I really dislike 3:30 am wake-up calls.

But sometimes, they're necessary. I'm at the Syracuse airport, waiting for the flight that will take me to the flight that will take me to San Jose, CA. I'll be speaking in the area thanks to the San Jose Writing Project.

If you live around San Jose, please gather up everyone you know and join me at 4 pm, Friday, May 2nd (i.e. tomorrow) at Hicklebee's bookstore.

A question came up in the Comments this week about what music I listen to when I'm running. They're about to call my plane, so I can't give you my playlist right now - I will as soon as I get a chance.

But I'd love to know about you. What are your favorite songs to listen to when you run or exercise?

So I am sitting in the Detroit airport right now, catching up on my email and looking forward to sushi for lunch. I'll take pictures, I promise. The flight here was on time and uneventful; loverly. Fingers crossed for the next leg of the trip.

Theo theoblackhas been working away at his forge, crafting a new look for my website. It is still very much a work-in-progress, but here is a sneak peek at the Novels page.

And here's the new look for the homepage.

What do you think? (Not all of the buttons work yet, so don't worry about that. Just tell us what you like and what you don't like.)

I also asked Theo to put together pages for playlists for all my books. This is where I'd love your ideas: What songs would you put on the playlist for: SPEAK, CATALYST, PROM, TWISTED, & FEVER 1793 (I am looking at you, handworn for that one!)?

edited to add I forgot to mention our early morning adventure in the Forest. We woke up at 4am as scheduled. Minor complication: no power. I got dressed and put on my make-up by candlelight, while Beloved Husband valiantly made coffee by boiling water and handpouring it through the coffee-filled filter. He let the dog out to do her business just as we were preparing to leave. One nanosecond later, he bellowed for her to come back in. I had caught a whiff of skunk and assumed the worse.

Yes, it was a critter, but it was a raccoon raiding the dog's food bowl in her pen. Nothing was left of the skunk but the stink. Crisis averted. Packed the car, grabbed the coffee and hit the road at 4:30am. As we headed for town, BH said, "You blew out all the candles, right?" Me: "..... ah, I think so?"

We drove back. Yep, I had blown out all candles. House and dog were safe. The raccoon was full. And the skunk was probably watching all of this from the cover of a hollowed-out log, laughing his fool stripe off.

I have this bizarre weird fangurl/life connection with Tori Amos.

First, her music is beyond ab-fab.... she is one of my favorite, favorite musicians. And she has a new album which I just bought and you might want to take a listen to: American Doll Posse. Wikipedia has some interesting stuff about the new album.

Second, she and I have all this synchonicities in our lives: both preacher's kids, both huge supporters of sexual assault survivors (she is the driving force behind RAINN), both feminists of the same generation and proud of it, both huge Gaiman fans, and on and on.

Third... well, I just think she is a gift from the Gods. I am going to listen to Tori fly flying through the air today.

My subconscious operates like a jukebox. I often wake up in the morning with a song or a line from a song stuck in my head. After pondering it, I usually find something in the song that pertains to the work I have to do that day, or a situation I find myself stuck in.

Stuck. Stuck.. Oh, ha.

This morning I woke up hearing a line from Culture Club's, "Karma Chameleon":

Every day is like a survival....

My head has been stuck in the 80's ever since I heard about The Police going on tour again. Stuck.

We got out for a little while yesterday. An elderly friend of ours was without propane and the truck couldn't get close enough to his house to refill the tank, so we headed out with shovels to help. But by the time we got there, the propane company had sent a more experienced driver who was able to make the delivery safely.

We did some errands in downtown Mexico.

Saw this in the middle of town.

The snow keeps falling. In the last 48 hours, we've had at least two more feet, which brings my unofficial total for the last 12 days of snow to 130 inches. (The newspaper has a nice timeline of the storm. I hope they update it.)

And then the wind started. Our driveway is completely drifted in - we're stuck again until the heavy machinery arrives. I have 8 boxes of signed copies of TWISTED that UPS wants to pick up. A) I'm not sure UPS can get down my road right now and B) Nothing is moving up and down my driveway until the payloader arrives... except for me on the snowshoes. (Calls have been made to the hero with the payloader, we're just waiting. Why do I think we'll be buying a tractor this summer?)

The entire Central New York region was hit with this phase of the storm. Our county is still in a state of emergency. Many other counties have travel restrictions. Pretty much everything seems closed. The nor'easter storm is dying down. Now we're waiting for more lake effect snow to start up again.

Last night I watched the Travel Channel obsessively.

In non-weather news, you should read this article about the making of the Bridge to Terabithia movie. (Thanks to Fuse #8 for the link.) And while we're talking about the Mother Goddesses of Children's Literature, did you know Lois Lowry has a blog???!!!!

I'm pretty much done with the taxes and the travel planning for the spring, so today I will attack the fanmail pile that has accumulated for the last two months. I'll also get outside for some fresh air and will report back with photos.

Stay warm.

"For You" by Staind. Duh.

(thank you, Beloved Husband!)

I did it! (I think.)

Thanks to all of your great suggestions yesterday, and a very, very late last night with Stef and Amy and my husband, I have put together the first crack at the TWISTED playlist and I posted it on iTunes.

If you go to iTunes>Music>iMix, type in halse in the Search box for iMix Name. That should take you to it. (Does anyone know of a faster way to do this?) iTunes wouldn't take the whole thing, so I mentioned the other songs in the Description. Vote for my mix! (You vote by rating it on iTunes.) Make me smile! Throw me a bone while I sit, chained to my desk, the fires of the deadline crackling at my feet, smoke curling upwards!

I am asking theoblack to create a new page for my website that will features playlists for all of my books. Here is what I have for TWISTED, so far. And yes, the order of the songs is important:

“Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah” The Pogues

“Brick in the Wall” Pink Floyd

“Smells Like Teen Spirit” Nirvana

“Yoda” Weird Al Yankovic

“Trogdor” Strong Bad (http://homestarrunner.com/downloads.html)

“I Want You To Hurt Like I Do” Randy Newman/ Land of Dreams

“Come As You Are” Nirvana

“Needle in the Hay” Elliott Smith

“Munich” The Editors

“Hurt” Johnny Cash

“She Hates Me” Puddle of Mudd

“How to Disappear Completely” Radiohead

“Everybody Hurts” R.E.M.

“Hallelujah” Jeff Buckley

“Real Men” Tori Amos

“Float On” Modest Mouse

What do you think?

P.S. One last thing: the Syracuse Post Standard ran my essay on how salt potatoes are so, so, Syracuse.

A couple of you guys out there have read TWISTED. I need your help. I am putting together a playlist for the book and am desperate for recommendations.

For those who haven't read it, some background. I think this is on the publicity materials:

"High school senior Tyler Miller used to be the kind of guy who faded into the background—average student, average looks, average dysfunctional family. But since he got busted for doing graffiti on the school, and spent the summer doing outdoor work to pay for it, he stands out like you wouldn’t believe. His new physique attracts the attention of queen bee Bethany Milbury, who just so happens to be his father’s boss’s daughter, the sister of his biggest enemy—and Tyler’s secret crush. And that sets off a string of events and changes that have Tyler questioning his place in the school, in his family, and in the world.

In Twisted, the acclaimed Laurie Halse Anderson tackles a very controversial subject: what it means to be a man today. Fans and new readers alike will be captured by Tyler’s pitchperfect, funny voice, the surprising narrative arc, and the thoughtful moral dilemmas that are at the heart of all of the author’s award-winning, widely read work. "

The short pitch: Emoish guy with a good heart has his butt kicked by the world and thinks seriously about leaving life, permanently.

What songs fit him? Ideas? Please?