Fun Times

What a wonderful time we had at the tea party at Monkey See, Monkey Do Wednesday!

I made some new reading friends and was supported by some old reading friends. I thank them all for coming!

We were able to experience some of the items from Relic that kids might not be familiar with – Depression Glass and Samantha’s “torture device” – and we were also able to eat some of the goodies straight from the pages of the book!

It’s always wonderful to have kids tell me they want to be writers. It means they have ideas and are creative. Those are the kinds of kids that should populate our planet to take us into our future!

Can You Find the Freebies?

I took a bike ride the other day and found two “free” libraries in my neighborhood. I put a copy of Relic in each one.

So, there they are. Free copies to anyone who finds them!

Enjoy!

My hope is that who ever reads them, will also review Relic on Amazon.com and then return it to a free library so others have the chance to enjoy Samantha’s story.

That goes for the rest of the readers out there. Please consider writing a review of the story on Amazon!

Thanks!

And by the way, send me the location of a free library near you and I’ll consider dropping a copy of Relic there, if I’m in the neighborhood!

Summer Thoughts

Camping with friends and family recently made me think about the little things that truly encompass summer.

Those that came to mind quickly:

o   The crispy, extremely sticky sweetness of a roasted marshmallow.

o   The relief you feel when temperatures recede ever so slightly as night falls after a 90-degree day.

o   When the high-pitched crescendo of cicadas is the only sound you hear.

o   The sporadic, magical, blinking glow of fireflies in the night.

What are some of the sounds, smells and sights that tell you summer is here?

Treasure Found!

Look what I found!

The original draft of Relic!

I knew it was somewhere, and I had been keeping my eye peeled for it for the last year or so as I did my weeding out. Then, a week or so ago, as I was cleaning out the deepest, darkest recesses of my classroom, I found it buried on the bottom shelf of a cupboard.

What is cool about this draft is that it was written years ago on a Brother word processor and is literally cut and pasted together as I rearranged paragraphs. You can also see where I added hand-written sentences as I changed the draft. It wasn’t like writing on a computer where you can go back into your paragraph and make immediate changes!

What fun!

Tea Party

Join me from 4:15 to 5 p.m. Wednesday July 20 at Monkey See, Monkey Do bookstore, located at 9060 Main Street in Clarence, NY.

We plan to turn the visit into a tea party Mrs. Van Dansk would be proud of! We’ll be serving tea in china and pink depression glass tea cups. Mrs. Van Dansk’s very own peanut butter and lemon cookies will be on the menu, as well as Mrs. Whitaker’s shortbread with berry preserves.

I'll discuss the writing of Relic and answer questions. I promise a reading or two from Relic, and I’ll sign your copy if you bring it with or purchase at the store.

See you there!