As much as I enjoy writing the Spy School series, the Belly Up series has been a lot more fun to research.  Being an author has opened some doors and allowed me some experiences lately that have been truly wonderful.  I thought that my recent experience getting to meet a rhino at the San Diego Zoo would be tough to top.  And then this happened:

Despite the fact that I have been writing about all sorts of other fascinating animals in my books, elephants have always been the animals that I loved the most.  They are intelligent and emotional and amazing.  I had always hoped to have the chance to interact with them like this, but never got the opportunity until this week.  This is not at a zoo, but at a private facility.  Both these elephants have been rescued from other facilities where they were not being properly cared for.  In addition to having all my research questions answered, I was allowed to spend three hours with the elephants, feeding them, petting them, and occasionally just relaxing with them.

Now if I can only talk NASA into letting me go up on a rocket as research for Space Case…