Me, Me, Me

A bulleted list of facts, answers, and all-purpose sassery:

• Why is this blog called "A Rock in My Pocket"? Well, here you go. This ought to clear it up.
• Where do you live? I reside at an undisclosed location near the nation's capital where I work my literary mojo and occasionally rant about the scourge known as "panda bears." I have launch codes and snacks. 
• Good Lord, woman, who would have you? Ha. Shows what you know. I'm married to a fine, fine gentleman from Brooklyn. We have three daughters and one son. If I stay real still, they may not know I'm here trying to work.

• Where did you learn all them big words you use? I earned my MFA from Columbia University. A degree, I hasten to add, that has yielded me untold riches and fame.

• Are you telling me that some nationally recognized organization actually gave you money for making stuff up? I know, right? Incredible but true. I won the 2010 Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators' Work-in-Progress Grant in the Contemporary Novel for Young People category. Rather proud of that, I must say. And so I have. 
• It's a post-apocalyptic world, and there is no Diet Coke. What do you do? Ask the first by-passer with a working shotgun to put me out of my misery. Tell him to reload and make sure I'm good and dead.
• What would your patronus be? Obviously a platypus. A real aggressive one.