Birthdays: William Golding (1911), Ingrid Jonker (1933), Keorapetse Kgositsile (1938), Penelope Mortimer (1918), Rebecca Skloot (1972)

Tip: Make friends with your local bookseller by not just stopping in, but by purchasing books from them. Talk with them. Get to know them before you ask for a signing.

Thought for the day: “Write a page every day. That’s about 200 words, or 1000 words a week. Do that for two years and you’ll have a novel that’s long enough. Nothing will happen until you are producing at least one page per day.” – John Grisham

Jumpstart: I’ve never done anything like this. It’s not who I am. But today, I must. I have to…