After finishing a project I always wonder, “Will someone understand what I was trying to convey?”

I was particularly pleased when I ran across the KidsReads.com review of No Castles Here. Toward the end they said:

“With all these elements, NO CASTLES HERE would be an ambitious project for any author. Remarkably, Bauer fulfills the task seemingly with ease, resulting in a story in which magic can seem real but in which the real magic occurs in the relationships between people, in the truly remarkable things that happen when a community bonds together. Augie is a real character who screws up, tells lies and turns his back on people who care for him, but nevertheless has a good heart, particularly once he learns to trust and care for the people who also value him.”

Yes!! Woo hoo!

It made my day.

You can read the whole review here.…

Back at the Class of 2k7 blog, we’ve been conducting interviews of each other–asking questions specific to our books and work. Class member Sarah Aronson, whose YA novel Head Case came out this fall, asked me a bunch of good questions. I did blather on, but if you’re interested, you can read it here.…

TeensReadToo.com, a website of great reviews for children’s books, said some wonderful things about No Castles Here. Among others: “Alternating through Augie’s life and the adventure novel he reads, NO CASTLES HERE is that one book which makes us feel glad that we picked it up.”

Well, I’m glad they picked it up, too! You can read the entire review here.…

On Sunday, December 9, long-time friend and first-class person Amy Eppler-Epstein organized a book party for me.

Yes. For me.

I am still awed.

She invited loads of friends, some of which I hadn’t seen in years, and some who came from different states, to eat the best home-baked goodies, listen to me blather and read, and to have me sign copies of my book. Then, because Amy really is the awesomest, she arranged to have the profits from the sale of the books be donated to Read to Grow, a literacy program for Connecticut children! Madison bookstore R.J. Julia Booksellers supplied the books and made the donations possible.

So thank you R.J. Julia. But most of all, thank you Amy!!!…

Yesterday I had the chance to visit the Derby Middle School and High School in Derby, Connecticut. They share a building on a hill next to a state park — a truly beautiful setting. After the bell, I met with a whole bunch of middle and high school students in the library and talked about becoming a writer and writing No Castles Here, in particular. We raffled off a copy of my book, ate some delicious cookies provided by the PTA, and had an all around great time.

I have one embarrassing disclosure. I was asked a lot of fun and intelligent questions by all the students, but I couldn’t answer one: “How many chapters are there in your book?” I should know the answer, shouldn’t I?

Well, in lame self-defense, I used to. Then, at some point during the long editing process, my editor suggested that since all of my chapters have titles, how about leaving off the chapter numbers? I thought this was a fine idea. We subtracted and added chapters, and, well I lost track of the number.

So the answer is: there are 39 chapters in No Castles Here. I promise to remember that!…

Betsy Bird of Fuse #8 Productions put out her holiday season recommendations. Part 1 is mostly for the younger readers, from baby books to chapter books. Part 2 are for the middle grades, and there you’ll find No Castles Here listed under “They Hate Harry Potter and Only Like Realistic Fiction.”

Works for me. 🙂…

No Castles Here received a very nice review in the November, 2007 edition of the Minnesota Parent, saying, among other things, “[w]hat makes this fast-moving book so enjoyable is the depth Bauer gives her characters and the complex relationships that evolve among them. While Bauer ties up many of the loose ends in the last few chapters, there’s a clear sense that this is just the beginning for Augie.” You can read the whole review here.

And today, the Yale Daily News featured me in a piece entitled Bauer turns from legalese to kids’ books written by Sarah Wolf. She tracked down some old colleagues, teachers and friends, and interviewed them as well. The result was a lovely article. Go Sarah!…