Overwhelmed (but Excited) for Yesterday's Book Deliveries (and Thrilled for THE WRITE TIME with @JerryCraft Tonight, 7 p.m. EST - Facebook)

I have officially moved onto my front porch to read, write, and think, which is where I spent almost 12 hours yesterday, pausing at 3:30 because I knew that Kwame Alexander was hosting Jerry Craft and Kwame Mbalia on Facebook (Two Kwames & a Jerry): a celebration of their new books,  a good time to pick on one another, a high-fiving of excellence, and a gathering of tremendous human beings. I would post a photo of Mbalia's new Tristan Strong book, but it didn't come yet. The other two arrived 15-minutes before the show aired. When I first I looked up and saw the UPS man, I thought, "I wonder what Chitunga ordered this time." 

Nope. This delivery was for me. My books finally came (from the publisher, not out of the back of their cars).

And for a second I got extremely overwhelmed. I was in a writing groove (aiming for a November deadline), needing to finish the drafts, and suddenly I was presented with two books of the three. For a second I thought, "I don't have time to watch them squawk on Facebook. I need to read the books." I found myself. Refocused. Re-centered. Put their interview on audio, listened, and continued to do drafting on my own. It was a FANTASTIC interview...one of the best I've seen since we've all moved our realities onto digital spaces.

Congratulations on the book birthdays. There phenomenal men.

And I'm thrilled that the National Writing Project and I will air THE WRITE TIME with Jerry Craft and Dereje Tarrant this evening at 7 p.m. EST on Facebook. The show will also be on radio, YouTube, and THE WRITE TIME website soon after. I am proud of this recording. It is the first time we had a middle school kid interview an author. The National Writing Project is not only about teachers - it's about the kids we serve. I wouldn't even know Jerry Craft if it wasn't for Dereje's passion for his work, long before New Kid.

ALERT ALERT ALERT (cough cough). It would be a true honor to have Kwame Mbalia on the show, and for Kwame Alexander to make a return to the  network (here's his first show: A Talk with Kwame Alexander (2015) - he was just a baby rooster then and I was still a pollywog.

What a day! The three writers were amazing together, and I didn't get to any of their books because I kept writing and (because I live on the front porch) I was swindled into a conversation about adding vinyl siding to my house from a door-to-door salesman. 

So now there's today. I have two books to read before 7 p.m. (wouldn't they like to know who I'm reading first) (cough cough) (Jerry), and another round of writing for myself. There's also the daily run and walking the dog. Absolutely love the craft of these three. Cockledoodle doo, Ribbit Ribbit, and much more. 

Today will be good.