• On November 3rd from 10-4pm at the Brighton MCC campus, I helped out at the Rochester Children's Book Festival. I met Marcia Thorton Jones (one of the Bailey Kid School authors), James Howe (author of Bunnicula), and Jeff Mack (illustrator of Starry Safari).

• On September 29th, I attended the SCBWI Fall Philly Conference in Exton, PA.

• In August, I received a contract from an educational company to write four short stories for kids. In September, they extended the contract for an additional four stories.

• On June 9th, I attended the Eastern NY SCBWI conference in Poughkeepsie, NY

• On January 27th, I attended the SCBWI New Year's Resolution Conference in Syracuse, NY.

• I started a Yahoo group called Great Books for Kids.

2006

• From November 10th-12th, I attended the the Rochester, NY 2006 Astonomicon. At the Con, I saw a few familiar faces and a bunch of new ones too. I'm very excited to have had the opportunity to meet Julie Bell & Boris Vallejo (fantasy and science fiction artists) in addition to a bunch of well known authors.

• On November 4th from 10-4pm at the Brighton MCC campus, I volunteered at the Rochester Children's Book Festival.  We had a great turnout. I'm just disappointed that I didn't get a chance to speak with the author of the Bunnicula series before he had to dash off.

• During the month of November, I participated in NaNoWriMo. I didn't quite make it this year either, but I managed to start something new.

• From October 9th through the 13th, I attended the Muse Online Writing Conference. It was a very interesting experience filled with gobs of information.

• From July 15th through July 22nd, I attended workshops and lectures at the Highlight's Foundation Chautauqua Writers Workshop, which was held in Chautauqua, NY. The experience was incredible. I would like to go back some day.

• On June 13th, I attended the SCBWI Meet the Editors Meeting in Doylestown, PA.

• March 31st-April 2nd, I attended the SCBWI Pocono Mountain Writing Retreat. This was a great conference. It was nice to have the opportunity to meet other people involved in children's writing and illustration in a relaxed setting.

• Wee Ones Magazine accepted my Spring Sun Catcher craft for their March/April 2006 issue.

• I won a full scholarship (covering tuition) to the Highlight's Foundation Chautauqua Writers Workshop.

• On January 14th, I attended the SCBWI Syracuse conference. Michelle Knudsen demystified the process for writing early reader, or emergent reader, books. And Star LaTronica told us all about how the Caldecott and Newbery Award process works.

2005

• From November 11 - 12th, I attended the Rochester, NY 2005Astronomicon. This was my second science fiction convention and an experience to remember. I had the opportunity to meet Bob Eggleton, a famous science fiction and fantasy artist, among many other writers and science fiction authors.

• The Rochester Children's Book Festival was  held on Saturday, November 5th. I helped out and had a lot of fun.

• On October 31st and November 2nd, I read one of my original fairy tales to children at two Rochester City Schools. It was a great experience which I hope to repeat next year during the Festival to Go Week (before the Rochester Children's Book Festival).

• On September 17th, I attended the SCBWI Fall Philly Conference. I met some amazing writers and enjoyed all the talks.

• On June 14th, I attended the SCBWI Meet the Editors Meeting in Doylestown, PA.

• On May 21st, I attended the SCBWI Eye of the Beholder Conference in Columbia, Maryland. It was a great conference, and I enjoyed all of the talks.

• StoryStation by Viatouch accepted "Message in a Bottle" for publication on their website in June 2005.

• My personal experience story, "Under the Sea," was accepted for publication in the July/August 2005 issue of Three Leaping Frogs. The magazine has since folded, so I guess I need to find another home for my story.

• On Saturday, November 13th (2004), I helped with the 8th Annual Rochester Children's Book Festival. We had dozens of authors visit, kid's activities, and writing workshops. The 9th Annual Rochester Children's Book Festival will be held on Saturday, November 5, 2005 at Monroe Community College.

2004

• November 2004, I participated in the NaNoWriMo challenge. It's national novel writing month, and I had until the end of the month to write 50,000 words. I didn't quite make it. In the end, I had 37,375 words in my novel. Maybe I'll try again when my children aren't little (I was also  in the middle of buying and selling a house).

• In October, I attended the Fall Philly SCBWI Conference in Exton, PA. Richard Peck gave a phenomenal speech, and I had the opportunity to speak to a few editors. All in all, the conference was a wonderful experience, and I plan to attend next year.

• On June 15th, I attended the "Meet The Editors" Panel in Doylestown, PA organized by the Eastern PA SCBWI.

• April 2nd, I read two of my stories to a 4th graders at an elementary school in Spencerport, N.Y. It was a wonderful visit and I was invited to return. The kids all sent me letters with illustrations from my stories.