what’s in a wish?

Really thoughtful reviews always make my day!  I love it when readers want *more* from the novel, and I wish the AmazonEncore edition made it clear that there’s a sequel in the works.  Calico Reaction has posted this evaluation (and a longer review here):

Must Have: Despite my brain hopping around demanding certain answers, I understand that my desire for knowledge shouldn’t handicap this book in any way, because really, it all depends on the reader, and I can’t make a blanket formula that’ll fit every reader as to whether or not you’ll want the same answers I did. We’re all different, after all. But I loved Genna as a narrator. Her POV kept me riveted, especially in present day Brooklyn, and I want so much for there to be a sequel it’s not even funny. There’s so much this book has to offer, so much this book has to show you, that it’d be a shame to let this one slip by. It’s a fantastic book too for a debut novel (I think it’s a debut, anyway, and if not, it’s still fantastic), and readers will also enjoy the nods/similarities to Octavia E. Butler’s Kindred (similar premise but VERY different story) and shades of Justine Larbalestier’s Liar, as we have similar narrators (except that Genna is not a liar) in both voice, POV, and stature. This is just a delightful read, and I’m so glad I finally got my hands on this. And Amazon has it RIDICULOUSLY cheap right now, so when I say it won’t hurt your wallet, believe me. There’s a reason I made this book my bonus read for the September Book Clubbers, and you should want to read this to find out why. Really, you should. I can’t wait for more from this author.

I *just* sent an email to all the teachers I know because it’s true—right now Wish is selling for $4 on Amazon…which hurt my heart a little at first, but then I realized what an opportunity that could be for cash-strapped schools looking to buy a class set.  As I work on the sequel, I think about all the loose ends from the first novel and *know* they won’t all be tied up.  It matters that I started Wish in 2001, and now I’m writing the sequel in 2010…I’ve evolved as a person, and my priorities as a writer have changed.  When I wrote Wish, I knew I wouldn’t reveal just what Genna wished for that fateful night; they call that narrative possibility, I think, and I definitely didn’t want to spell it out—let the reader imagine all the possibilities!  But now, with the sequel, I’ve chosen to focus on ritual and an actual formula for opening a portal into the past; Genna’s starting to realize that she can shift time with the force of her own yearning…the scene I wrote on Monday fleshes that out.  Where you wind up depends on the deepest desire in your heart, which is why sometimes Judah follows Genna—and sometimes he does not…

Woke at 5am with a headache but decided I was NOT going to get a migraine today and so I am willing the pain to go away.  I think I need to take charge of these headaches; I keep a symptom journal, I try to keep a regular sleep routine—and I do know that falling asleep on the couch is likely to produce a bad night’s rest that concludes with a headache.  I also know that taking OTC meds sometimes just postpones a migraine, so when I feel one coming on, I need to suck it up and take my prescription meds.  But today, I simply took one Excedrin and decided to move on—downloaded a photo on my phone that made me smile from ear to ear; a few years back I bought a plastic push car for my neighbors’ little girl.  She had just started to walk, I think, or was learning how and I thought a little car was in order.  Later I learned how green my friends are, and I felt bad about foisting a hunk of plastic on their carbon-conscious family.  But today I opened a message that said, “Remember this car?” and it was baby #2 pushing himself along wearing nothing but a diaper!  I miss my nieces and nephews, which is how I imagine all my friends’ kids.  Yesterday Kate sent me photos of her eldest girl’s first day of school—and I was at work, so of course I turned my laptop around and started showing off…they grow up so quickly.  And I’m not there for these kids, but I do think about them a lot.  I just gave away half the kids’ books I had on my shelf; the Prisonreader program is looking for donations, and I realized I was keeping books in my home on the outside chance that young visitors might stop by.  But that’s like my mother hoarding boxes and boxes of picture books in her basement on the outside chance that my sister and I will provide her with grandkids someday.  And THAT is not likely to happen…