

(As per Colleen, Nik has requested that you please send a brief email and give them a heads-up that books are on the way. As they receive their packages at a box, they don't want them to stack up and will make sure someone checks often when they know something is coming. The email address is twista@riseup.net.)

Via Bookslut, facts little known about various authors.

Since I just had a good rave about Phillip Pullman's Ruby showing on the BBC, it seems right that the Guardian published a brief Phillip Pullman's interview with him today:

What good advice was given to you when you were starting out?
"Don't. You'll never make it. You'll never earn a living. Get a decent job and forget all about it. It's a silly idea. There's no future in it."

What advice would you give to new writers?
"Don't. You'll never make it. You'll never earn a living. Get a decent job and forget all about it. It's a silly idea. There's no future in it."

Nobody actually says that so much anymore as much as they give you really odd looks when you tell them you're a writer... they either assume that you're very, very rich... or will need them to pay your bridge toll. Hm.

And finally, here's a little preview for EscapeTV, the latest cure for 'adultitis' by intrepid extended adolescents, Kim & Jason. Coming soon to a world near you. Enjoy!