This Is My Secret: The Blog and Website of Writer Kristin Cashore

The Internets surely are dangerous today for people (i.e., me) trying to avoid the temptation of Mockingjay spoilers.

That's why I'm going to blog about twin babies!

So, here's the thing about twin babies: the ways they interact with each other are awesome. For example, the way the awake one tries to wake up the sleeping one: by patting her stomach, rolling around on top of her, and yelling, "ERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!" Or, the way the cheerful one tries to cheer up the fussy one: by patting her stomach, rolling around on top of her, and giggling, until both babies are giggling and rolling together.

This is IMMENSELY awesome.

And how about when they work together as a team?

The other day, I was in the kitchen, throwing some yummy baby foods into the crockpot. The babies were in the (baby-proofed) office, with the double stroller, wheels locked, in the office doorway, blocking them inside, akin to a baby gate. The babies were being pretty quiet, hanging out together, o…

Step 1: Open up a new tab and get this song playing on youtube ("C'est la Vie", by Cameroonian artist Henri Dikongué).

Step 2: Come back here, and, unless you speak French ^_^, check out the English translation of the lyrics.

A birth, a cry
A pain, a noise
A body so soft, my friend
A heart that beats, life

I would like to stop
On this happy moment that you have given me
This bursting forth of your fragility
Does not cease to amaze me
Sweeping, sweeping, sweeping
Leave my distress behind
Everything seems beautiful, everything seems light
As if the world has changed

(2x) That's life, life
Life oh, life eh
It is good, divine friend
We look it over and we smile

A caress, a joy
A smile, a voice
A trembling hand and me
A soul that lives from you

I would like to say thank you
For this moment you have granted me
It is as if I were never born
Before this infant, newborn
Sweeping, sweeping, sweeping
The wounds of my past
Everything seems beautiful, everything seems light
As if the world had changed

That…

News: The New York Times book review of Graceling is here (major spoiler alert!). Thank you, NYTBR, for a lovely piece. I am overwhelmed.
More news: Graceling has managed to finagle a place among Publishers Weekly's Best Books of the Year and Amazon.com's Best Books of 2008. Again, thanks!
So. My sisters (secret code names: Cordelia and Apocalyptica) and I occasionally play a game called Sufficient Number of Questions. SNoQ is something like 20 Questions, in which Person A thinks of a physical entity and Person B guesses what the entity is by asking no more than 20 yes/no questions. Here's the difference: With SNoQ, there are no limits to what the entity can be. It can be an abstract concept, a nonentity. It can be a made-up invention. It can be an existing thing that you might not in ordinary circumstances consider to be an existing thing.
Here are some actual examples I have been challenged to guess: [1] The spaces between the medicine in an I.V. drip. [2] What if Cordel…

1. I have a Finnish deal -- thank you, WSOY -- which means that sometime soon, as promised, I'll be posting about why I love Finland. Also, School Library Journal gave Graceling a starred review. Also, the amazon blog Omnivoracious posted this interview with me the other day. Also, I've added a link to the left called "Praise for Graceling," which will take you to review clips. Also, Fire revisions are going okay. So, no complaints from here. :o)
2. My publicists, Barb and Sarah, have been coming up with some stupendous variations on the battle cry, "SNOOD, BE DAMNED!" Here are some of my favorites: "OUT, DAMN SNOOD!" And, "WHAT THE SNOOD?!!" (As in, What the snood is that smell?)
3. Why are baby cards so awful?

Seriously, why is it so hard to find a baby card that is not either (1) extremely gendered; (2) extremely gooey (along the "ickle beebly baby" lines with pom poms and bows); or (3) implying that all life problems …