new titling

In answer to Lauren's question/comment from the last entry...yes, YA #5 is growing in the rewrites. Even as I cut (I always cut, like a maniac), the story continues to grow. It's about 65,000 words right now, though I'm hoping to cut some more. I liked the idea of it being a bit leaner, especially considering the diary format. We'll see. I only need as many words as it takes to tell the story.

Right now, the new working title is book of a thousand days, cleverly come up with by Dean. I'm liking it, but we still have time to think about it, so it may not be final. Dean's reading it right now (his second time through, though last time he read it, it was 20,000 words shorter). Yes, I perch near him and watch him read, sometimes biting a fingernail to keep myself from asking aloud, "So, what do you think?"

I'll be doing a two day conference at BYU later this week and hoping I feel better then than I do today. The half of a taco I had for dinner is asking me, "Why did you bother? I'm coming back up any minute." But in good news, I conned my friends at aforementioned Marcus's birthday party to be in a short video, reenacting the funny reactions I get about my profession from people who don't read young adult books. My friend Laura edited it together for me, and I think it's hysterical, so of course I'm anticipating crickets when I play it at the conference. I'll let you know how it goes.