Summer Short & Sweet - Week 2

Happy Friday, Everyone!

Hurray!!!  It's time for another Short & Sweet!  But first...

I have returned from The Pine Tree State where I still did not see a moose!  I saw signs - "Moose Crossing", "Watch for moose in roadway" and just plain

but although pretty much everyone else in the northern hemisphere has seen an actual moose, I still haven't.  Don't get me wrong... I do not want to meet one in my car at 60 mph!  I just want to see a real one looking serene in his or her natural surroundings :) preferably alongside a cute baby moose :)

Anyway, onto business.  The winner of the June pitch pick, whose pitch will go for a read by editor Erin Molta, is none other than the fabulous Lori with her pitch for These Little Piggies!  Congratulations, Lori!  And congratulations and thanks to all who bravely put forth their pitches - you are all winners in my book just for stepping up to the plate!

In other Would You Read It news, the vote for whether or not to keep the system the way it is was TOTALLY evenly split and indecisive!  So now what?  I don't know.  I'll have to think on it.  While I think, nothing will change.  If anyone has thoughts or opinions, please share :)

Now then, are you ready?  Let the fun begin!!!!!!!!

Today's Short & Sweet will work best if you don't peek :)  I'm not sure quite how to accomplish that on a blog post, so let's go on the honor system - no scrolling down yet!

First, pick a number from 1-10.  Got it?  Write it down.

Now pick a number from 1-10 again and write that down.

Now do it again.

And now one last time.

(BTW, it's okay of you pick the same number more than once.  If you want to make it really random you can roll a pair of dice and just discard any 11s or 12s you roll, or take an ace-10 out of a deck of cards and randomly choose cards.)

Hopefully you now have 4 numbers between 1 and 10 written down (for example, I have 3, 7, 1, and 5)


Now, use your first number to select from this list:

     Character:

1. A pirate who likes to sing
2. A little girl who doesn’t want to practice her violin
3. A zookeeper with a lost animal
4. A 5 year old girl with a rainbow umbrella
5. A homeless child
6. A boy whose father is a Navy SEAL
7. A monster who is afraid of thunderstorms
8. A disobedient robot
9. A sailor who is far from home
10. A six year old boy who can’t ride his two-wheeler

Use your second number to select from this list:

     Setting:

1. a museum
2. a national park
3. a playground
4. a big city
5. a birthday party
6. the porch of an old farmhouse
7. an enchanted forest
8. a fancy restaurant
9. the moon
10. Baskin Robbins Ice Cream Shop

Use your third number to select from this list:

     Time:

1. first day of school
2. the Fourth of July
3. during a thunderstorm
4. in early autumn
5. sitting down to breakfast
6. bath time
7. the first warm day of spring
8. during church
9. a winter evening
10. after a fight

And use your last number to select from this list:

     Situation/Challenge:

1. something embarrassing has just happened
2. someone feels like giving up
3. someone has to keep a secret
4. an important decision has to be made
5. someone has lost something
6. someone has found something
7. someone’s pride has been injured
8. something is where it shouldn’t be
9. someone has been chosen for something
10. something has made someone mad

You should now have a randomly selected character, setting, time, and situation/challenge - everything you need to prompt a story!

In the comments below, list the 4 you got and write 50-100 words of whatever story they suggest to you!  Don't agonize!  Don't over-think!  We're all among friends.  Just write!  All we're doing here is priming the pump.  If all you can squeeze out is 50 rusty words, that's fine!  You wrote 50 words in the middle of your hectic, busy day!  But maybe, just maybe, 25-50 more will trickle out a little less rusty, and maybe after you've written your 50-100 here you'll find you've got a gush of clear water rushing forth and a whole  new story will well up and land on your list of accomplishments for today!

Oh, and if you find it's too hard to include all 4, it's okay to just use 1, 2, or 3 of the prompts you picked - the exercise is just to get ideas and words flowing :)

Here's my example in case you don't quite get it:
The numbers I chose were 3, 7, 1, 5, so I get

Character #3 - a zookeeper with a lost animal

Setting #7 - an enchanted forest

Time #1 - the first day of school

and Situation/Challenge #5 - someone has lost something (which accidentally overlaps with the character description so I'm only going with one lost thing!)

Given these prompts, I might write the following 50-100 words:

George took his job as zookeeper of the enchanted forest very seriously.

At the end of each day he checked that the unicorns had plenty of magic meadow grass.

He made sure the griffin’s nest was comfy and the sphinx had his book of riddles.

He tested the mermaids’ pool – it would never do if it was too cold!

He made sure the dragon had plenty of fresh water in case he set his bed (or anything else!) on fire.

Then he double-checked that all the cages were locked, said, “Good night my friends!”, and went home to his supper.

But on the first school day of the year, with Miss Venus's class field trip due any minute, George arrived to find that the Loch Ness Monster, had gone missing!

“How can this be?” he moaned, wringing his hands.  “I was so careful!  And Nessie’s cage is still locked!”

(OK.  I'm wordy.  And I got caught up :) 149 words.)

See how easy?  Ready, set, WRITE! :)  I can't wait to see what you come up with! :)

P.S.  For anyone who's just finding Summer Short & Sweets, full info is on that link or above in the tab :)

Would You Read It Wednesday - The 48th Pitch

Boy is this summer a whirlwind!

Whilst you are munching your Something Chocolate (might I recommend the pain au chocolat this morning?)

and sipping your coffee, I am wandering around in the Pine Tree State, hopefully not hopelessly lost, as we continue our quest for institutions of higher learning.  (The Pine Tree State's connected to the Green Mountain State, right?...  Or is it connected to the Granite State?.... Or the maybe the Bay State?  Or the hip bone...  You know, I put far too much trust in my GPS.  She could totally take advantage of me if she wanted to!  Her name is Jill, by the way.  After all that wondering what to call her, I discovered on the way to Nantucket she already had a name.  But I digress...)

So anyway, I have a question for y'all today.  And it actually has to do with Would You Read It - can you imagine? An on-topic question?  What is the world coming to? :)

What I'm wondering is this:

Are you all happy with the Would You Read It system the way it stands, or do you think people who have pitched should have a chance to enter a new and improved version of their pitch for the pitch pick at the end of the month if they wish?  Poll below.  (You know how I love polls :))  Please opinionate:



Alrighty then!  Now that we've addressed that little issue, it's time for everybody's favorite Wednesday dilemma, Would You Read It!!!

Today's pitch comes to us from the amazing Rita whom I'm sure you all remember from her Elephant And Dolphin Pitch last month, and from her wonderful and helpful post on self publishing Meg The Egg.  But in case you somehow missed her bio, Rita says, I have always loved writing letters, plays, stories any thing really since the age of 9. I have 3 kids that have made me stop writing for awhile but now two of them are at university and the youngest is 15. I used to be a dog sitter, an airline hostess and a secretary but now I spend lots of time as storyteller (costumes and strange voices and all) and my most frustrating of jobs: a writer. I write in my basement and I love children, animals and travelling. Teaching children how to read is a parental necessity. My website is www.ritaborg.us

Here's the pitch!

Working Title:  What's Wrong With Molly Zwirl
Age/Genre:  Chapter Book (ages 6-9)
The Pitch:  Molly, an immigrant girl from Europe settling in the USA, is just like the girl with the curl in the middle of her forehead.  She tries so hard to be good but when her grandparents come she just has to be bad.

So what do you think?  Would You Read It?  YES, MAYBE or NO?

If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest.  If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Rita improve her pitch.  Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome.  (However, I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful.  I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)

Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks!  For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read It or on the Would You Read It tab in the bar above.  There are openings in August, which is not very far away at all at this point, so we could really use some new pitches!!

Rita is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!

And I am looking forward to seeing you all on Friday for the next installment of Summer Short & Sweets!

P.S.  If you missed Monday's post with the Q&A by editor Erin Molta click HERE - you won't want to miss it!  And if you missed Monday's post with the June pitch pick click HERE and let your voting voice be heard!  (Those of you who are alert at this hour of the morning may notice that both HEREs lead to the same there, but I'd hate for you to miss anything good :))

Q&A With Editor Erin Molta, Plus Pitch Pick #9, Plus The Giveaway Winners!

Apparently I have too many things to post for the number of post days I have.  I have no idea how this happens.  I'm usually so reserved with my words :)  (I hear you laughing!  Don't worry - I couldn't say it with a straight face either :))

ANYWAY, today we have a bit of a smorgasbord.

First, we're a little behind on the June Pitch Pick.  See what happens when we all go on vacation? :)

Here is a little refresher:

#1 Laura

Working Title:  Uncle Larry

Age/Genre:  PB

The Pitch:  A true story about Uncle Larry, a special child/adult who grew up on a farm, trained and loved animals, liked to play and work, got into mischief, and taught us how to love someone a little different by loving everyone himself.

#2 Rita

Working Title: Elephant And Dolphin

Age/Genre: Picture Book (ages 3-7)

The Pitch:  Elephant and Dolphin meet every morning by the sea. But Elephant lives on the land and Dolphin lives in the ocean.  Elephant eats grass while Dolphin eats fish. Elephant trumpets and Dolphin clicks.  How can these two play together with the differences they have between them?  Elephant and Dolphin find out how friendship overcomes everything.

#3 Lori

Working Title:  These Little Piggies

Age/Genre: Rhyming Picture Book (ages 4-8)

The Pitch:  In this Mother Goose mash-up, five little piggies are living happily in a shoe until a callous old woman forces her way in and turns their lives head over tails.  The piggies decide to set a trap for the old woman so, the first little piggy goes to market... the second little piggy stays home...  Will they succeed in giving the old coot the boot?

#4 Anna

Working Title:  Hug-A-Bug Travels To Egypt

Age/Genre:  Picture Book (ages 3-8)

The Pitch:  Fasten your seat belts and prepare for a high-flying trip with Hug-A-Bug to the famous Giza Pyramids. On his visit, he wows the reader with the exploration of hieroglyphics and Egyptian phrases. During his travels, he meets up with someone who needs a hug. Who will he meet this time? 

Please vote below for your favorite by Wednesday July 11 at 11:59PM EDT.

The winner's pitch will go for a read by editor Erin Molta (who is here with us today! - so exciting!)

But hang on for one more second before we get to Erin because I have other exciting news, too - the winners of the giveaways from our generous self-publishing mini-series authors!

And the winners (as chosen by random.org) are.....

For the set of 3 hardcover Gator's Gang picture books from Suzanne McGovern - Catherine J!!!

For a paperback copy of the fabulous Show Me How from Vivian Kirkfield - Beth S!!!

For an e-book of The Adventures Of Lucy Snigglefritz from Patrick Milne - Vivian K!!!

And for a paperback picture book of Meg The Egg from Rita Borg -  Erik (I don't know you're last initial :))!!!

Catherine, Beth, Vivian, and Erik, please email me so we can organize book signing and mailing!

And now, the post we've all been looking forward to for some time, our Q&A with the fabulous Erin Molta.  Erin is an experienced senior editor of picture book, early readers, chapter, middle grade, and YA books, as well as novelty and licensed titles. She has been in children's publishing for more than twenty years and has a keen understanding of early reader through YA audiences. She has an excellent reputation with established authors, illustrators, and agents.  She is currently evaluating manuscripts for 
publishers as well as freelance editing for prospective authors before submission to publishing houses.


Questions from readers are below in blue, answers from Erin in green.

From Clar:  For Erin: I wonder if a ms with monsters and bedtime is has been written about too much and if she would just throw it in the trash without reading the whole pitch or does she think there's a chance for it to go through. 

Though it has been done, it’s all in the matter of the telling -- because it’s such a universal topic a fresh take on it is always welcome.

From Coleen:  I'm always curious to hear what kinds of manuscripts publishers are buying right now. :)

Ha! They wish they knew! Publishing usually goes in cycles. For a while it was Harry Potter and fantasy. Then there was Twilight and other paranormal-type books. Now it seems, in YA at least,that suspense is the up and coming genre. For middle grade books there doesn’t tend to be such a flocking to the genres and subgenres. Every publisher is looking for the next best thing—the next Harry Potter or Goosebumps, Percy Jackson . . .

From Julie H:  I guess I'd have to say my top curiosity right now is whether editors are still finding picture books to be a hard sell and, if so, whether she thinks that will change any time soon.

I think the picture book market is picking up a bit—mostly because it follows the baby booms. And there are more babies now.  Even with e-books and Apps, parents still want books to sit down and read to their kids.

From Darshana:  Any tips for PB authors (not PB author/illustrator) for writing unique/quirky PB under 300 words. I have noticed a lot of PBs I like are written by author/illustrators that are short on text, where the humor and quirkiness is carried in the pictures. I know I can come up with clever stories however since I am only a PB author, I get nervous about using too many illustrator notes, as that could turn-off an editor. 

Illustrator notes don’t necessarily turn off an editor, but they should only be used to point out what may not be obvious from the text—for instance if you are imagining that the characters are animals as opposed to people or if you are envisioning a twist that must be present in the art. No need to describe clothing or setting unless it directly impacts the story.

From Julie R-Z:  Questions for Erin:
Vocabulary: when and why does an editor like or dislike BIG words (son's 1st gr. teacher called them million dollar words!) in a PB manuscript?

It’s all about appropriateness. If big words further the plot or are essential and are the best word choice for the story, then they are OK. You don’t want to have the story that as a parent etc. is reading they have to stop to explain every 5^th word to a child. Then it becomes a vocab lesson and not an enjoyable read. The more important part of writing is not the words themselves but how they are used. If you say Jane is melancholy you are saying she is sad but if you show us why she is sad—“Usually when Jane came home from school, Gramma would be sitting at the table stirring milk into her coffee, reading the historical romances they liked to share. There would be an apple on a plate for Jane. Today there was no Gramma and no paperback book. Just an apple—on a napkin. Jane’s chest felt heavy and her eyes welled up.” You bring the scene alive and a reader will get the melancholy feeling by showing rather than telling.

Cliches: I understand that's a no-no, but when used sparingly is it not appropriate if it can teach apre-schooler about the meaning behind a cliche?

Again, it’s all about the story. If you are writing a story about clichés or if they serve to bring the scene alive—then used sparingly, they are fine.

In general do editor's agree on common mistakes or are the peeves more often personal? If so, give us the dirt Erin!

There are no general peeves—but words for the sake of the words as opposed to the story is a common mistake that most editors detest –and typos and spelling mistakes in a query are a no-nofor us all.

From Jarm:  I also would like to know what place there is in the publishing world for picture books with more than 800 word counts. I was thinking of PBs for older children on non-fiction topics, that are woven into a story, such as "Amelia and Eleanor Go For A Ride" by Pam Muñoz Ryan.

Any place—again it depends on the editor. Nonfiction normally does lend itself to longer text, but check publisher’s lists and see who tends to publish more nonfiction picture books. Clarion tends to, as does Charlesbridge and smaller presses like Eerdmans and Bearport Publishing.

From Kirsten:  I'm most interested in hearing what makes it out of the slushpile (for nonfiction) and why. What are editors looking for on the nonfiction side?

Editors tend to follow the school curriculum so check out a standard curriculum—say 4^th graders do the American Revolution and 2^nd graders learn about the night sky and maps. Seasonal topics, too—books about apples, pumpkins, and growing things, if done in a fresh unique way, are some popular topics. Animals are popular, too, but again, something new like unusual animal friendships or animals that have strange stories—like a penguin who shows up on a beach in Florida. Cute animals don’t hurt either.

From Penny:  a question that I have been wondering about...when I read online in submission guidelines that a publishing house/agent is closed to submissions except for folks they've met at a conference OR REFERRALS FROM OTHER PROFESSIONALS...I always wonder just who all is included in those OTHER professionals. Does it mean just other editors/agents? Can it mean another published author? Does it ever happen that a published someone that runs a critique service happens upon a manuscript they refer onto one of the publishing houses/agents who is closed to submissions except for the circumstances I mentioned. 

Yes J A referral from a published author will make it past the editorial assistant’s eagle eyes. It has happened that a published author has recommended someone and they have been published.

From Erik:  I would like to know the top three common mistakes writers make and what makes her want to read a MS.

Hmm . . . top three mistakes. #1 is when an author tells the story rather than showing—see above for how describing a scene and making a reader feel the character’s feelings works better than using big words or just saying, Jane was sad. #2 is sending manuscripts full of errors. That’s an immediate turn-off. #3 When an author tells you how their kindergarten class or their kids and kids friends love the manuscript. Of course they do. What kids are going to tell their teacher/parent/grandparent that they DON’T like their story?

I do hope you all enjoyed that as much as I did, and Erin's answers will be helpful to you!

Come on over on Wednesday and help Rita with her MG pitch!  Have a great day!

Welcome To Summer Short And Sweets!!!

Did everyone have a nice 4th of July?  I hope so!

I'm happy to report that we celebrated with homemade blueberry pie and vanilla ice cream (that's white and blue, anyway, even if we a little short in the red department) and watching the fireworks above the valley from my parents' back deck :)

And now, at last, it's finally Friday and time to kick off Summer Short & Sweets!!!

First things first.....

Please help yourself to a beach cookie (or 2 or 5)...

...and some fresh lemonade :)

Ah!  Summery :)

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for (or at least the moment I've all been waiting for :))
duhn duhn duhn.... the big unveiling!!!

TA-DA!

Badge created by the incomparable Loni Edwards

Just look at this creation of beauty which you may all help yourselves to if you so desire!!!  I hope you're able to read the part that says "Writing For Kittens" :)  (I also hope that if you need any art work done for any reason you will contact Loni - she does such great art and is a joy to work with :)  Same goes for Heather... but more about that in a few weeks... I am all about the surprises up my sleeve :))

Let's start with a brief explanation of SS&S because I'm not actually sure I wrote this down yet anywhere :)

The object of Summer Short & Sweets is to keep our writing oars in even as we are caught up in the happy, busy, outdoor fun of summer.  We do not want our writing brains to go on luxury vacation because they are SO hard to jump start when school starts.  The Short & Sweets will be little fun exercises we can do together and share to keep those writing sparks flying and to make sure we write a little even while we're playing whiffle ball, backyard volleyball, and frisbee golf, making sure our toddlers don't fall in the pool or get swept away by ocean waves or buried by their older siblings in the sandbox, taking our pre-teens to Little League or Lego Tournaments or tap lessons, teaching our 16-year-olds to drive (I personally am sporting a whole new streak of gray hair, and the imaginary brake on the passenger side of the car is getting quite a workout :)), and tending campfires while we watch the summer sun swim down below the western hills and the fireflies come out (and if you're at my house, watch the marshmallows catch on fire and become charcoal covered goo on a stick :))

Short & Sweets will last for 8 weeks, each Friday from today through Friday August 24.  For every Short & Sweet entry you write into the comments you will receive 1 point.  You may of course write 2 entries, (or even 3 or 5 or 7 if you are feeling inspired!)  At the end of Short & Sweets there will be prizes (which I am still working on) that will be based on the total points for the summer.  The minimum number to qualify for a prize will be 8 points - 1 each week of Short & Sweets.  If you choose to do more, you can rack up points and I'll make sure you get something good! but you must do at least one each week to qualify.  The more points you have, the better the prizes.  I'm going to try to get you some critiques as well as signed books and other goodies :)  Feel free to let me know if there's something in particular your little hearts desire as a prize.

The other advantage of Short & Sweets?  We will all inspire each other's creativity.  Once you've put your challenge response in the comments, scroll through everyone else's and see what they came up with.  Maybe your own entry won't spark a story idea for you, but maybe someone else's will!  (And don't worry - everything will be vague enough that there's no way 2 people will ever write the same story off the same prompt.  It just doesn't work that way :))

Now then.  Are you ready for some Short & Sweet fun???

Here's today's challenge.  We'll start nice and easy :)

In the comment section below, list the first five nouns, the first five adjectives, and the first five verbs that come to mind when you think about either the beach, the town pool, or the local ice cream shop.  (And when I say the first five, I just mean don't spend forever on it - you can tweak the words that come to mind into more descriptive ones if you like - run into chase for example - but this whole exercise shouldn't take more than about 2 or 3 minutes.)  Then pick one each of your nouns, adjectives and verbs and write a sentence that could start a story!

Here's an example for the beach:
Nouns: shells, waves, sun, seagulls, kite
Adjectives: windy, salty, bright, wet, sandy
Verbs: dig, chase, squeal, laugh, splash
Howard was digging down through the wet sand when his shovel hit something hard that glinted in the sun.

See how easy?  Now you try!

And as an example of where you might go with this, if anyone wants to take Howard and run with him while you're lifeguarding at the edge of the pool later or chauffeuring the littles around town, the obvious thing for his shovel to hit would be a pirate's treasure chest, but what if it was something else?  An old English car that had somehow crossed the ocean and wound up on Howard's beach... A genie's lamp... A silver medallion with a huge emerald in the center and words in a mysterious language around the edge...  A dinosaur scale... that was still attached to the dinosaur!...  A giant's gold-capped tooth...! :)

I hope you will think this is Short, Sweet, and fun!  I'm really looking forward to seeing what people come up with!  And if anyone ends up getting a story idea out of this, please tell us!  Any 12x12ers, this might be a great place to start thinking for your July manuscript :)

Have fun, have a great weekend, and please tune in Monday for Q&A with the fabulous editor, Erin Molta!

Would You Read It Wednesday - The 47th Pitch And Then Some!

Hola, my friends! and Happy Fourth of July!!!

Thank you all for your patience while I was on vacation!  I missed you all dreadfully!

There is nothing like a week away from your desk to make you realize just how fast you can get utterly and completely behind, but being swamped upon return was totally worth 7 days of sun and sand, wind and waves, frisbee and family dinners and flashlight tag and feeding ducklings off the dock, Madagascar III on the only rainy afternoon and marshmallows roasted over a very sketchy-looking grill :)  Sometimes I'm really not sure there's anywhere on earth as beautiful as Nantucket...

... but then I get home, and it's so beautiful here too :)

... and I have two little friends who are very glad we're back :)  Woof :)

And I am glad to see you all again!

Before we get to our pitch today, I want to remind anyone who hasn't had a chance yet to please take a minute and check out the self-publishing mini-series.  Suzanne McGovern, Vivian Kirkfield, Patrick Milne, and Rita Borg generously shared a wealth of hard-won wisdom about their experiences self-publishing, and even more generously donated books for giveaways which you can still qualify for by commenting before Thursday July 5 at 11:59 PM EDT!

Now then, grab your Something Chocolate and get ready for Would You Read It! :)

Today's pitch comes to us from Carrie.  She says, I worked in educational software publishing for about 10 years, and wrote content (mostly nonfiction) for children as part of my job. It was wonderful and creative but left me little time or energy for my own writing. Like many parents, my real writing journey began when my son was born and I started reading to him. I started trying to write what I was reading to him, mostly picture books and poetry in magazines like Babybug. I committed myself to practicing as much as I could, took some classes, read some books, and started to submit some of my work to magazines. Four years later, my poems have appeared (or are forthcoming) in Babybug, Ladybug, and High Five magazines. I feel lucky to have found some fabulous critique groups and supportive communities like the 12x12 group that are helping me grow as a writer in so many ways.  Please pop over and visit her website :)

Working Title: Friendly Sam, The Ice Cream Man
Age/Genre:  Picture Book (ages 4-8)
The Pitch:  Sam loves dishing out ice cream to his favorite customers at the park each afternoon. But when a rival ice cream truck shows up on ‘his’ corner, Sam must find a way to out-sing, out-scoop, and out-serve the competition to keep his customers — and himself — happy.

So what do you think?  Would You Read It?  YES, MAYBE or NO?

If your answer is YES, please feel free to tell us what you particularly liked and why the pitch piqued your interest.  If your answer is MAYBE or NO, please feel free to tell us what you think could be better in the spirit of helping Carrie improve her pitch.  Helpful examples of possible alternate wordings are welcome.  (However, I must ask that comments be constructive and respectful.  I reserve the right not to publish comments that are mean because that is not what this is about.)

Please send YOUR pitches for the coming weeks!  For rules and where to submit, click on this link Would You Read It or on the Would You Read It tab in the bar above.  There are openings in August, so you have time to polish :) for a chance for it to be read by editor Erin Molta!

Carrie is looking forward to your thoughts on her pitch!

And I am looking forward to Friday, the inaugural day of Summer Short & Sweets!!!  Are we going to have fun or what?!  I am SO tempted to show you the gorgeous SS&S badge that the awesomely talented Loni Edwards has made for us... SO TEMPTED!  But I will restrain myself (and by restrain myself I mean will someone please tie my hands behind my back!)

So tune in Friday - same bat time, same bat channel!!! :)