Awesome August

There's so much cool stuff happening in August I just had to share!

1. Most of you know I have an author crush on Laurie Halse Anderson. Nothing creepy, I promise. She's an incredibly gifted children's author whom I greatly admire and had the pleasure to meet last year. For the past 4 years Laurie has encouraged writers to devote 15 minutes a day during the month of August. There are no rules, though she does provide daily prompts if needed. Check out the Write Fifteen Minutes A Day Challenge on her blog.

2. Did you know that kidlit literary agent extraordinaire, Mary Kole, from the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, has invited writers to post their first lines from a current ms on her blog to be critiqued by other bloggers (and a few lucky ones from Mary herself)? I held my breath, typed the first line from my ms Nitpicky, and then quickly clicked "post" before chickening out. Why not post yours?

3. Natalie Whipple celebrates her 1000th post with a video post.

4. Write On Con, the online conference for kidlit writers is right around the corner! Woot!

5. Karen G. is planning her second virtual Labor Day BBQ! I don't participate in many blogfests, but this one is right up my alley. Just blog hop, say hi, and bring a virtual dish to the BBQ. What could be easier? It's a great way to connect with other writers. For more details visit Karen's blog, Coming Down the Mountain: A Writer's Blog.

6. My blog is celebrating its 1st birthday this month! Details to follow since I, er, have nothing planned yet.

Did I miss anything? What are you looking forward to this month?