Choldenkoed

Eh hem.

Hello?

Is anyone there?

(Cue microphone feedback.)

I would just like to say that if anyone is actually reading, I have missed you. And...I am back!

Well kind of.

Let's see. Where to begin after such a long blogcation.

My name is Elizabeth. I write for children.

Oh, forget it.

I had a wonderful holiday season. It was filled with joyous people, fattening food, well-deserved wine, a trip to Disneyland, two kids' birthdays, the start of three, real-out-of-the-house, no-baby-drool jobs, the first days of my last semester of grad school, and the scandal of all scandals, Bunnygate 2013, involving the adoption and loss of this dude:

If you've seen him hopping around your neighborhood, please send me a message. I prefer sky-writing.

BUT, before all this craziness began, I attended my regional holiday mixer for SCBWI.

There was a book tree.

There were brownies.

(To the left. Mmm...)

And there was Gennifer Choldenko. Eep!

WE BREATHED THE SAME AIR.

As the speaker at our cozy event, Gennifer described her life experiences that led her to becoming an author. Oober interesting. All of it.

But the most memorable piece I took away from her talk was a quick, don't cough or you'll miss it, aside comment she made. She said that before she was published, she knew she had talent. She felt it.  She possessed something special.

It just made me wonder if that is what we all feel. Is each talented person born with this feeling in their gut?

I had the chance to monopolize her post-talk book signing  chat briefly with her. I giggled. I praised.  And then I looked her straight in the eyes and told her that her confession gave me chills.

(That's me. And Gennifer Choldenko. I'm the Andre the Giant look-alike on the right.)

Eh? Anyway. Back to the story.

Know what she said?

She said she had never told anyone that before.

Now, I just have to believe that this comment was meant for me to share with the world. That if you feel that warm, jittery, sometimes-you-just-might-be-sick-because-you-love-something-so-much feeling in your gut, you must follow it.

Because Gennifer Choldenko did. And look what it got her.