I am heartbroken. Family & friends in Philippines severely affected by typhoon floods. Houses ruined. Food scarce. Pls donate to Red Cross.

Woohoo! Kristin Henness, K teacher fr Jarman Elem in OK, won my "How FANtastic Are You?!" contest. Wins autographed books & box of goodies!

Supporting a fellow author. Bought YA novel, Breathe My Name, by R.A. Nelson. Looking forward to it... Love the title!

Bought a new Brother 4-in-one printer, copier, scanner, fax machine. His predecessor quit in the middle of a job. So he's REPLACED!

Another book contract is coming my way from Libraries Unlimited for Tales from the 7,000 Isles: Filipino Folk Stories! Woo hoo! :)

Updated the Story Connection Blog. Read all abt fun school visit, TASL conference, & tour of Nashville. http://ping.fm/wJZMQ

Madame Poulet book launch party this wkend! Bought supplies, made roach party hats & story shakers, ordered chicken cake & bookmarks.

Holly Stone-Barker, illustrator of my Spring book, Mama's Bayou, gv me sneak peek of gorgeous illustrations!

Trying to catch up. Much ofc wk to do & many errands to run! I need 2 of me!

I meant Cloudy w Chance of Meatballs was cute! Fantastic family film!

Cloudy w Chance was cute. Great family film!

Saints 27 - Bills 7. Woo hoo!

Arrived in New Orleans safe & sound. Now having brkfst @ Suave in downtown NOLA. Latino food. Yum!

Whew! Made it w minutes to spare. The adventures of air travel.

Hoping not to miss connecting flt. On ground just short of gate due to delay & my nxt flt now boarding.

Time in TN almost done. Hv to be @ airport 5am. Ugh. But I am flying home! Yay! Can't wait to see my cutie pie Eliana. I luv & miss u, baby!

Had a wonderful day! Keynote went well & breakout session super successful. Ltr, Nancy Dickinson took me sightseeing in Nashville. Fun!

Been a busy day @ TASL Conference. Worked on tmrw's keynote and now heading to bed. Gotta be up @ 5:30am!

Time to do TASL conference stuff. There is a luncheon and a dinner banquet. Don't you love how everything revolves around food? LOL

Had wonderful visit w Mary Jo Huff. Too tired to open FB & Twitter. Ck in morn...

School author visit @ Hillsboro Elem went so well! Had a blast! Nancy Dickinson was grt hostess!

Now on way to Hillsboro Elem in TN to dazzle children w storytelling n books!

I fell asleep w Dan Brown. Our grand affair is almost done. I'm @ 433!

Yay! Boarding now. Tavern had a comfy sofa, wine list & cheesecake! Not a bad layover. :)

Ah, a wonderful 3.5 hr layover. There is a tavern across fr my gate...

@ lovely New Orleans airport waiting... Fly to WKRP (Cincinnati) then to Nashville. TG Dan Brown's here w me!

Prepping for trip to TN tmrw. School author visit on Thurs then TN Assn of School Librarians conf on Fri & Sat. Keynote on Sat - I'm pumped!

Bought new suitcases - Olympia "Barcelona" spinners - carryon, 25" & 30". Also got new "ck pt" laptop briefcase. Traveling should be EZ now!

Ah, been so busy I haven't tweeted or updated any statuses! Running around prepping for another out-of-town trip.

Created new fonts with my own handwriting. Too cool! Thx @hafnerdesigns for the idea! http://ping.fm/Wy722

Eliana had sleepover last nite w 3 cousins. This morn, girls learning string figures & having a blast.

Shopping for new outfit for keynote nxt wk. New dress needs new shoes. New shoes needs new purse. New purse needs matching accessories. LOL

I'm home sweet home in New Orleans! Yay!

On flight to Memphis then to home to New Orleans.

Encyclomedia has been a blast. Luv the OK teachers & librarians! Look forward to returning! Today: book signing and flying home.

Wkshps were fantastic. Several of my books sold out. Now social & dinner.

In between workshops @ Encyclo-Media. Tell Along Tales session was so full, they had to turn ppl away (fire rules). Next: Tangram Tales :)

Room service is a great way to start day! Now on to Encyclo-Media - 3 workshops, autographing, a social & dinner w my publisher. :)

Limo ride & fun din w Elaine Regier, Vickie Hale, Perri Applegate (OK Dept of Ed), Doug Johnson, Mary Johnson & Randi Testa (Walden Media)

Arrived in OK City. Now in hotel room. The bed is enticing my weary body...

Now I need toothpicks to keep my eyes open... Haven't slept yet... Ack! I think it's time. Zzzzzzzzzzz

AA put me on earlier flight cuz 1st officer's wife went into labor. Now flying to OK via DFW. Using GoGo Internet on plane. Cool!

Time to go! Flying to Oklahoma to Encyclo-Media! I look forward to having tons of fun!

Have to be at airport @ 5am. Ugh. Still so much to do! Featured speaker at Encyclo-Media in Oklahoma. Guess I sleep on the plane... LOL

Rec'd sweet fan mail: "Ur newsletters inspire me!" & "Wanted u to see the scrolls our Alabaster, AL kids made last week using ur idea." Yay!

Working on Story Connection Express newsltr, finishing new book proposal, prepping for tonite's Blog Talk Radio show & writing new pic book

Ack! Rainstorm water has seeped into my office from outside through the window. Water all over the floor. Towels, mop, bucket...

Ah, the TO DO list is long but time is short... Isn't that always the case?

Finished writing bk (25 stories). Made card games for Madame Poulet & Monsieur Roach bk. (Memory, Slap Roach, Old Hen, Go Roach, Crazy Chkn)

Remembering 9/11: Worked @ top of tallest bldg in New Orleans. Saw tragedy unfold live on TV. After, we had to evac. Unreal & unforgettable.

Rain thwarted my trek at the track. Wii Fit, here I come! :)

Saw dummy for my Fall 2010 children's book, The Gigantic Sweet Potato, illustrated by Marita Gentry. Fun & funny! LOVE the characters! :)

Rec'd contract for Tell Along Tales! Playing with Participation Stories, a book that teaches how to tell audience participation tales. Yay!

Enjoy a video about "The Library" where librarians are "often sexy." http://ping.fm/Clo8K

Rec'd author copies of my new children's book, Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach. They are gorgeous - bright & colorful. Yay!

Happy 09/09/09! Learn the special significance of this date. http://ping.fm/57Eg5

Kid Chef Eliana made peanut butter oat bran cookies for her college sister, who is coming to town tmrw. They were yum!

According to Boston Globe, Cushing Academy, Ashburnham, MA will clear out more than 20,000 books in its library & go completely digital.

CONTEST! Send pic of u, ur child, or classroom w Dianne’s books. Winner recv 2 copies of Madame Poulet & Monsieur Roach http://bit.ly/o8sjr

Scheduled another book event @ Barnes & Noble (Harvey, LA) for Sat Nov 21, 2009 @ 7pm. Storytelling, live illustration & book signing. Fun!

My publisher just informed me that my new children's book, Madame Poulet & Monsieur Roach, arrived today! Woo hoo! Can't wait to see it!

Now I feel like a sloth! RT @huffingtonpost James Patterson To Crank Out 17 Books In 3 Years http://bit.ly/QaUC0

Great weekend! No wk, minimal Twitter & FB. Exercised, relaxed & spent time w fam. This wk, must push to finish a book. 9/30 deadline hovers

Met a mom & her little girl @ Sam's Club. I talked abt Cajun Cornbread Boy & little girl said, "My librarian read that to us!" Too cool!

A late start but I'm going to the track anyway! Gotta keep my eyes on the prize...

Time to enjoy the weekend! Dinner, movies, dancing! :)

Invited to teach a master class in biz & technology @ the Nat'l Storytelling Conference in L.A. next summer. :)

Working on a book due by September 30 (Stories on Board! Creating Board Games from Favorite Tales). Fingers to the keyboard!

New book idea smacked me in the head today while I was at the track. Research Internet & it's never been done! Guess I should work on it...

KidsBuzz is new PR service offered by Deborah Sloan to help kidlit authors market their books. http://ping.fm/akGsm

TRICKS by my dear friend, Ellen Hopkins, is a NYT #1 Bestseller. Yay for Ellen and Emma Dryden (her fabulous editor)!

Finished my slide show. Can't wait to deliver this keynote @ TN Assn of School Librarians Conf. It's going to be so much fun!

Listen to Dianne de Las Casas' Together Time show on #BlogTalkRadio http://ping.fm/33t17 Theme: Creating Love Coupons for Your Kids

Our Nissan Sentra, after 15 yrs of faithful service, retired fr family duty. A 2008 Burgundy Hyundai Santa Fe rolls in, ready to take over.