Mice in Mendocino

Next week I head north to the Mendocino Coast Writers Conference, which takes place every year at the College of the Redwoods in Fort Bragg. It’s a boutique conference that has been going for over twenty years and limits itself to 100 participants, who sign up for three mornings of intensive workshop, then choose from a number of discussions in the afternoons.

I’ll be on a panel at one o’clock on Friday July 27^th talking about ‘Paths to Publishing.’ And unlike the rest of the conference, this will be free and open to the public. So y’all come.

Feedback on Mousenet

It’s always wonderful to hear from readers, and I’m delighted to have gathered up some more “likes” recently on Mousenet’s Facebook page. And it’s great when good reviews trickle in on Amazon. One otherwise very favorable review that arrived recently from Texas failed, however, to give the book a perfect score. As the reviewer wrote, “I took off one star because there were a few sections of the book that pushed climate change pretty hard, and I strongly dislike political messages being pushed so overtly in children's books.”

Climate change? Political?

In my view, and that of both the National Academyof Science and the BigCheese, leader of the Mouse Nation, climate change as a result of human activity is a matter of scientific fact. If the subject is ‘political,’ it’s only because certain politicians have chosen to make it so, for whatever reason.

Back to work

Mousemobile went off to the publisher in late April (due now to come out Fall 2013 at the earliest–sorry to those who were hoping for it in summer next year). And I took off for a few weeks away from all things mouse. Specifically, I was on vacation in Britain and then Turkey, which is a relatively mouse-free zone because of the hordes of feral cats that patrol the city streets.

For a few more photos, see “Travels with Feet” on my website at mousenet.org   

A Company of Authors

Here I am on my panel at “A Company of Authors,” which attracted an audience of about a hundred at Stanford to celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday last Saturday. Not only was mine the only children’s book, but I was one of the few non-academics. The professor who chaired my panel had actually not known that. He assumed at first that my title must be French, pronounced “Moose-un-AY” – a treatise, perhaps, on an obscure medieval French poet.  But the audience seemed more than happy with a bit of light relief, and bought several books. 

Mousenet at Stanford

I'll be one of eighteen Stanford authors at an annual literary event called  "A Company of Authors," on Saturday April 21st. Mousenet will be the only children's book. Probably the only mouse book. There'll be panels running from 1 pm to 5 pm - my turn is at 3.50. And the Stanford Bookstore will be selling everyone's books at a discount.


It all takes place at the Humanities Center– click here to see all the distinguished non-mouse authors who'll be in attendance. (Scroll down for logistics.)

The Thumbtop lives!

The key to mouse success is the Thumbtop, the tiny computer that they use behind the walls while they spy on senators, spook radio talk show hosts and otherwise do what it takes to stop climate change (see the end of Mousenet and the beginning of the sequel, Mousemobile, due out next year).


And guess what: the Thumbtop has actually been invented. By humans. Who think it's for humans. See here. And check the date of this column.

Where do you read Mousenet?

Here's one suggestion!

The boy beneath the suds is Callum, aged 11, and his bathtub is in Edinburgh. Mousenet isn't yet on the best-seller list in Scotland but (full disclosure) we're related: specifically, Callum is my second-youngest nephew's oldest child. That somehow sounds better than great-nephew, even though he's a great kid.