Just got back from Guatemala where I taught at Joyce Maynard's workshop on Lake Atitlan. Joyce and I were joined by Hope Edelman (author of MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS and THE POSSIBILITY OF EVERYTHING) and Francesco Sedita (my own fabulous editor at Scholastic and now Penguin for YA and the author of the MISS POPULARITY series) as well as 28 fabulous students.

It is always an incredible experience to be there in that beautiful place, working with such interesting people. This year Joyce held the workshop at her house. Every morning Stephanie made us unbelievably delicious breakfasts and every afternoon and evening Danny and Lisa cooked incredible lunches and dinners. Stephanie gave us her recipe for bread, and I made it immediately when I came home. Turned out great!

If you ever get the chance to do this workshop I highly recommend it. The country of Guatemala in itself is unforgettable. And the workshop guarantees lots of one on one attention.

This year I borrowed something I did with Anita Shreve at Writers in Paradise this January. We held an American Idol of sorts, judging the students first pages. It was fun but tough, and the students requested a second chance at the end of the week. So we did it again with much better results after a week of workshops!

My other exciting news is the upcoming publication of my new novel THE RED THREAD, available May 2. I will be busy on my book tour just about every day in May and the first few days of June. (After which I plan on collapsing in Italy for a couple of weeks!)

Please check here under EVENTS for readings and signings, as well as on my Facebook page. I hope to see you at one of them!

PS Ever since security confiscated my knitting needles in Hong Kong, I have been a sluggish knitter. True, I was able to slide the actual knitting from my favorite chartreuse needles but I was so incensed. I'd knit my way across China, into Tibet, and back and was on my flight home when they took them. I'm certain straight needles are allowed on planes again. If you've heard otherwise, let me know? Anyway, I thought I would finish a pair of blue fingerless gloves in Guatemala, and I only got one done. I'm having trouble getting the oomph to knit the second one. These are thank you gifts for the generous writers who offered blurbs for THE RED THREAD. But I know from experience that I need to just start a new project to get knitting again.