The reason writers are like squirrels is that we don't let anything go to waste. Something strange or funny or sad happens and we JOT IT DOWN. Eventually, it'll find a place in some story or another. Tamar sent a comment to the blog asking whether I ever recycled any of my manuscripts that were initially rejected? The answer is YESSIREE!! My spring 2007 title, Finding Elmo, was based on oneof the first manuscripts I submitted to publishers when I was just starting out. In the end, I only used about a page or two from the original manuscript -- but the idea for the story (a bird is birdnapped from a Montreal pet store) stayed the same, as did the major characters. So hope you are squirrel-ing away interesting ideas and stories and incidents. My experience is that eventually, everything finds its place. Okay, back to work. Talk to you tomorrow!