Official Maria V. Snyder Blog

I'm excited to have an interview with Morgan Keyes, the author of the middle-grade book, DARKBEAST!  It's a wonderful book and I recommend it for ALL ages.  Don't be fooled by the title - it's not scary.  And those of you familiar with Mindy Klasky's writing might recognize a similar style and humor (hint, hint ;>) And I'm offering a copy of DARKBEAST to one random commenter - BUT you have to take the Darkbeast quiz   ( http://www.morgankeyes.com/?page_id=17 )  and tell us what your Darkbeast is in the comment to win!!  Also please include your email addy so I can get in touch with you. The contest is open until Friday, September 28th at midnight Eastern time.  See the interview below to find out MY Darkbeast. Cover copy: In Keara’s world, every child has a darkbeast—a creature that takes dark deeds and emotions like anger, pride, and rebellion. Keara’s darkbeast is Caw, a raven. Caw is her constant companion, and they are magically bound to each other

Last weekend my husband had a number of events to attend for his job (historical chocolate manager for M&M/Mars) and I happily tagged along.  One of those events was a NASCAR race - the one in Richmond, Virginia on Saturday, September 8.  Well, I'm not a NASCAR fan - football is my sport, however, I like to experience new things and this invite wasn't just a couple of seats in the bleachers.  Oh no!  You see Mars sponsors Kyle Busch's car - #18 and we had full access to...well, everything.  Rodney, Kyle & Me before the start of the race - Kyle a LOT happier then at the end :( Rodney and Joe Gibbs - owner of Kyle's car.  Before the race, I did a bunch of reading about the Sprint Cup and how only the top twelve can race for the championship (Kyle missed it by 1 point!), but I learned so much during my day at the races.  First, there is a ton of effort in getting the car ready - there's a sense of urgency and little time to waste from the crew

...my new look.  Not me, me (no purple hair...yet!), but my blog.  My fabulous, talented, sweet friend Sarah put this together for me.  I love it - it includes many of my favorite things.  Travel, writing and tea!  I'm sipping some now - English Breakfast decaf ;> Sooooo...... What do you think? I'm hoping the new look will help motivate me to blog more - I do have ideas and posts ready to be assembled (pictures uploaded, links found, etc...).  Time will tell :)