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Live Chat with Nikki Loftin, NIGHTINGALE’S NEST

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 Live Chat with Nikki Loftin NIGHTINGALE'S NEST(03/25/2014) 
4:28
Nora - EarlyWord: 
We'll begin our chat with Nikki Loftin, author of NIGHTINGALE'S NEST at 5 p.m.
Tuesday March 25, 2014 4:28 Nora - EarlyWord
4:30
 Nora - EarlyWord
Click on the cover to view a larger version.
Tuesday March 25, 2014 4:30 
4:33
Nora - EarlyWord: 
Nightingale's Nest has received some great reviews. The following from School Library Journal serves as a good beginning:

"Pulling readers in from the very first page, Loftin's novel shares the enchanting quality of the Andersen fairy tale that inspired it. Packed with serious subjects, ... it is also the story of forgiveness, healing, and friendship ... The lyrical, descriptive prose and the hopeful ending will linger long after the final chapter."
Tuesday March 25, 2014 4:33 Nora - EarlyWord
4:50
Nora - EarlyWord: 
You can enter your questions below. We will try to get as many in as time allows. Don't worry about typos (and forgive us for any we commit!)
Tuesday March 25, 2014 4:50 Nora - EarlyWord
4:55
lisa von drasek: 
just checking in
Tuesday March 25, 2014 4:55 lisa von drasek
4:56
Nora - EarlyWord: 
Hi Lisa -- looking forward to our chat today. I see some folks gathering. We will being in just a few minutes.
Tuesday March 25, 2014 4:56 Nora - EarlyWord
5:00
Nora - EarlyWord: 
Welcome, Nikki -- say hello to the group.
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:00 Nora - EarlyWord
5:00
Nikki Loftin: 
Hi! I'm Nikki Loftin, author, and terrible typist. This should be exciting!
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:00 Nikki Loftin
5:01
lisa von drasek: 
Lisa, former children's librarian pre-k - 8th grade and now curator of the Kerlan Collections at the Universty of Minnesota?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:01 lisa von drasek
5:01
lisa von drasek: 
there are some others on line for the chat would you like to say hello?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:01 lisa von drasek
5:02
[Comment From GuestGuest: ] 
Hi Nikki! This is Akiko and I'm not the fastest typeset either.
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:02 Guest
 
Nikki Loftin: 
Thanks for stopping in! Let's type slowly together.
  Nikki Loftin
5:02
[Comment From ChelseaChelsea: ] 
Hi Nikki and Lisa! This is Chelsea from Sacramento.
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:02 Chelsea
5:02
[Comment From GuestGuest: ] 
Hello! Erin, Children's Librarian Henrico VA. Just finished the book last night. Perfect timing :)
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:02 Guest
5:02
[Comment From JennaJenna: ] 
I'm Jenna, a youth services librarian in a northern Chicago suburb. Hi everyone!
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:02 Jenna
5:02
lisa von drasek: 
while people say hello, Nikki, can you tell us something about yourself Can you tell me a little about where your grew up?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:02 lisa von drasek
5:03
[Comment From UnLibrarian, Palm DesertUnLibrarian, Palm Desert: ] 
Hi Nikki!
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:03 UnLibrarian, Palm Desert
5:03
Nikki Loftin: 
Sure, Lisa! I grew up in Central Texas, not far from where I live now. Austin is my hometown - there's a lot to love about it!
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:03 Nikki Loftin
5:04
lisa von drasek: 
your new book is set in a small town in texas. is it a real town?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:04 lisa von drasek
5:05
Nikki Loftin: 
Hi, y'all! Lisa, well sort of. It is based on a real town in Mills County, but I changed the name since I'd changed quite a few things about the stores/buildings there. I re-named it Hilsaback, Texas, after my amazing Sr. High English teacher.
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:05 Nikki Loftin
5:05
Nikki Loftin: 
I figured it might bug the residents of the real town since I switched all their landmarks around. :)
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:05 Nikki Loftin
5:06
Nikki Loftin: 
(And thank you all for coming today!)
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:06 Nikki Loftin
5:06
lisa von drasek: 
Can you tell me a little about the protagonist? He is a twelve year old boy who?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:06 lisa von drasek
5:07
Nikki Loftin: 
Little John Fisher is a boy who grew as tall as a man in the last year - the year after his little sister died falling from a tree. He blames himself for her death, and blames trees, too. So he's glad to be working for his dad's tree-trimming service for the summer, cutting down every tree he can. He's a broken-hearted kid when we meet him... until he meets a little girl with the voice of a nightingale, singing in a tree near where he's working.
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:07 Nikki Loftin
5:08
lisa von drasek: 
Nightengales Nest is very real and magical at the same time… Can you say a little about why you chose this style of story telling?

Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:08 lisa von drasek
5:10
Nikki Loftin: 
I love magical realism - ever since a professor in my graduate writing program turned me onto Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Isabel Allende. It just felt right in this story - a re-imagining of Hans Christian Andersen's The Nightingale - to make the magic... approachable. And it was important to me to have a realistic setting – in this case, a very poor, rural Texas town – as a backdrop for the magical friendship between Gayle and Little John.
I think the harsh reality of the story makes a good contrast with the magic.
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:10 Nikki Loftin
5:11
lisa von drasek: 
When I read it I could imagine a 5th grade teacher reading it aloud in class. Do you read aloud when you write?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:11 lisa von drasek
5:12
Nikki Loftin: 
All the time! I have two sons who beg me to read my works in progress to them as I write. So I hear it, over and over, reading it to them, my husband, my dogs, myself... I think the cadence of the words matters. (I also write poetry, so maybe that has something to do with this habit? Hmm. Don't know.)
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:12 Nikki Loftin
5:12
lisa von drasek: 
Names are very important in the book, Little John, Tree, Gayle, Susie, nightingale. is Nikki a nick name? short for? do you have any names your family used to call you growing up?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:12 lisa von drasek
5:13
Nikki Loftin: 
Nikki is short for Nicole, my middle name! My mom named me for a soap opera star, Nikki Belle... I can't remember which soap...
My mom used to call me Nikki Picky. Totally undeserved, I assure you.
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:13 Nikki Loftin
5:14
Nikki Loftin: 
By the way, I'd LOVE to hear a fifth grade teacher read this...
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:14 Nikki Loftin
5:14
lisa von drasek: 
Reading this book I had a strong sense of someone who really "got" book for kids. Are there some children's book authors that you love that you would like to share with us?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:14 lisa von drasek
5:14
Nikki Loftin: 
... and here's a bit of inside scoop: when I read it aloud, I use a really thick Texas drawl, which I do NOT do on my other stories! It's Little John's accent.
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:14 Nikki Loftin
5:15
lisa von drasek: 
hey, I heard you on the phone - you DO not have an accent. why not?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:15 lisa von drasek
 
Nikki Loftin: 
I'm not sure. I was trained as an opera singer... maybe that ironed it out?
  Nikki Loftin
5:15
Nikki Loftin: 
Yes! I read voraciously as a child, but the books I remember best are the ones that made me think – and, sometimes, cry. Bridge to Terabithia, and Old Yeller, and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe – these books helped me understand a childhood world that to me was inexplicable and magical and frightening. But more recently, I have fallen in love with Natalie Lloyd's A Snicker of Magic...
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:15 Nikki Loftin
5:16
lisa von drasek: 
This book literally sings- do you have a musical background?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:16 lisa von drasek
 
Nikki Loftin: 
Yes - see above. I was also born into a family of musicians. I started voice and violin lessons when I was three. I think music permeates all my stories in some way.
  Nikki Loftin
5:16
Nikki Loftin: 
... and Lynda Mullaly Hunt's One For the Murphy's, as well as Kate diCamillo's Flora and Ulysses (my current read!).
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:16 Nikki Loftin
5:16
[Comment From Lindsey LibrarianLindsey Librarian: ] 
I didn't know about the Hans Christian Anderson story until I read the reviews -- why did you choose it?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:16 Lindsey Librarian
 
Nikki Loftin: 
I was a fairy tale nerd when I was little. I obsessed over them - and The Nightingale was one of my favorites. I loved the idea of a bird that could heal with its voice.
  Nikki Loftin
5:18
lisa von drasek: 
What does your writing day look like?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:18 lisa von drasek
 
Nikki Loftin: 
I get up, get the kids on the bus, and as soon as I'm alone... and pry myself off facebook/email - I start writing. I'll write for a few hours, take a break, then get back to it until the buses come home! Sometimes I even manage to change out of my pajamas. :)
  Nikki Loftin
5:19
[Comment From Jody, school librarianJody, school librarian: ] 
The tenderness that Little John shows toward Gayle/Susie is so amazing. Love the detail about her hair, for instance. Sounds so true. Is it based on something?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:19 Jody, school librarian
 
Nikki Loftin: 
Thank you. Ah, the painful questions. Yes, someone I love very dearly had a condition where she pulled her hair out unconsciously. Her hair was so, so soft, I loved it, loved brushing it. And then it was gone, and she couldn't help it. (She got better, in case you're worried.)
  Nikki Loftin
5:22
[Comment From Lindsey LibrarianLindsey Librarian: ] 
You mention books that make your cry -- yours made me choke up many times!
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:22 Lindsey Librarian
 
Nikki Loftin: 
Is it okay if I say "good?" :) I hope it left you feeling hopeful, though. My sons like to make me read them sad books – I think they enjoy watching me cry. ☺ On their favorite sad books list: Roxaboxen, The Velveteen Rabbit, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.
  Nikki Loftin
5:23
[Comment From Jody, School LibrarianJody, School Librarian: ] 
Thanks for answering that -- gives even more depth to the story! (and thanks for telling us she got better).
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:23 Jody, School Librarian
5:23
lisa von drasek: 
kids often ask for a a sad book. grown ups don't
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:23 lisa von drasek
 
Nikki Loftin: 
That's interesting! I love sad books. Just finished crying through The Dogs of Winter by Bobbie Pyron, and A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness? SOBFEST, but the best cry ever.
  Nikki Loftin
5:24
lisa von drasek: 
on a lighter note- was it easy to get published?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:24 lisa von drasek
 
Nikki Loftin: 
Yes, Lisa. I just wished on my magic dandelion... haha. No. I took years of self-doubt and writing truly terrible manuscripts, then more years of not selling fairly good ones, to get to the ones that did sell. I ate a LOT of chocolate on the road to publication.
  Nikki Loftin
5:24
[Comment From Lindsey LibrarianLindsey Librarian: ] 
Yes; that emotional connection WAS good, even if it made me cry -- you reminded me of times in my own youth.
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:24 Lindsey Librarian
 
Nikki Loftin: 
Thank you.
  Nikki Loftin
5:25
lisa von drasek: 
to the people out there....are there books that you would compare this one to to book talk like

if you read "When you reach me"
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:25 lisa von drasek
5:27
lisa von drasek: 
Nikki- did I hear you had a lot pets? where's my picture of a goat?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:27 lisa von drasek
5:27
[Comment From ChelseaChelsea: ] 
I read this around the same time as Crystal Chan's "Bird," and I think the two make for an interesting pair. And I do think Nikki's captured the melancholy hopefulness of "Tuck Everlasting" and "Bridge to Terabithia."
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:27 Chelsea
 
Nikki Loftin: 
Oh, thank you. I'm all melty inside.
  Nikki Loftin
5:28
 Nikki Loftin
Abitha the Fabulous
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:28 
 
lisa von drasek: 
really really fabulous!
  lisa von drasek
5:28
lisa von drasek: 
oh Chelsea, thank you me too!
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:28 lisa von drasek
5:29
[Comment From JennaJenna: ] 
I'll be recommending this one alongside another new tween title, The Riverman- both are based in the real world but with magic elements and deal with darker themes.
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:29 Jenna
5:29
Nikki Loftin: 
I also have two rescue dogs, but they won't hold still for pictures...

Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:29 Nikki Loftin
5:29
lisa von drasek: 
I was wondering if there was a compassionate adult in your life when you were a kid?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:29 lisa von drasek
 
Nikki Loftin: 
So many! My grandma raised me during the summers, and at school I had a librarian who filled my life with books and love. Her name was Mrs. Crabb.
  Nikki Loftin
5:29
Nikki Loftin: 
We are also getting chickens next week, as soon as the chicken coop is made 100% possum and skunk-proof. Since we live in the country, we have to keep our animals safe from varmints. (I love that word.)
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:29 Nikki Loftin
5:30
[Comment From ChelseaChelsea: ] 
I love the way you describe Gale's singing in this book, but it made me wonder if there are plans for an audiobook? I almost want to leave that sound to my imagination. But I would also be very interested to hear the result.
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:30 Chelsea
 
Nikki Loftin: 
No plans yet, or not that I know of, but I'd love to hear it, too! They'd need to use that Texas twang, though.
  Nikki Loftin
5:31
lisa von drasek: 
oh, I was wondering about that too
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:31 lisa von drasek
5:32
Nikki Loftin: 
I have a picture of Mrs. Crabb! Let me see... this was from last year, when I gave her a copy of my debut novel. Being able to thank her, adn tell ehr how she changed my life? I am so grateful for that day.
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:32 Nikki Loftin
5:32
 Nikki Loftin
Mrs. Crabb, Amazing Librarian
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:32 
5:33
lisa von drasek: 
Nikki,
who is Mrs. Crabb?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:33 lisa von drasek
5:34
[Comment From Lindsey LibrarianLindsey Librarian: ] 
Love hearing about your real life; almost as exotic to me as the life in the book -- both sound real, but truly outside my more urban world.
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:34 Lindsey Librarian
 
Nikki Loftin: 
Thanks! I find big cities utterly fascinating. But hard to sleep in - I can sleep through owls and coyotes, but not garbage truck noise!
  Nikki Loftin
5:34
Nikki Loftin: 
Ah, I replied above - she was my elementary school librarian form 2nd-5th grade. For some reason, my teacher sent me out of class ALL THE TIME to go to the library. I can't imagine why. I'm sure I was perfectly well-behaved. LOL Mrs. Crabb took me in, and raised me on books.
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:34 Nikki Loftin
5:34
[Comment From Jody, School LibrarianJody, School Librarian: ] 
Hurrah for school librarians! Were you ever tempted to become one?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:34 Jody, School Librarian
 
Nikki Loftin: 
My sister wanted to be one! She even pasted little slips into the back of MY OWN books for me to check out! And charged me fines if I was late turning them in. I never wanted to be one. Honestly, I always wanted to be an author. Also, I'm a disorganized soul.
  Nikki Loftin
5:36
[Comment From Jody, School LibrarianJody, School Librarian: ] 
I want to go back to what Lisa said about kids asking for sad books, but not adults. Wonder why that is? Why do kids want sad books?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:36 Jody, School Librarian
5:37
lisa von drasek: 
Nikki,
Although this book has deeply sad moments, it is ultimately about hope and forgiveness and community. can you say something about that?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:37 lisa von drasek
5:37
Nikki Loftin: 
I'm not sure. I know, being a kid is hard, or at least it can be. Kids have so little power over their own lives, and yet their days are as filled with difficulty as any adult.
When I read books as a child, I *became* the character I read about. I think giving a young reader – who may have a terribly difficult real life -- a story to lose herself or himself in, where the main character triumphs over exterior bad guys and interior weakness, and who learns to forgive her/himself and others… I think there’s a sort of healing that can take place through story.
If I can do that, if I can help one reader to learn that s/he can triumph? That’s my writer’s dream come true.
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:37 Nikki Loftin
5:38
Nikki Loftin: 
Lisa - sure. I think books for kids need to be ultimately hopeful, even if they're difficult/sad...
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:38 Nikki Loftin
5:39
[Comment From Jody, School LibrarianJody, School Librarian: ] 
And it may be that kids know that even though a book may be sad, the characters generally do triumph -- so maybe that is actually what they are looking for.
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:39 Jody, School Librarian
 
Nikki Loftin: 
Exactly!
  Nikki Loftin
5:40
Nikki Loftin: 
So that kids can feel that possibility of a happy ending, even in difficult times. And I'm glad you saw the importance of the community coming together - that's a real fact of life in small, poor communities and towns...
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:40 Nikki Loftin
5:40
[Comment From ChelseaChelsea: ] 
I really appreciate how honest your depiction of Little John's poverty is. I don't think we see families with real money troubles enough in children's fiction - it's something kids are definitely aware of, particularly if it weighs on their parents. Was that something you set out to do, or did it come later?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:40 Chelsea
 
Nikki Loftin: 
Thank you! I think some authors are doing this very well - How to Steal a Dog, comes to mind, and Jacqueline Woodson's utterly amazing middle grade books - Feathers, Locomotion, so many. She's a marvel. I hope every library buys all her books - she does so much in a short space. But, yes, I set out to make the setting very stark, on purpose.
  Nikki Loftin
5:41
[Comment From Jody, School LibrarianJody, School Librarian: ] 
...even though they may not be able to articulate it.
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:41 Jody, School Librarian
5:41
Nikki Loftin: 
Lisa - I have seen it hundreds of times (from my career of working in churches) - the casseroles start baking all over town minutes after the bad news hits.
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:41 Nikki Loftin
5:42
[Comment From Lindsey LibrarianLindsey Librarian: ] 
Love the comment from Chelsea. I worked as a lifeguard at a pool surrounded by poor families -- Little John reminded me of those kids.
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:42 Lindsey Librarian
 
Nikki Loftin: 
I grew up in a family that was, at times, financially on the edge. We never went without food, but we came very close a lot. That leaves a mark, I think. I remember the feeling - there's nothing romantic about poverty. I hope I got that across in Nest.
  Nikki Loftin
5:44
[Comment From Lindsey LibrarianLindsey Librarian: ] 
They were so honest about their daily lives -- no hiding -- heartbreaking while being admirable.
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:44 Lindsey Librarian
5:45
lisa von drasek: 
I was concerned about the how alone Little John was in his grief and found that so real. Have you experiences that kind of sorrow ?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:45 lisa von drasek
 
Nikki Loftin: 
My five siblings are all still alive, so no. But I think anyone who's lived a while, and loved family and friends deeply, gets to know deep sorrow, like it or not. And my childhood was difficult. I remember.
  Nikki Loftin
5:45
[Comment From Jody, School LibrarianJody, School Librarian: ] 
Do you ever worry that some situations may be too much for a middle grader to read about?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:45 Jody, School Librarian
 
Nikki Loftin: 
There's a famous quotation, form Madeline L'Engle, I believe Something about if a topic is too hard to write about for adults, write it for children. I'm not sure how far down that road to go, but I think kids can handle a lot more than some think. Kids are already handling a lot more - their lives are as full as anyone's. I think they need to be treated with respect and dignity - in life and in their literature. (That said, I also LOVE funny books for kids. And write them. Someday, they'll be out there, too, I hope.)
  Nikki Loftin
5:47
[Comment From ChelseaChelsea: ] 
I think you struck a good balance. Poverty never came across as romantic, but it wasn't everything about their lives either, which I think is important. It was just the way it was. Thank you for that!
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:47 Chelsea
 
Nikki Loftin: 
Thank you!!
  Nikki Loftin
5:48
lisa von drasek: 
Nikki,
You mentioned that you have done SKYPED visits. how have those gone for you?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:48 lisa von drasek
5:50
lisa von drasek: 
If someone wanted to schedule one what would they do?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:50 lisa von drasek
5:50
Nikki Loftin: 
Ah, Skype! I love these visits! And if a class has read the book, and a teacher emails me, it's very likely I will do a free short one. I love talking to kids about books! :) That's the gravy, y'all - getting to interact with the reader. So energizing!
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:50 Nikki Loftin
5:51
lisa von drasek: 
what's the craziest thing a kid has ever asked you?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:51 lisa von drasek
5:51
Nikki Loftin: 
All they need to do is email me via my contact form on my website www.nikkiloftin.com or here: nikki@nikkiloftin.com. Thanks, Lisa!
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:51 Nikki Loftin
5:52
Nikki Loftin: 
The craziest thing... The WORST thing. One student asked if I had to give up one of them forever, would I give up chocolate or writing? Sobbing, I answered her "Chocolate. But I'd never be really happy again."
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:52 Nikki Loftin
5:53
lisa von drasek: 
do you like dark or milk? Is there a special celebration chocolate that you eat when a book is finished?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:53 lisa von drasek
5:53
Nikki Loftin: 
Lisa, I am eating chocolate RIGHT NOW.
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:53 Nikki Loftin
5:54
lisa von drasek: 
from the peanut gallery- any last questions? comments?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:54 lisa von drasek
5:54
Nikki Loftin: 
I celebrate with Lindt Extra Dark with oranges and almonds.
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:54 Nikki Loftin
5:54
lisa von drasek: 
Nikki,

Next book in the pipeline? what? when?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:54 lisa von drasek
5:55
[Comment From CaraCara: ] 
I've just joined the discussion so I may have missed it, but what do you think of the cover?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:55 Cara
5:57
Nikki Loftin: 
Yes, my next one is called WISH GIRL! It should be out about this time next year. I'm so excited - to answer Cara's question, too - I get the same cover artist, and I'm over the moon happy! I adore my NEST cover, and I know WISH GIRL will be amazing.
WISH GIRL is also magical realism, and I'm almost done editing it... it's about a misunderstood boy and a very sick girl and a magical valley where wishes may come true... I hope you like it!
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:57 Nikki Loftin
5:57
lisa von drasek: 
oh I DO like wishes that come true
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:57 lisa von drasek
5:58
Nora - EarlyWord: 
Thanks, Lisa and Nikki for a great chat.

And thanks to all of you who for joining us and for your great comments and questions.

When we finish, this chat will be archived on the Penguin Young Readers Author Program site -- penguinyrauthors.earlyword.com

The next title in the program is UNDER THE EGG by Laura Marx Fitzgerald.

Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:58 Nora - EarlyWord
5:58
Nora - EarlyWord: 
Final comments, Lisa and Nikki?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:58 Nora - EarlyWord
5:58
lisa von drasek: 
What is the date?
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:58 lisa von drasek
5:59
lisa von drasek: 
Thank you Nikki, this was a pleasure
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:59 lisa von drasek
5:59
Nikki Loftin: 
Thank you so much, Lisa, and Nora, and all of you who came and asked questions! And thank you for the work you do with young readers - you make an incredible difference in the lives of kids. I'm delighted to have the chance to chat!
Tuesday March 25, 2014 5:59 Nikki Loftin
6:00
Nikki Loftin: 
(And I can't wait for Under the Egg! What a perfect follow-up to NEST. haha)
Tuesday March 25, 2014 6:00 Nikki Loftin
6:00
[Comment From JennaJenna: ] 
Thanks, Nikki! And thanks for writing a wonderful book!
Tuesday March 25, 2014 6:00 Jenna
 
Nikki Loftin: 
You are too kind. Thank you for reading!
  Nikki Loftin
6:00
Nora - EarlyWord: 
Signing off with a big smile -- thanks, everyone!
Tuesday March 25, 2014 6:00 Nora - EarlyWord
 
 

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