I plan to attend the workshop each month. Do you attend regularly? I am willing to learn, and would welcome any advice you can give me.

If you mean the Oquirrh chapter meeting of the League of Utah Writers, I attend as often as I can. It was the first writers organization of any kind I ever became involved with, and through the people I met there a lot of important things have happened in my career. Also, I’ve made a lot of friends in the group, as well as throughout the other chapters of the League. So I go as often as I can.

Back to Vivia:

What does LTUE stand for?

Life, the Universe, and Everything: The Marion K. “Doc” Smith Symposium on Science Fiction & Fantasy. No, I’m not making that up. 2010 is the 28th annual holding of the conference. Er, um, symposium. I believe one’s nose must be slightly elevated in a snooty way to pronounce that word properly, by the way. That’s why I call it a conference. I can do snooty, but not very well.

Vivia (a name I am going to “borrow” for a character at some point) concludes with:

Hope to someday read one of your books. I will get one as soon as possible.

As things hoped for go, this is about the grandest of them all. World peace is almost as good.

Now to practice my assembly presentation a few times before visiting Farnsworth Elementary later today. Not that I’m complaining, not at all, but I’m still a little perplexed at how intelligent, responsible adults can knowingly and willingly expose large numbers of children to me. I’m pretty sure my odd breed of madness is catching. Oh well. Who doesn’t appreciate 300 tetched elementary students?

My first thought was, “Um, okay, I guess.”  Wasn’t thrilled with the copy; wasn’t horrified either, so no account complaining.  My second thought was, Wait a second, that doesn’t sound right.  I checked again, and you may imagine my perplexity when I read this:

When ten-year-old Scamp Weaver…

You see, there is no ten-year-old Scamp Weaver, at least not in my book.  There are also no eight-, nine-, eleven-, or twelve-year-old Scamp Weavers.  There is one thirteen-year-old Scamp Weaver.  (See how long it takes you to confirm this fact in the first chapter.  Don’t blink.)  Now, it seems to me that a ten-year-old boy and thirteen-year-old boy are, at best, very distant relations, even when they are the same person.  When is the last time you saw an early teenager allow that they had anything at all in common with a ten year old?  So you can understand why this so confounded me.  I then paid attention to the rest of the online retailers I visited and, yes, they are selling the book about the ten-year-old Scamp Weaver. 

I believe they still mean my book.  I hope.

Oh, and just for the record, there is no mysterious ancient scroll either.  The adjectives are right, which is all that matters; those nouns just clutter things up.  They must not have wanted to give too much away and so threw in a red herring or two.  Very clever.   

*****

One announcement: My friend James Dashner (of 13th Reality and soon-to-be-released Maze Runner fame) is doing a book signing at the Jordan Landing location of Barnes and Noble tonight at 7:00 p.m.  J. Scott Savage, author of Farworld, will be there as well.  I’m going to stop by and say hi, maybe chat for a while.  If not enough people go I’ll probably count those in attendance slowly and loudly and clearly, and perhaps numerous times.  Please spare James that and go see him.  I have been promised there will be no dancing.