Well, hello there.

I took an accidental 8-month hiatus.

I really didn't mean to.

I honestly had no idea how much time school and freelancing would take, and then some stuff happened personally and basically I just needed a little break. But then tonight I was doing some character research, and I Googled Rachel Vail's character questions, trying to find the list of questions Rachel Vail asks her characters to answer for herself (based on an awesome workshop I attended during SCBWI-LA 2010) and I found a link to MY blog. Which was weird. So I clicked on it and got sucked into the void of reading it and realized something:

My blog was pretty great, and I loved writing it. Further more, I miss writing it.

So, I'm back. I have no idea if any of you have stuck around, but if you have, you'll get a gold star and an Internet hug from me. Actually, you'll get this, which I think is so funny it makes me gigglesnort Orange-flavored San Pellegrino out of my nose when I see it.

(I suppose that's not really considered a present in the Internet world. But I still think it's awesome.)

Here are some bullet points about what I've been up to in the last 8 months. Because I like bullet points:

• I started a new novel!
• I stopped working on a project and decided to shelve it for awhile. That was a tough decision, because I love the project, but I don't think the time is right just now.
• I survived my first semester at VCFA! I'm now a second semester student and loving it even more. 
• I read a crapload of books, many of which you'll be hearing about in my Book-Crush Wednesday feature!

• I went to SCBWI-LA 2011! It was amazing! 

I think that pretty much sums it up.

Ah...it's good to be back :)