Peg Kehret Blog

I try to answer all mail from readers within a week of when I receive it.  (I answer e-mail within two days.) My efforts to be prompt are sometimes hindered because instead of sending a letter to me, someone mails it to one of my publishers. Those letters are often not forwarded to me for many months.

Yesterday I received a letter that had been forwarded by one of my publishers. It was from two students at an intermediate school in Iowa, and the letter was dated Feb. 5, 2007! That is more than twenty-one months ago! I can’t imagine where it has been all of this time.  Unfortunately, the kids were doing an author report and had sent me their questions.

 I am sorry that these students never got an answer from me. There’s no use replying now. It’s far too late to help them with their report and they are probably not even students there any longer. I’ve learned not to answer mail that’s more than about three months old because too much of it is returned.

My mailing address is on my Web site, as is my e-mail address. If you want to contact me, please use one of those, rather than sending mail in care of the publisher. 

I’ve had a rash of e-mails recently from people who want to mail me a book so I can sign it and mail it back. I like to sign my books, but it always bothers me when readers have to spend so much on postage. For the next few weeks, I have a solution!

From now through Dec. 24, Lindon Books in Enumclaw, Washington, is offering signed copies of Stolen Children with a shipping charge of only one dollar per book! If you want to take advantage of this special offer, e-mail lindon@skynetbb.com or call 360-825-1388 and mention Peg’s Blog.

Lindon Books is the closest independent book store to my home, so they always have autographed copies of my books in stock.

It is always fun when one of my books is reviewed in a newspaper from another part of the country. Today’s Winston-Salem Journal has a review of Stolen Children, calling it a “mesmerizing page-turner.”  If you want to read the whole review, you can find it at http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2008/nov/16/suspense-shadows-for-cooler-days

Another interesting review situation for this book: a prolific reviewer posted her review of Stolen Children on both Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com. She gave it five stars on B&N, but only four stars on Amazon.

Yesterday I spent a fun afternoon at the Children’s Bookshop in Puyallup. I had worried that the current economic woes would prevent anyone from buying books, but that was not the case. There was a large, enthusiastic crowd of young readers, and parents with cameras. Even a few passersby came in to see what was going on and stayed to buy books.  It was the kind of day all beginning writers dream about. I remember my early struggles, and enjoy every minute now.

I spent most of today reading the copy-edited manuscript of my next book.  While I was writing it and for months after I sent it in, I referred to it as HOW I WONDER.  Then one day my editor emailed me to say that the publisher didn’t think this title was as strong as my other titles. She wondered if I would consider changing it.

Anyone who has read the story would probably agree that HOW I WONDER is a perfect title but I had to admit it was not a title that would be likely to make kids grab the book and want to read it.  The book is now called RUNAWAY TWIN, and I think it’s a better title than my original.

Between when I submitted my original manuscript and when it came back to me, it had been scrutinized by a copy editor, who made pencil corrections directly on the pages and added several Post-it notes with questions,  comments and concerns.

I am always amazed by what the copy editor finds. For example, I started reading this morning and found that the word windbreaker had been capitalized. It was now Windbreaker. This sent me to my Dictionary where I learned that Windbreaker is a trademark and therefore must be capitalized. Like Kleenex, it has been used so much that we have come to accept it as a generic term, but that is not correct.

There were more capitalization problems. I had capitalized the French in French fries; the copy editor put it in lower case. This sent me back to the Dictionary where I learned that we eat French toast, French dressing, French chops and French pastries. But when we serve potatoes they are french fries. No capital F.

I had also mentioned Vitamin A which, it turns out, is not correct. It should be vitamin A.

I was even wrong when it came to dog breeds. There is a marvelous dog in this book who is part basset hound and part black lab. Or so I thought. It turns out that Snickers is really part basset hound and part black Lab. Capital L.  

 Who would have thought I could learn so much in one day by reading a book that I wrote myself?