The reason I’m not at Clarion…

I was supposed to be in San Diego this week teaching at Clarion, but my partner-in-crime had a rather serious surgery — and family and loved ones always come first.  My apologies to those who I missed teaching, as well as the program itself.  And a heartfelt thank you to the lovely, brilliant, Delia Sherman, who stepped in to take my place at the last minute.

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Check out this very motivating article about the importance of competition, called “Someone Is Coming To Eat You”:

The reward for winning is the perception that you’ve won. In your celebration of your awesomeness, you are no longer focused on the finish line, you now lack a clear next goal, and while you sit there comfortably monetizing eyeballs, you’re becoming strategically dull. You’ve forgotten that someone is coming to eat you and if you wait until you can see them coming, you’re too late.

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Finally, here’s a picture of Justin Bieber that a little boy drew for me the other day in the comic book store.  The kid already has two girlfriends (one of them a whole year older), rock star hair, knows how to commandeer pen and paper, and has artistic talent.  As long as the school system doesn’t beat him down, I think we’re looking (in fifteen or twenty years) at America’s Next Sweetie Pie.