WORD UP! it's WordGirl!!!

So, my son's favorite superhero is now WordGirl.

I think he loves her because he's been raised on old school cartoons like Batfink, Scooby Doo, Underdog and the like. Not only does Wordgirl have some crazy villains--the most important part for him--but it has to be made by people who LOVE old cartoons.

I'm an English teacher, so I gotta love WordGirl.

And I'm me, so I gotta love things like today's episode, in which the villain Mr. Big sold WordGirl dolls that not only used bad grammar and pronunciation, but used mind control to get everyone to buy a bazillion accessories like limited edition gold-plated WordGirl back-scratchers. This is an idea channeled straight from the mind of my character Cassie!

I could go on and on, but as WordGirl said, when she got control of the mind-control recording device, "Go outside and play or read a book."

(first you can watch this teaser. WORD UP!!!!)

Facebook's Brian Mandabach Fan Club: Oh, Canada!

Everybody needs a fan club, and I discovered not long ago that I've got one!

Brian Mandabach Fan Club

I have one friend in Canada, but somehow a few people up there have gotten their hands on OR NOT, and a dude named Kougar started my fan club. I've got as many Canadian readers, maybe, as readers from the NoNuTackses Republic of Colorado Springs! Okay. That's not saying much. But, still.

I love you, Kougar. Thanks.

Wanted: Novels, Stories, and Poetry for Alternative High School

I'm hoping to get a whole bunch of books ordered for the library at my new school, and I'm looking for recommendations.

We have a very diverse group here, from voracious readers to reluctant ones, and they like everything from Orson Scott Card to Ellen Hopkins to Kerouac.


But we're alternative, so I'm thinking that the usual high school setting as it appears in the young adult novel won't appeal very much.

Or I'm thinking that they typical suburban issues won't appeal very much.

At the very least, I'm looking for stuff that's close to the edge, but maybe I'm wrong in my assumptions. Maybe our students will dig into any good read—regardless of my prejudices.

N E waze--- please comment!!

I really want your list of top titles for the 15-19-year-old set.

WHY IT'S SO FIRKIN HOT!!!

In my little town, it's only 93 now, but it's getting hotter, rising toward the projected high of 98, and I'll tell you why!

Stephanie Meyer's Breaking Dawn is coming out tonight, and we're
experiencing the HEAT produced by the THROBBING
of thousands
of teenaged and pre-teen
hearts!



I had to send my own daughter outside so the house doesn't burst into flames.


Can there now be any doubt that global warming is the result of human activity?

Anne Spollen's THE SHAPE OF WATER & her blog on THE ZONE OF NON PRESENCE

I keep hearing wonderful things about The Shape of Water, by fellow FLUXOR Anne Spollen.



And she has an interesting blog on what she calls THE ZONE OF NON PRESENCE. My novel in progress is set in this time Anne references, when one had to find a pay phone, when a friend across the country was far, far away. It's fun to write about because if gives the characters some space---free from parents, free from each other.

But I'm not sure how the the current realm of hyper-connectedness feels to others---especially teens in regards to missing people, abscence, and the possible lack of space . . .

Here's a bit of what Anne has to say:

I realized that most teens are never away. Not anymore. Remember when your family went to the cabin or the beach for a week and you had to wait for your friend to return? My kids will never have that memory: they text, call, and send immediate pictures - here we are RIGHT NOW at dinner and here we are RIGHT NOW in our motel room, and here we are RIGHT NOW, texting YOU...

random notes on CONTACT HIGH

I'm nearing the end of break time. I finished the latest draft of my work in progress 13 days ago, and am going back to work on the next round of revisions on Monday.

Until things are almost finished, I can't tell anyone anything about what I'm writing. But now, I'm excited and feel compelled to share a little:

>At this point, the novel is called CONTACT HIGH.
>It takes place in the late 1970's.
>There are no cell phones (or even cordless ones.)
>There is a lot of Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin and the Stones. **
>It's the story of one year, four friends, two couples, best friends, complications, breaking into an abandoned round barn, breaking up, breaking walls that maybe stood for a reason (of which the heart knows nothing), getting back together, driving to Wisconsin, a 1971 Duster, a motel, a bonfire, a beach fire, breaking up again, camping, Special Export, German Wine, rain, strip poker, stomach flu, stories, cigarettes & other combustibles, a redhead, the police, swimming, a basement, another basement, a pizza joint, a lake, a canoe, a field party, another lake, long hair, THE SOUND AND THE FURY, THE SUN ALSO RISES, blankets under the oak trees, blankets on the hay, sleeping bags, mosquitoes, OFF!







** I hate Journey and Foreigner and REO, and so do my heroes! {but not thier girlfriends, and like my heroes, I also adore some people who enjoy these horrid bands--my wife and Kylie C. among others.}

finally finished with the latest round of revisions, back to blog about Barnes and Noble reading, etc.

I STILL AM GETTING TO BED CLOSER TO 3 AM THAN MIDNIGHT, but I am relaxing a little, now.

Despite plumbing projects. More on that later.

My first catch-up blog is about my Barnes & Noble reading on June 7.

The event started with a writing club mini-reunion. Taylor, Jack, Brandon, & Li-Mae and I had lunch and I read bits from my work in progress, CONTACT HIGH, and they helped me choose one to read that day.

The reading was super fun. I brought my new portable turntable and started with Cassie's fav form Zeppelin I, "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You." Then I read from OR NOT as well as a tiny bit of CONTACT HIGH.

I had great questions, including one about who had inspired Cassie and have I actually ever had someone that amazing as a student. No one in particular and lots of people. Some of my former students in the room are easily as amazing, gifted, insightful as my beloved Cass.

As I signed books, I played my Nirvana, LIVE IN NEW YORK record, and knew I was doing the right thing when management asked me to turn it down.

Overall, I love, love, love the energy I get from these things and am so thankful to have people who will come out and support me. Always a little sad when it's over, because I'd like to spend more time with people than I get to. But, you know me--I love being the center of attention, and I love you people who come to see me. Lot of love in this paragraph! Sorry for gushing, but that's how I feel, and I'm grateful and want to express it.

Here's a few pics taken by Liberty Grad, writer, and all around awesome-woman, Marty:

Also in attendance were:
Lee, Andy, Niles, Brandy, Kyle, Anna, Caltera, Chy and her two cool friends in the picture where V. is hiding, Kelsey, Kaley, Brittany Lana, Emily, Mary, Becky, Leah, Michaela, two old CC people and their wonderful daughter, Druzzie Dru and friend and sister, Dennis, and that lady just outside the cafe who was working on legal pads and laptop who kept scowling at me for having a reading in what she seemed to think of as her own private Idaho--love you, too, lady!