I am SOOOO excited!!!!

I am SO excited about this animated video! The best animation artist in the world (by my estimation) did this video to promote my Erec Rex series. It's AMAZING!

The artist is Jonathan Fesmire. Check out his sites at http://myspace.com/jonathanfesmire and http://jfesmire.deviantart.com/ . I absolutely love what he did. The video got a little degraded on YouTube, but the detail is fantastic. Check out the chocolate shop Erec walks into! The little dragon creature on the side. The grizzly look of some of the bad guys. The background. (I could go on and on!!!)

And you probably won't have heard the music before, either. It's from a Fantastic new band called Soldiers for Solace. I love this song, called "The Fallen." You can see their info at http://myspace.com/soldiersforsolace


If you like this, pass the link http://youtube.com/watch?v=I8ph8s4psyU around to your friends. It helps promote my books, Jonathan's art, and Soldiers for Solace's music -- and is fun to watch!!!

Love ya,
Kaza

Look Alikes?

Hope you're all doing well! I had an Awesome signing today at Cincinnati's first annual Books by the Banks book fair! I was only there two hours, and my first book sold out, a lot of my second, too. It was a really fun crowd, and I met some fun authors... All in all a great time!

Okay, I finally gave in and checked it out. This is a fun site - check it out at http://www.myheritage.com/FP/Company/tryFaceRecognition.php. I haven't seen anyone get close to 86%, which is odd because I don't see my resemblance to Natalie Imbruglia ...
Fun anyway!!




And here is a cool add-on trick! I think this one is awesome!!




I'm trying to enjoy this R and R now - I'm off to California on Wednesday!!
Love and Kisses,
Kaza

Phew!!!

Man, it's good to be home. I had such a great time on the East coast ... up until the last few days. I was so excited before that, enjoyed every minute of it. I, literally, was the only person smiling on the subway from Brooklyn (where I stayed with my sister) into NYC. (I'm sure the regular passengers thought I was nuts. I was just so excited to get into the city again!)

But the second to last day of my tour I got the Big Sign that it was time to go back. I had a lot to do - certain stores I had to stop by and sign books for, a store event that night, an afternoon online appointment... But to start I had a killer amount of email to answer - the night before I was up 'til 2 AM, then did two more hours that morning before I got started. So I essentially (after all that) started my day in a panic. After that, my rental car broke down, computers malfunctioned so I missed my afternoon online thing - after half an hour of needless trying - parking was impossible all day, I hit traffic . . . And basically I lost every reserve of energy I had.

Perfect time to come home and collapse!!

But - I'm already getting excited for my California part of my book tour. I have some great events and school visits lined up, and some great people to hang out with over there.

Until then,
All my love --
Kaza ;D

Things are Getting Stranger...

I just got into DC last night. It was great hanging with my brother. He told me something freaky though, and I just have to share. It's becoming a strange world (guess it always has been, but wait 'til you hear this!)

Because of all the gamers online now, there is a new sweatshop type industry that has popped up in China now. People (mostly kids) are working around the clock doing video games - for money - to rack up points for people. In other words, gamers can buy points online to help them with their games. But the points have to come from somewhere. These people, called "gold farmers," are racking up points, getting paid for them, and their employers are selling the points online.

This amazes me. Any time I think my life is strange...

Here's a YouTube vid about it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho5Yxe6UVv4

and here is more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farmer_(gaming)

Hope you're all doing great!!
Love, ya - Kaza

Sister Time...

When I was in NYC a few days ago I got to stay with my sister, Jennifer. It was great to see her, her husband Sam, and their cute baby, Isaac! Sam was out of town two of they days I was there, so at night, when I was done signing books at stores, and Isaac was asleep, Jen and I got some rare sister time to talk, eat pizza and laugh. I think I kept her up far too late, considering she had to get up early for Isaac and for work!


And, of course, while in New York, I couldn't resist stopping by China Town and getting tons (yes, tons) of amazing Chinese pastries. Jen, Sam and I shared what I didn't scarf down immediately. (If you haven't had fresh rice cakes from a Chinese bakery you don't know what you're missing! They can be gooey - and I guess might be an acquired taste - but ... yummm!!!)

And I bought myself a little dragon to add to my small collection. I like to look at them when I write.

Since then, I did a great signing in Willow Grove (Philly) and got to eat a cheese steak (yes, this is becoming all about food...)

Then I did a signing at the Barnes and Noble Power Plant in Baltimore. The coolest interior of a Barnes and Noble I've seen yet! It actually used to be an old power plant. This link shows some of the brass and metal structures running through the middle of the store!
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.nd.edu/~sheridan/Baltimore%25202006/Baltimore%25202006-Images/38.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.nd.edu/~sheridan/Baltimore%25202006/Baltimore%25202006-Pages/Image38.html&h=449&w=674&sz=165&hl=en&start=4&sig2=nagxvLybcKVUje2Wv3xJsw&um=1&tbnid=z7N8vBM1dwfUPM:&tbnh=92&tbnw=138&ei=3r4cR6aAPY7mgALhxe2RCQ&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbarnes%2Band%2Bnoble%2Bpower%2Bplant%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN
This one shows the cool look from the outside. The whole area feels like a big party:
http://www.teemorris.com/blog/uploaded_images/powerplant-730871.jpg

Now on to DC and to see my brother!!

All love,
Kaza

And .... she's off!

I just got into Albany, NY today. The whirlwind starts! I'm excited, yet nervous and apprehensive, wondering what this book 2 tour will be like for Erec Rex: The Monsters of Otherness. So far in Cincinnati and Cleveland the book signings have been even more amazing this time. I've gotten to meet some really excited fans, and that is so fun for me!

Tomorrow I'll be interviewed on Disney's Backyard Radio show. I think it's live, at 10:30 AM eastern time tomorrow, but last year when I was on it, it was taped. I'll let you know - and here's a link: http://radio.disney.go.com/

Then I'll be doing a signing at 6:00 at the Borders Crossgate Lanes here.

I already went to my absolute favorite spot in Albany today. It's an organic food shop that I found here last year called "Honest Weight Co-Op." Sooooo amazing.

If you're around Albany, it's worth checking out. Not only do they have amazing local, organic produce, but they have about 100 cheeses from all over the world, tons of great chocolates ... I could go on and on!


Now I went and made myself hungry. Time to eat some cheese...!
All my love --
Kaza

A Whirlwind through Cleveland . . .

I had so much fun in Cleveland! First I talked at a school on the West side. The kids and I had a lot of fun! The next day I did a signing on the West Side at the Crocker Park Barnes and Noble, then off to the east side for a signing at Joseph Beth in Legacy Village. Here are a few pics...!
I read from Book 2, Erec Rex: The Monsters of Otherness, from a chapter called "The Memory Mogul." Sound familiar? (see the name of this blog....) It was a fun section to read, but since everyone was laughing it was hard to keep a straight face!

I love the enthusiasm of kids. But, just as great is the enthusiasm that comes out in adults when they let the child in themselves come out! (Kind of a habit of mine...)

This was a beautiful and huge store. Look what a good job they did decorating the table I signed at! They even put fake cobwebs up --- (let's hope they were fake!!)

Kids of all ages and sizes came around for the signings. I met a boy who was seven at another store who had read all the Harry Potter books. He was home schooled, and his mother told me he was doing ninth grade algebra, and was writing a novel!!

Speaking of home schooled kids, I saw this link that was a tribute to some amazing things home schooled kids have done. Check it out! http://www.amazing-kids.org/kids1-99.htmhttp://www.amazing-kids.org/kids1-99.htm

Until later ... with love,
Kaza