It's Official

Yep, it's official, I can finally announce my exciting news. I signed my very first book deal (well two-book deal to be more precise). I'm thrilled to get to work with Heather Howland from Entangled on my series, PET. 

Here's the Publisher's Marketplace listing:

Kate Birch's debut PET, set in a world where the government has passed legislation allowing people to be genetically engineered and raised as pets so the rich and powerful can own beautiful girls like sixteen-year-old Gigi as their new companions, to Heather Howland at Entangled digiTeen in a two-book deal, by Kerry Sparks at Levine Greenberg Literary Agency (World).

Of course, to celebrate, the first thing I did was treat myself to a new book from The King's English. 

Win a Banner

In celebration of Kristin Lippert-Martin's gorgeous new website (which you can visit here) I decided it was time for another contest. I had so much fun designing her banner-- which she happened to win during my last banner design contest-- that I decided it was time to duplicate all that cheer.

You too can win a new banner for your blog, website, facebook page... whatever you want. Heck, maybe you just want a banner to wear around your neck when you go grocery shopping. I won't judge. It's up to you. The sky's the limit.

How to enter: 
1. Make sure to follow my blog (unless of course you already do).
2. Leave me a message telling me what fun banner you want me to design for you.
3. Spread the word... Tell your friends on twitter or Facebook, post it on your blog or knock on your neighbor's door, whatever works for you :)

That's it! 

The contest will run until midnight on my birthday, June 6th. I'll announce the winner on June 7th.

One Lucky Mama

This is the amazing list that my daughter made me for Mother's Day.

 77 Things I Love About You...

• You and I are always on the same brain wave
• You let us make fun of you
• You make fun of us
• Your imagination is endless
• You can't cook to save your life
• You dance like nobody is watching
• You're easily amused
• You are a horrible driver
• You turn every bad situation into a fun one
• You pick me up from school when I just don't want to go
• You can make fun of strangers and only feel a little bad about it
• You can't follow directions
• You call us by the wrong name
• You let us do art projects even when we are still in the middle of our last one
• You get scared during movies
• I can hear you laughing at the TV when I'm going to sleep
• You aren't afraid of talking to strangers
• You like to give things away
• You can't keep a secret for more than a few hours
• You aren't afraid to take chances
• You can make a bag of candy disappear almost instantly
• You get addicted to video games (i.e. Candy Crush)
• You aren't afraid to stick up for yourself and your kids
• You're crazy
• Your handwriting should be a font
• You have the cutest sneezes
• You laugh at my jokes even when they aren't funny
• You make me laugh
• You love Dad and you say so a lot
• You let Dad go camping/fishing/snowboarding/golfing even when you don't want him to
• You don't pay attention to the outside world when you are reading
• You sing at the top of your lungs even though you can't hit the notes
• Your laugh is infectious
• You're a worry wart
• We would own a zoo if you had the choice
• You have great style
• You know when something is bothering me
• You understand what I'm talking about even when I don't
• You try to be a handyman even if you fail
• You are genuine
• You drive me places at a moment's notice
• You have good taste in music
• You take every opportunity to learn about something
• You read every book you can get your hands on
• You can finish a word search in three minutes flat
• You never get angry at me
• You always have the most interesting things to say
• You have baby-child hands
• You can stop biting your nails for a few months and know right when you will start again
• You get so excited about little things
• You spend every penny you earn on your kids
• You don't let the big things worry you
• You always worry about the little things
• You let me rant on about what I see on Pinterest
• You have a never ending supply of book ideas
• You are a dork
• You see the beauty in everything
• You are opinionated
• You know just what to say to make me feel better
• You make everyone around you happy
• You put up with my crazy sleep talking and remember them well enough to tell me about them the next day
• You are just the right amount of awkward
• We always have something to talk about
• You get so worked up about politics
• You would make a great president
• You are always willing to help me with homework
• You are just a slightly older version of me
• You are so organized, yet such a mess all the time
• You are willing to do anything to help me
• If a mini pony wandered into our yard, you would already have a name picked out and a stable built
• You're always on the hunt for a new farm to move to
• You always speak your mind
• You are so passionate about everything you do
• You think you're the coolest person on Earth, and you're right
• You love us so much and would go to the moon and back to show us
• You're my mommy

It feels good to be known inside and out! 

Music Time Machine

Okay, so maybe I haven't really invented a time machine, but every once in a while I'll stumble upon a song that comes pretty close to transporting me back in time. I'm sure that there are times in our lives when our souls our more raw, easier to imprint on, when a song or a smell can suddenly become the conduit for all sorts of emotions. 

Yesterday I saw a link to the top 100 songs of 1993 and was amazed at how viscerally my body reacted to just reading the titles. There were so many of them that filled me with the most strange mix of longing and a magical hope for the future. If I could bottle what it felt like to be a teenage girl, that would be it...

What songs take you back in time?

Habits

It's a relief to be done with the A to Z Challenge, but I must admit, that I was also a little sad to see it come to an end. Not only did I enjoy meeting so many other wonderful bloggers, but I loved being accountable for a post each day. No, I don't really want to keep up with such a rigorous schedule, but I would like to keep up the good habit of posting regularly.

I've always heard that it only takes thirty days to make a habit. There are some habits that I haven't broken in twenty years (like making my bed every day) and there are others that I break every year (like biting my nails- although at the moment I'm still going strong since January). But one of the most important habits I'd like to keep is writing first thing in the morning every day. I'm one of those people that gets obsessed with a book and cranks out a first draft in a month, but then I'll let weeks go by without keeping a regular schedule. 

But this is all about to change. Starting this beautiful first day of May, I'm going to make it a habit to write every morning. Thirty days from now it'll be habit. Or at least the beginning of one...

Do you have a habit that you're proud of? How about one you'd like to work on?