Continued from here ...

Because I live on the other side of the world, I've missed far too much in the lives my of brother's children ... all my brothers' children, actually, since I have three of them -- brothers, that is ... but suddenly I find myself in a position to play catch-up, at least with one niece. We're now pen pals!

Rebecca was eight in October, but reads, writes and thinks like kids much, much older. (Actually, now that I see that in writing I realize that she reads, writes and thinks just like an amazingly bright, engaged and interesting eight-year-old. To attribute her talents to acting 'older' is simply insulting the age she is. Sorry about that, eight-year-olds. I'll try harder not to be so agest in the future. I love it when I learn new stuff!) She taught herself to type in two days with some computer game, so we're now emailing back and forth almost daily.

So far, our topics have been limited to books we mutually enjoy. I've sent her the Philip Pullman and Garth Nix trilogies, and she's devoured them ... she used the word 'gripping' for the first time, according to a report from my brother. We're both Harry Potter fans, and that's giving us a lot to discuss. We've independently pre-ordered our copies of the final volume, so are spending some time wondering if any of our theories on who, what, where, when, why and how prove to hit anywhere close to JK Rowling's mark.

Apparently, however, my deductive skills leave something to be desired, as one postulation I put forth on a plot twist ... the really sad one in the last book (I won't give anything away. There may still be one or two people out there who aren't up to speed.) ... doesn't wash with her, and she provided quotes to prove her point.

She's agreed to be an editor on my next book, a work of fiction inspired by her voracious reading appetite, and I'm very grateful. If my story meets with her approval, and if I can write well enough to put it down ... and be VERY careful that the plot development makes sense and follows reason, because she'll for sure notice if I don't get it right ... I may have a shot wth the market that is amazing children.


(The graphic is computer art done by Rebecca, then emailed. I have no idea how to do this. She obviously has it down.)