Step Away From That Computer!

I thought my new year's resolution was very manageable. Each month I would go to a place in New York City that I had never been. (I can't believe I almost broke my vow--it was already the last day of January!) 

After a week of polishing a manuscript, I was ready to get outside of my head and my apartment.

The weather was crisp and cold. The wind was so fierce, I almost changed my mind about going to Owl's Head park on the eastern edge of Brooklyn. But I'm glad I didn't.

At the top of the hill, I could see white caps

 on the water of New York harbor. 

Without their leaves, the trees are so exposed. 

As if they aren't trees at all, but some other kind of life form.

How long has this fellow being been standing on this spot? 

And how did he get to be so twisted?

Of course whenever I go anywhere, 

I'm always looking for a way into a new world.

Or into a new story.

I think I might have found one.

Blackberry has a few questions for Jane Kelley

BB:  IS THIS YOUR NEW BOOK? 

JK:  Yes! It's the advanced review copy. The real book will be available on July 14, 2015. Six months from today!

BB:  WHY, THAT'S A BLACK CAT ON THE COVER. SHE LOOKS A LOT LIKE ME.

JK:  Her name is Mau.

BB:  WHO ARE THOSE GIRLS? WHY ARE THEY CHASING MAU?

JK:  Val and Lanore have been friends forever. Val expects thir relationship to stay the same. But after they start middle school, Lanora decides to reinvent herself. Her parents have split up, and she wants to rise above that. Unfortunately Lanora's choices lead her into trouble. Val hates watching her friend lose her way. She wants to rescue Lanora, but how? Val doesn't know what to do until a stray cat . . .

BB:  THERE ARE NO STRAY CATS. THERE ARE ONLY SELF-RELIANT ONES.

JK:  I beg your pardon. A SELF-RELIANT cat leads Lanora to a strange boy who lives in an even stranger bookshop. Together they embark on a quest. Will they be able to save a lost friend? Will they get lost themselves? Or will they find a way to help each other become who they want to be?

BB:  WILL THEY? 

JK:  I guess you'll have to keep reading the book to find out.

BB:  MAYBE AFTER DINNER. DID I HEAR YOU MENTION TUNA?