Good things come to an end..

Well, here we are again at the airport...it's been a wonderful 5 and a half weeks, but now it's time for home.

We've spent the last two days in LA, and good things have happened. Went out to Disney to have lunch with the screenwriter who's working on a pitch for the House at Evelyn's Pond - we're gradually getting there. And it was fun seeing the Disney studios.

And though nothing's official yet, the Nim at Sea movie idea is now also looking very good. I thought it would have been fun if I could have signed a contract while I was here - but I'm very happy to have just had the celebratory dinner with Paula Mazur! The friendships that have come out of this process are the best thing of all.

Also at dinner were Robert Mickelson, the producer of the Paradise Palace project, and the exec from Peace Arch; they showed me a trailer of work from the writers involved, which made me laugh out loud - and feel very excited about the project.

So, a very exciting end to a great holiday. And now, I'm ready to go home, settle down to work... and settle my little dog in again.

Nim's Island at the New York Public Library

Loving being back in New York City; my first visit here was when I was planning Nim at Sea and wanted to walk everywhere that Nim would go (though I took the Staten Island ferry instead of swimming in). It's been fun revisiting some of the favourite places we've been before, but mostly - apart from the best of all, the family time, and catching up with editors who've become friends - we've explored new places and museums: Natural History, the Frick, the Cloisers, and the Met: each wonderful in their own way, each providing the thrill of learning, closely followed the humility of realising how little I know of their topics.

Tomorrow is a visit to another favourite site: the New York Public Library; the home of the beautiful stone lions on the steps outside (and the original Winnie the Pooh inside). I'm incredibly excited about being invited to speak there.

So if you're in NYC tomorrow - Saturday 20th June - come to the NYPL Children's Center on 42nd St, at 3:00, and hear about the Nim's Island journey from idea to book to movie - and say hello!

Meeting Nim's Girl scout fans

Last week we took the train up from NYC to Albany - following the banks of the Hudson, so a lovely ride even though it was misty and raining for the first hour.

We were picked up in Albany and taken to the home of the Girl Scout coordinator who organised the Nim's Island patch program - and what a wonderful time we had! It was great to meet the people behind this program, and to see some of the work behind it: I met the woman who had engineered the spyglass design that the girls followed to create their own spyglasses - and I saw all the Nim related toys that sat on the desk to keep inspiration up.

Best of all, despite the tricky timing of end of school concerts etc, I was able to meet some of Nim's girl scout fans, which was very special. I now even have Nim's official membership card, safely tucked into my wallet. (Won't that confuse a pickpocket!) And a special thank you to the troupe who, remembering that I'd said in an interview that the autumn colours were something I missed most about Canada, gave me a dish towel patterned with beautiful autumn leaves.

Actually I can't choose 'best of all' - because there was also the huge feast, with Acadian baked beans, incredible barbecue, and strawberry shortcake... and the warmth, laughter and family fun of our hosts.

And, in a strange twist of fate, our host's home, built in 1820, was very similar to the home we lived in when I finished high school in Nova Scotia, and that I based the house on in The House at Evelyn's Pond. We even slept in a bedroom that was in exactly the same place as my bedroom in that house.

Sometimes I feel extraordinarily lucky at the places my books have taken me, and the people they've brought into my life.

Beach Lane Books in San Diego

We took the train from Los Angeles to San Diego - a scenic ride, much of it along the beach - and met Allyn Johnston, the publisher of the new Beach Lane imprint for Simon & Schuster. It's always interesting to meet someone you've corresponded with for several years; we had a wonderful afternoon going over the manuscript for The Princess and the Panther, playing with a couple of problem lines, phoning Lauren Stringer the illustrator and discussing some of the philosophy of picture books in general. eg:

How scary should picture books for small children be? My own feeling is that children are innately programmed to feel fear - being afraid is a very useful survival tool - and if we deny them any fear in the stories we read and tell them, we deny them the tools they need to deal with fear. That's why traditional tales are so often terrifying! And what about Maurice Sendak's work: would Where the Wild Things Are be published today?

It's a fine line. I think children need to feel tested, to experience fear and then be brought back to safety, which gives them the tools they need to learn to do the same thing in their own lives. But, as writers, illustrators, publishers, we don't want them to be so afraid that the adult reader says, "I'm not reading you that before bedtime!"

And now, I have to get the words right in those few tricky lines: the balance of rhythm, sounds and meaning.

Nim at Sea

Had a few days in sunny Santa Monica two weeks ago, staying right on the beach in the Hotel California. What a treat!

Of course the best part of a holiday is the people, so it was great to spend some time with my friend Linda, who is also my webmaster (and who even, in between walks and chats, showed me how she could reorganize things on the site - she claimed it was easy, though it didn't look it to me)

And, very excitingly, there were also lunches and meetings... I'm not sure exactly what I can say yet, but, to everyone who's asked about a movie from Nim at Sea to follow Nim's Island: cross your fingers, and with a bit of luck there'll be some news soon.