Hot date

I'm thrilled to announce that my publisher has set the publication date for my second novel, JACK WITH A TWIST (Engaging your adversary and other things they don't teach you in law school). It will be out on bookshelves on June 24, 2008 and I'm absolutely thrilled.

The funny thing about that pub date, though, is that I already had it highlighted in my calendar, since it is my father's birthday! I think that it's a pretty lucky coincidence, and can only mean good things for my second book. I always think it's so special when things happen on those dates that are special for your family. My brother was born on my grandfather's birthday, and my first date with my fiance was the same day as his nephew's birthday (which, at the time, he told me was very lucky!). Do any of you have shared "lucky" dates?

Sibling rivalry

Just came back from a fun filled vacation with my fiance and we got to visit lots of family. What could be better, right? Well, I guess a fun filled vacation on a sunny deserted island where we don't speak to anyone else but each other for two weeks, but I digress.

I was especially excited to go, since my cousin's wife just had their second child. The baby is an adorable little bundle of love and everyone adores her. Everyone, that is, but her older brother. Sure, he talks a good game-- "I'm a big brother now!" "I love my little sister!" "She's so beautiful!"-- but I couldn't help but notice that he tried to kill her once or twice. Okay, no, he didn't actually try to kill her, but he *did* ask me why on earth I wanted to sit around and hold her when I could go and play with him.

Oh dear.

I tried to explain to him that I, too, am an older sibling and being an older sibling rocks! He asked me why, exactly, being an older sibling rocks, and I couldn't think of one thing. Zip. Zippo. Nada. Which is strange, because I'm incredibly close with my brother. And I never once tried to kill him. (That I can remember.)

The whole thing made me think about siblings and your birth order in the family. I've always thought that your birth order in the family truly makes you who you are (in fact, in my writing classes, I urge students to think about where their characters fall in the birth order of the family).Where are you guys in the birth order of your families and how has that made you who you are today?