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In a great article from AWAI, the author said, “The money is in the details. Every product has a story, history, and a process with which it's created in addition to its inherent features and benefits. And just like with acting, incorporating them will generate a hugely compelling piece.” So, what exactly does this mean? Well, think of Anthony Hopkins’ role as Hannibal Lecter. Do you think

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Please welcome Emily Greenwood to the virtual offices this morning!

Thank you so much for having me here today! To celebrate the release of THE BEAUTIFUL ONE, the first title in my Scandalous Sisters series, I asked Anna Black, my spirited heroine, to answer a few questions so you can get to know a little about her and her love interest, Will Halifax, Viscount Grandville.

What is your greatest strength?

Though I’m small, I think I’m stronger than the average Regency lady. Or at least, I’d like to think all those years spent running around outside “like a native,” as the local ladies said, made me stronger. Oh, you mean inner strength… I’m brave.

What is your biggest fear?

I’m in hiding, in danger of being exposed as the Beautiful One. So my biggest fear is that my identity will become known, and I’ll then be the kind of disgraced woman no one dares to acknowledge.

What do you love most about where you live?

Living at Stillwell, Will’s estate, where I’m employed as a governess, is amazing. It’s not that my head is turned by his vast wealth, but I’m the daughter of a doctor, and I grew up in a cottage, so what I love about being at Stillwell is how different it is. Also, he has a folly that looks like a medieval tower, and it’s pretty irresistible.

The Beautiful One

By Emily Greenwood

The Scandalous Sisters, Book 1

Historical Regency Romance

June 2, 2015

ISBN: 9781492613657

$7.99 paperback

Buy THE BEAUTIFUL ONE here: Amazon | B&N | BAM | !ndigo | IndieBound

“A SIZZLING ROMANCE THAT TOUCHES THE HEART.” —Sally MacKenzie, USA Today bestselling author

A PICTURE SAYS A THOUSAND WORDS…

The ton is buzzing about The Beautiful One, a striking figure in a scandalous book of nude sketches. Only two men know the true identity of The Beautiful One, and they are scouring the countryside, determined to find her.

BUT NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT ONES

The unlikely center of the scandal, Anna Black is forced to flee home as disaster looms. Her tomboy’s heart and impertinent tongue serve her well when she meets the most brooding viscount ever to darken a drawing room. Will Halifax, Viscount Grandville, has his reasons for pushing people away, and when his tempestuous teenaged ward arrives on his doorstep, he presses Anna to take on her care. As Anna begins to melt the Viscount’s frozen heart, she knows the more she loves, the more she has to lose. For although Will cares nothing for what makes Society titter, he has yet to see The Beautiful One.

About the Author

Emily Greenwood worked for a number of years as a writer, crafting newsletters and fundraising brochures, but she far prefers writing playful love stories set in Regency England, and she thinks romance novels are the chocolate of literature. A Golden Heart finalist, she lives in Maryland with her husband and two daughters.

Connect with Emily Greenwood:

Website – http://emilygreenwood.net/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/emigreenwood

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pages/Emily-Greenwood/365744720128570

Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6506600.Emily_Greenwood

Excerpt from THE BEAUTIFUL ONE by Emily Greenwood:

Rounding the edge of the wood at the back of Stillwell, he was startled to see his ward standing about. She was looking up at a tree in which, from the movement of its leaves and branches, some large creature seemed to be thrashing. A crow?

As he drew nearer to the oblivious Lizzie, he was almost certain he heard a woman’s voice coming from among the leaves. Lizzie stepped closer to the tree and lifted her hands upward, and he saw that on a thick branch perhaps six feet off the ground were perched two feet in past-their-prime dark ankle boots, and above them he was treated to a view of trim calves he could not regret. The surrounding leaves and branches mostly obscured the rest of his recently hired governess. In the instant before Lizzie became aware of Will, he saw that she held in her cupped hands a fluffy white ball.

Lizzie turned and saw him, her mouth forming into an “O” as a voice called from above, “Lizzie? I’m ready for the owlet.”

“Er,” said Lizzie, looking at him. In the clear afternoon light he noticed that her eyes were a different color blue than Ginger’s had been. But the shape was Ginger’s, as were the eyebrows. Not her fault, but he couldn’t go the route of compassion. It would only muddy what had to be. He looked past her and lifted a hand to rub his eyes.

“Miss Black,” he said, knowing he could not avoid asking, “what on earth are you doing?”

There was a pause as she absorbed his arrival and a shifting of the feet on the branch near his forehead as they drew together, perhaps in an attempt at modesty.

“Ah, my lord,” she said from above him. “Good afternoon. Lizzie and I are engaged in returning a fallen owlet to its nest. It was her idea. She is very caring toward animals.”

He could feel Lizzie’s big blue eyes on him though his own were still covered by his hand. He had no doubt as to whose idea it had been to climb the tree. He hadn’t truly expected Anna Black to be a typical sort of governess, had he?

“Come down at once.”

“If you will wait just a moment, my lord,” she said breezily, “I shall be down directly. Lizzie, the owlet.”

Lizzie cleared her throat. “Here.”

He tapped her on the shoulder before she could lift her arms farther. “Give me that creature, please.”

She looked uncertain, but she clearly didn’t want to displease him, and she handed over the motionless owl. He took it carefully from her and did not return her tentative smile. He could feel her eagerness for him to acknowledge her, but he let it flow past him.

The leaves and branches above them shook as Anna Black crouched down and extended her hand for the animal. Her bonnet, the same horrible blue one, had fallen on its strings around her neck again, and her hair, apparently loosened by her climb, curled crazily about her face as if she were some unkempt urchin, accentuating her pert nose and reminding him of her jack-in-the-box appearance from the coach.

Her pink lips pressed outward at the sight of him; doubtless she was annoyed by his arrival, but her expression didn’t draw an answering wave of annoyance from him. Instead, her lips were making him wonder, unaccountably, what it might feel like to be kissed all over by pink butterflies.

“The owlet, please,” she fairly ordered him.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Get down this instant before you fall. I will return the owlet.”

“I am already positioned to do so. If you will just give it to me, I can put it back and then receive your displeasure properly on the ground.”

He grunted. Why did he keep finding himself in out-of-his-control conversations with this maddening woman?

In his palm the owlet’s heart beat with a rapid, stressed flutter. He reached up his hand, and she gently took the animal and disappeared into the foliage.

From above came a few rustling noises, then the angry screech of what had to be an adult owl and a yelp. Fearing Miss Black would fall, he stepped forward to catch her, but at that same moment she jumped neatly down, so that she landed right in front of him.

He grabbed her arms, a reflex to steady her. She didn’t need his help, but their eyes locked, and for a moment he read vulnerability there before it was replaced with the hard glint of independence. She smelled like sunshine and crushed leaves, and he felt the slim softness of her arms and his body’s yearning to hug her close.

She stepped away from him. It had all happened in the space of a few moments.

But as he watched her brush some leaves from her skirts with her head down, that vulnerability he’d glimpsed tugged at him. Who was this woman? Where had she come from? She was clearly educated and intelligent, and though she was too forthright and she dressed terribly, she was not rough, merely unusual.

That life-on-the-edge-of-propriety quality he’d observed in her the night before had suggested that she’d known some hardship, or that she had some burden she might trade for money. And yet today, in the company of his ward, she looked at ease, even if her eyes seemed to be hiding something.

Giveaway

3 copies of The Beautiful One by Emily Greenwood

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       They handed out the French-American Foundation/Florence Gould Foundation Translation Prizes yesterday (at a nice ceremony at the Century Association which I was able to attend -- there was a big translator-turnout, too).
       A lifetime achievement Honorary Award went to Arthur Goldhammer -- translator of more than 120 (!) books, including recently Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century.
       The fiction prize went to Donald Nicholson-Smith, for his translation of The Mad and the Bad, by Jean-Patrick Manchette -- a fine choice, and one that I hope helps ensure that, as he suggested, New York Review Books might be up for some more Manchette translations in the near future .....
       The non-fiction prize went to David Ball for his translation of Diary of the Dark Years, 1940-1944 by Jean Guéhenno; see the Oxford University Press publicity page, or get your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.
       (John Lambert's translation of Limonov got an 'honorable mention' in the non-fiction category.)

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       At DeutscheWelle Holger Heimann reports that 'translations of German bestsellers are particularly en vouge' [sic -- but you know what they mean] in Taiwan, in Reading between the lines in Taiwan.
       Apparently: "Most translations from German are published by Business Weekly" -- not a really huge number, but some impressive numbers behind it, nevertheless:

When I started out at Business Weekly 15 years ago, we published a translation from German only once every two years. By now, we publish three to five such works every year. Whereas we had only two German speaking editors before, we now have four.

       I wonder how many US publishers have four editors who all speak any one foreign language -- especially one from across the world (say, Chinese, Japanese, or Korean ...).

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       Hey, it's a small country, so you can't expect too much, literary-scandal-wise -- but this does involve The Ambassadors- and The Pets-author Bragi Ólafsson.
       He apparently wrote a limited-(to-300-copies-)edition book titled Bögglapóststofan which was: "given to a select group of 300 people as a Christmas gift" by the company that commissioned it. The problem ? The company was: "the very unpopular financial management company Gamma", and the gift was for their: "300 top customers".
       Anyway, Kári Tulinius has the story at Grapevine, in So What's This Literary Scandal I Keep Hearing About ?

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       The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of The Collected Stories by Mikhail Shishkin, Calligraphy Lesson, recently out from Deep Vellum.

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Happy National Corn On The Cob Day!

Really!

I'm not making this up!

I think it's a great idea for a holiday.  I love corn on the cob.  It is so delicious and summery!

I'm sure it's a completely genuine holiday and definitely not an elaborate ruse thought up by Oral B or Johnson&Johnson to increase sales of dental floss! :)

But here's what I'm thinking: the Tooth Fairy ought to cash in on this day.  Seriously, the number of teeth under pillows must skyrocket on a day when the world's 6 year olds are all eating corn on the cob :)

What, you may ask, does this have to do with Would You Read It?

Well... as I see it... absolutely nothing :)  But I still think it's important that you know the historic significance of the day!

Now then, if you could all kindly stop comparing corn on the cob recipes and arguing over the exact number of seconds required to perfectly cook corn on the cob, we could get down to the business at hand!

First, I'm thrilled to announce that the winner of the May Pitch Pick was Jason with his pitch for Barnabas Is NOT A Ninja!!!  Congratulations, Jason!  Your pitch has been sent to editor Erin Molta for her comments!

And congratulations to our other brave pitchers who took the time to write, polish and perfect their pitches and summoned the nerve to put them out there for commentary.  You are all winners in my book!  Even if you didn't win the pitch pick, you should still all have pitches that are worthy of telling famous editors you happen to meet in elevators.

I think a little pick-me-up is in order before we tackle today's pitch and I have the perfect thing for our  Something Chocolate.  Get ready for it...

YES!  It IS chocolate-dipped corn on the cob!!!

If you google it, ye shall find it!  Chocolate-dipped corn on the cob!  Who (besides me) would have thought of such a thing?  Obviously someone!  I believe I even see chocolate sprinkles on there!  I have no idea how it tastes, but I'm game to try.  And think how healthy we're being, eating vegetables for breakfast!  Our moms will all be so proud :)

And now that we're all fortified with brain food, today's pitch comes to us from Michelle who says, "My idea for The Sunflower Traveler began a long time ago via my love of gardening and growing sunflowers. I’m an artist, writer and art instructor. The majority of my writing and art involves nature, critters, endangered species, and our environment. I enjoy including a bit of fantasy to draw my viewers in. I'm an active member of SCBWI. You can find my art and poetry at my blog: http://www.moreart4all.wordpress.com, art at my website: http://www.michellekogan.com, and in my Etsy shop http://www.MichelleKoganFineArt.etsy.com. Thanks for reviewing my pitch!"

So what do you think?  Would You Read It?  YES, MAYBE or NO?

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Zara Gonzalez Hoang is a designer and illustrator originally from South Minneapolis. Zara worked in advertising and as a designer and creative director for start ups, but eventually her interest in doing something a little smaller led her to start her own label Manka where she could create interesting posters, prints, cards, tees etc. Zara says her work is "filled with creatures and critters

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Marie Gardeski is an artist/surface pattern designer based in the US at Fort Wayne, IN. Marie loves making her drawings and doodles, which are often small and delicately detailed, into sweet, silly or strange fabric designs. She then makes these prints into bags, zip pouches, cards, etc which she sells online through her Imaginary Animal shop.

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Mary Tanana has been a jewelry designer for her whole career up until four years ago when she turned to surface design. Mary has always been fond of folk art which she incorporated into a lot of her design work. She is also of Polish descent, so leans towards motifs and styling from that part of the world. Mary has a fascination with the 1960’s, so she has a “groovy” side to her work and

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Mouth organ … बहुत दिनों के बाद मणि का बेटा दो दिन के लिए घर आया. नाश्ते के बाद बेटे ने अपना बैग खोला और बोला आखॆं बंद करो आपके लिए कुछ है. फिर मणि के हाथ कुछ पकडा दिया. हाथ मे लेते ही मणि चौंक गई और आखें खोलती हुई बोली अरे !!! Mouth organ !! इतने साल हो गए .. इसका क्या करुगी.. भूल भाल गई हूं सब !!

बेटे ने कहा जब बचपन में आप हमे Mouth organ बजा कर सुनाती थीं तो आप खुद ही कहती थीं कि एक बार बजाना आ जाए तो जिंदगी भर नही भूल सकते .. मणि ने भी जानॆ अनजाने Mouth organ होठों से लगा लिया . वही मणि मुझे दिखाने लाई थी और डबडबाई आखें, खुशी … उससे कुछ बोला ही नही जा रहा था.

 

मैं हाथ में mouth organ लिए ….उसकी तरफ देख कर सोचे जा रही थी….  बहने दे ये आसूं … .. सच, छोटी छोटी खुशियों में कितना सारा प्यार अपनापन और अहसास छिपा होता है

The post Mouth organ appeared first on Monica Gupta.

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Huge congratulations to the excellent Chris Riddell, Britain's new Children's Laureate! And well done to Malorie Blackman, for being an awesome laureate for the last two years!



I need to go to Glasgow to do a Scottish Booktrust event (in, uh, six minutes), but I'll come back and add to this blog post, since Chris being laureate means EXCITING TIMES. :D



In the meantime, you can follow Chris on Twitter (@chrisriddell50) and Instagram.

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These young students come to me ready to write. They just need permission.

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Winter is a popular time for book lovers, the season where many of us enjoy staying in, rugging up and delving into a good book. But do we read more in the winter months or in summer? Summer brings to mind images of sunny days, cool drinks and reading a book on the deck or under the […]

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Right away, I can sense a book is special by noticing my students' reactions. Whenever I've asked my 5th graders who've read Circus Mirandus how they like it, they start smiling and there's a twinkle in their eyes. OK, it sounds corny when I write it down, but you can feel the magic, the friendship, the hope they find in this book.

Circus Mirandus
by Cassie Beasley
Dial / Penguin Random House, 2015
Preview at Google Books
Your local library
Amazon
ages 9-12

Ever since he was a little boy, Micah has heard stories from his grandfather about the magical Circus Mirandus and the Lightbender who promised him a miracle. Now that Grandfather Ephraim is ill, Micah knows that he must do everything he can to find the Lightbender. But how can he find the circus, especially with his strict aunt keeping her eye on him?

"Circus Mirandus is not a story just about adventure," Corina wanted me to know, "it's about a friendship. You see, they're very unlikely friends at first but they become so loyal to each other." When Jenny Mendoza first hears about this quest, she is skeptical -- after all, Jenny is a logical, careful thinker. But Micah and Jenny do find the circus, the Lightbender and all the magic they were looking for.

"Reading this book inspired me because the ultimate goal is not what you think it is -- it isn't just to keep his grandfather alive. There are layers, ways that Micah learns he can make a difference, how magic makes a difference." -- Corina, 5th grade

Corina sparkled as she talked about how much she enjoyed Circus Mirandus. I can imagine her being transported to the circus in her imagination, soaring with Micah over the fence, holding onto the giant gorilla balloon (yes, you'll really have to read it to understand that).

I also like how Tasha Sackler, at Waking Brain Cells, describes the friendship at the heart of this story:

"It feels very organic and the two of them are not natural friends who see the world the same way. Instead it is much more like making a real friend where it is the willingness to be friends that makes a huge difference and a decision to stop arguing when you don’t agree. It is these parts of the book that are so realistic, where the relationships shine, that make the book as strong as it is."

Get a feel for the magic in Circus Mirandus by reading chapter four in the preview below:


For more, check out these very interesting interviews with Cassie Beasley:

• Fuse Eight: How hard is it to write a circus that isn't creepy?
• Watch.Connect.Read: Happy book birthday Circus Mirandus
• SLJ: Magic, Faith, Imagination

The review copy was kindly sent by the publisher, Dial / Penguin. If you make a purchase using the Amazon links on this site, a small portion goes to Great Kid Books. Thank you for your support.

©2015 Mary Ann Scheuer, Great Kid Books

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Tui Sutherland Q&A

Tui Sutherland is the author of the Wings of Fire series. In honor of the Summer Reading Challenge, she has offered to answer some questions about her books and characters!

Q: Are any of your characters based on real people? Did any of things that happen to them in your books happen to you or people you know?
Tui Sutherland: Some of my earlier books featured characters based on real people and things that actually happened to me, but I haven’t based any of my Wings of Fire dragons on anyone I know. And there aren’t a lot of arena fights, prophecies, amusing assassins, or enchanted jewels in my life, I’m afraid!

But I do try to build each character on emotions and traits that I relate to—for instance, like Starflight, whenever I get nervous or worried about something, I turn to books, both for answers and to help me feel better. Another example is the way Sunny feels like her friends don’t take her seriously—I’ve felt that way, too! Or there’s Tsunami: sure, I’ve never had to find a serial killer in my mother’s palace, but I definitely have done things when I’m angry that I’ve felt terrible about afterwards . . . I mean, hasn’t that happened to everyone?

I did write Clay, the main dragon in book one, with my son in mind. He was only a baby at the time, so Clay isn’t based on him, but I was picturing the kind of hero and friend that I hope he might be one day. So I gave Clay my favorite heroic characteristics: loyalty, kindness, and caring for others. (No pressure, little bear!)

Q: In real life, would any of your characters be friends of yours? Which character do you relate most to? Which one would you most want to meet?
Tui Sutherland: I would love to meet any of my dragon characters as long as they promised not to eat me! I’d probably feel safest with Sunny or Clay or Moon, who I can imagine as friends. I think Sunny is the dragon I relate to most, in that she’s kind of unreasonably cheerful and optimistic, and she’s much more conflict-averse than, say, Glory or Tsunami. If I could meet just one character . . . you know, I’d choose to meet Qibli, the SandWing in the new series, so he could help me write the book that’s coming up about him!

Q: If you had to trade places with one of your characters for a day, who would it be and what would you do?
Tui Sutherland: That would be amazing—I’d love to be a dragon for a day! I’m tempted to say Moon, because it would be cool to read minds . . . but then, that seems like the kind of gift that’s also clearly a curse at the same time. So I think I’d actually want to be Glory, because then I could fly and shoot venom at people and have a cute pet sloth and perhaps be queen of the rainforest (and possibly date Deathbringer, la la la!).

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Young Queensland writers are invited to enter the Queensland Premier’s Young Publishers and Writers Awards, part of the 2015 Queensland Literary Awards, for a chance to win $10,000 plus career development support. The award will be presented to two outstanding Queensland writers, aged 18 to 30, who exhibit high quality writing, a track record of publication outcomes and a commitment to developing and sustaining an ongoing career as a writer.

How awesome are the Queensland Literary Awards? (Very, is the answer.) Here's their website, for more details - get onto nominating, if you're a Queensland writer 18-30 who's published a novel/short stories/poetry/etc in the last year. Nominations for the Queensland Literary Awards close 19 June 2015.

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About once a week I bring my fountain pens to the kitchen tape for refilling. My reason for making this rather quick, benign chore a public affair is to take advantage of the great parenting truism: If you do it, they will copy. Huck isn’t the kind of kid who would be too keen on formal handwriting practice (does that kind of kid even exist?), but if I get busy with some nifty writing utensil, he’s at my side in a flash, begging for a turn.

Fountain pens are awesome enough, but dip pens? There’s nothing better. A bottle of ink, a nib with just the right amount of skritch…there’s a happy kid. I didn’t suggest the alphabet practice; he filled up the page as he chose.

That’s my beloved metal brush pen he’s holding, the $1.49 treasure acquired during my surprise trip to the art supply store on Mother’s Day. (The plastic Speedball pen holder was another buck fifty. We live large.)

(That’s an Amazon link to show you what it looks like, but as you can see, you’re much better off buying local for this one. That’s some markup, eh?)

I tumbled to the metal brush pen (aka my new best friend) in Jonathan Twingley’s rather amazing class at Sketchbook Skool. It was swoon at first site. You get a broad line from the flat nib, or you can turn it on its side for a fine line. It’s on the messy side—likes to spatter ink if you change direction midstroke—but for me that’s part of the appeal. I use it when I’m in the mood for rough, bold lines and a bit of ink spray. Jonathan Twingley likes to fill pages and pages with large drawings and then cut out selected images and collage them together into a new piece of art—really quite magical to behold him at work.

And this post offers a quite detailed look at what a steel brush nib can do.

We also have a pair of glass dip pens that my parents gave me years ago with more typical pointed nibs. You can see Huck’s page of orange squiggles on the table. I know somewhere in my archives I’ve talked about the magical powers of colored chalk and a little slate, or a whiteboard and dry erase markers, for transforming otherwise dull writing into fun. Dip pens are the same principle times a hundred.

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When I was asked to participate in the current Circus Mirandus Blog Tour, I was intrigued.  You know how sometimes a publisher will fall in love with a debut novel and then promote the whozitz out of it, hither, thither, and yon?  Well, that’s what Penguin has done with this title from first time author Cassie Beasley.  And whenever that sort of thing happens, I get very skeptical.  So I approached the book expecting to find it overwritten or cloying or to have something wrong with it.  What I found instead was fresh and fascinating.  The kind of book I’d recommend left and right to any kid.  And one thing about it struck me as very interesting indeed.  You see, most of the circus middle grade books I see are creepy in some way, so I feel like making a book about a circus that a kid might actually want to go to (heck, live in!) is enormously difficult. 

For this blog tour I asked Ms. Beasley one very simple question: How do you manage to write a non-creepy circus?  Here is her answer:

“When I say that my novel is about a boy trying to find a magic circus, most people respond with enthusiasm. Maybe it’s just that they don’t want to puncture my cheerful debut author bubble, but I like to think they’re genuinely excited by the idea of a circus story. For me, the mention of circuses calls to mind a fantasy world of sequined costumes and cotton candy, and I think it does the same for many others.

Sometimes, though, I meet potential readers who have a different reaction. They want to know if Circus Mirandus is a “creepy” book. They want to know if I’ve written a horror story.

I was surprised the first time someone asked. I initially thought the questioner must be concerned about the fact that my main character, Micah, is trying to save his terminally ill grandfather.

“No,” she said, when I started to explain my thoughts on character death in children’s literature. “I mean the circus. Is it scary?” She paused. “Are there clowns?”

The question actually makes a lot of sense when you consider the role of the circus in fiction. Real-life circuses are meant to delight, but fictional circuses often seem to be designed to do the opposite. An entire page at the (infinitely distracting) TV tropes site is dedicated to the “Circus of Fear,” and the number and variety of evil circuses listed is impressive.

Circuses, traveling fairs, and carnivals are, in some ways, a natural choice for the author in need of a disquieting setting. For one thing, they are supposed to be cheerful places, and transforming something lovely and innocent into something sinister is the basic stuff of horror. A T. rex chasing you is only frightening. A clown chasing you is frightening and also wrong.

And even when we exclude the murderous clowns, a circus still contains so much potential creepiness. It can be a transient and turbulent beast that arrives in an otherwise stagnant environment and starts to change things around. People alter their daily routine. Children sneak out of their houses to see the show. The town is suddenly a temporary home to masked strangers who will perform peculiar feats for a few nights and then depart.

And the performances themselves, the glitz and the mystery, create an otherworldly environment that is magical but fraying at the edges. A carnival is a pretty lie. Regular, imperfect people hide under the face paint, and electric cables power the rides, and sometimes if you look at just the wrong moment you see the magician sneaking around the edge of the curtain instead of vanishing into thin air.

Some people find this incongruity disturbing. Others relish it. It can be fun, after all, to be creeped out.

Having said all of that, my own circus is not menacing. Circus Mirandus is meant to be a place of joy and wonder. It’s where Micah thinks he will find the help he needs to save his grandfather. Most of the darkness in the story comes from Grandpa Ephraim’s illness, which is the sort of everyday horror that many children face. I don’t think it would have been right to distract from that with a terrifying fantasy world.

So, the magic is real, and it is (mostly) used benevolently. At Circus Mirandus, the aerial artists fly without the aid of wires, and there is no risk that any of the children in the audience, even Micah’s analytical friend Jenny, will see through the Lightbender’s illusions.

To the surprise of no one who has met me, Circus Mirandus is the world child-me would have created for herself if she had been given unlimited power.

This doesn’t mean the circus is perfect, as Micah will discover, but it is a force for good in the world. What conflict the circus creates is not the result of something sweet turned rotten, but that of something longed for that is almost out of reach.

I think Micah might tell anyone curious enough to ask how extraordinarily difficult it is to believe in something like Circus Mirandus in this world, especially when the people around you are telling you that your situation is hopeless. I think he might say that you need great reserves of courage to find it. I think he might tell you how hard it can be, once you’ve finally made it, to hold on to the magic.

So, though creepy circus stories abound, mine is not one of them. My circus is a dream world, one that I have tried to fill with the kind of magic that every young person searches for at some point.

For Micah, that search is rewarded in ways he doesn’t expect. But I believe that his decision to make the journey to the circus is ultimately more important than the fact that he reaches it. If there is one idea I want readers to take away from Circus Mirandus, I think perhaps it is this: that at the limits of magic (and even magic has its limits), in that place where we face the darkness, there is only the choice that Micah has to make.

Despair? Or hope?”

Many thanks to Ms. Beasley for her in-depth and fascinating answer and to the good folks at Penguin for inviting her here in the first place.

About Cassie Beasley: website/twitter/goodreads

CASSIE BEASLEY is from rural Georgia, where, when she’s not writing, she helps out on the family pecan farm. She earned her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. CIRCUS MIRANDUS is her first novel.

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• Get Up Early  There's so much to be said for being the only one awake. It's quiet and there are no distractions.
• Even Ten Stolen Minutes Can Be Devoted to Working  If my daughter decides to play on the iPad for ten minutes, I get my laptop and get as much done as I can in that time. Ten minutes might not seem worth it, but trust me, if you take ten minutes here and there, it adds up.
• Work During Commercials  At night, I like to watch TV before bed, because I'm usually busy working all day. So I kick my feet up and relax. But…I hate commercials. So, I bring my laptop to the couch and I work during commercial breaks.
• Work Outside  My daughter loves to be outside, but the second the neighbors come out, I'm old news. She ditches me to play with them. I bring my laptop on my deck so I can keep an eye on her and get my work done.
• Only Use Social Media for a Few Minutes at a Time and Only on My Phone  We all know that social media is part of what we do. You can't avoid it if you want to build a platform. But…you can make sure you limit your time on it. I use my phone with the speech to text feature, which is quicker than typing responses on blog posts. I can also steal time, like when my daughter is showering, to post to FB and Twitter, which I have linked so posting to one posts to the other. It's a definite time saver.
• Designate Daily Work Time  I told my daughter that right after we have breakfast, I need to work in my office for about two hours. That will be her time to play in her room, either with her Monster High dolls or on her laptop. Designating specific time like this establishes a routine for my entire household, which helps me a lot.

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Review by Paola THE REVENGE PLAYBOOKby Rachael AllenFile Size: 1046 KBPrint Length: 368 pagesPublisher: HarperTeen (June 16, 2015) Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers Goodreads | Amazon Don't get mad, get even! In this poignant and hilarious novel, Rachael Allen brilliantly explores the nuances of high school hierarchies, the traumas sustained on the path to finding true love, and the joy of

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Back on June 3rd, I visited Lake Region’s After School book club. Paula had contacted me to say they’d just finished reading Mystery of Pine Lake, and could I share the inspiration behind the series?

Could I?  It’s my favorite presentation to give!

The students were so excited to see my loon and eagle photos.  But I was more excited to hear their wildlife stories . . . the foxes, loons and eagles they’d seen. We all had great connections and stories to tell.  The time flew by so quickly!!

I signed all their hardcover books . . . as we nibbled on a special s’more trail mix made with a graham cracker cereal, chocolate chips, and mini-marshmallows. It was quite yummy!  I’ll have to remember that recipe for our Sunday Morning Storytime at the campground. I’m sure Maxwell Moose would love it.

I forgot to ask how many books they read in a year, but I do know they finished the graphic novel “Lies In the Dust” before starting Pine Lake.   Paula had heard about it through Shannon and I, as we taught it in our classroom.

 

 

One of the readers mentioned how Mystery of Pine Lake  was outside they’re normal reading comfort zone.  “I was a little worried when we started it.. But I really, really enjoyed it!”   That praise, and the student’s honesty, filled my heart.

I shared my writing process with them too, mentioning how Book 3, Mystery of the Missing Fox, was with my editor at that very moment and I was waiting for my editorial notes.  “You still have to make changes and stuff? Even though it’s your third one?”

“Oh yes, yes I do.” I replied.  “It always takes a ton of rewrites to make a story better.”

He nodded solemnly, nibbling on the s’more trail mix. I swear I saw wheels turning in his head.

 

Many in the group were writers themselves, and I was able to hear about their current projects.  I really enjoyed spending time with this group of readers!

Thanks for having me Lake Region!

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Blood Donors

किसी परिचित का फोन आया कि मथुरा या अलीगढ मे एक महिला को ओ नैगेटिव रक्त की जरुरत है उस महिला की सर्जरी होनी है. मैने तुरंत नम्बर खोजे.राजस्थान के भीलवाडा से राजेद्र माहेश्वरी जी की मदद से मथुरा में रक्तदाता से सम्पर्क तो हुआ पर बात नही बनी और महिला को आनन फानन अलीगढ ले कर जाना पडा. वहां ओ नैगेटिव का कोई ऐसा रक्तदाता जानकारी मे नही था इसलिए चाह कर भी सहायता नही हो पाई.

कुछ समय पहले  एक पोस्ट में मैने अलग अलग राज्यों के कुछ ऐसे ही लोगो के नम्बर मांगें थे जो रक्तदान के क्षेत्र मे बहुत काम कर रहे हैं ताकि रक्तदाताओ का एक ऐसा नेट वर्क बनें कि कम से कम हमारा समाज मे इतना तो योगदान हो कि रक्त की कमी से कोई जिंदगी का साथ न छोडे.

 

Blood Donors

मुझे इस बात की बहुत खुशी भी है जब मैने यह अभियान शुरु किया तब मात्र चार नाम थे और उसके बाद राजस्थान के भीलवाडा, सूरत गढ, भरतपुर, हनुमान गढ व छ्तीस गढ के कोरबा , महाराष्ट्र के चालीस गांव, Rishikesh, मुम्बई,  पंजाब में पटियाला, दिल्ली व इंदौर से ऐसे लगभग 50 रक्तदाताओं से सम्पर्क हुआ कि उन्होनें विश्वास दिलाया कि जहां तक सम्भव होगा वो किसी को रक्त की कमी से जान से हाथ नही धोने देंगें.

मेरे लिए इतना सुनना ही बहुत था. पर अभी भी बहुत रास्ता बाकि है… अगर आप अपने शहर मे किसी ऐसी शख्सियत को जानते हैं या आप खुद ही हैं तो जरुर बताए !!!

Blood Donors

The post Blood Donors appeared first on Monica Gupta.

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Once upon a time

एक समय था जब हम Once upon a time कह कर अपनी कहानी की शुरुआत करते थे. चाहे वो परियों की हो या शैतान जादूगर की. आज मैं अपनी बात भी उसी बात से शुरु कर रही हूं पर दुख इस बात का है कि ये काल्पनिक नही हकीकत है…

वक्त नही है … समय बहुत कम है … मेरे पास चंद मिनट ही शेष हैं…आपके पास बस दस सैंकिंड हैं … .बाते बहुत हैं पर क्या करुं समय इजाजत नही दे रहा …!!! ऐसा, लगभग, सभी चैनल्स पर, बहस के दौरान न्यूज एकंर बोलते मिल जाते हैं !!! क्या वाकई और तेज, फटाफट  सुपर फास्ट खबरें …. !!!

सुनते तो हम अकसर है और इन दिनों ब्रेकिंग न्यूज पर देखने को भी मिल रही है. अक्सर तुरंत या जल्दी दिखाने के चक्कर मे चैनल रिपोर्टरों की situation हास्यास्पद हो जाती है. ( दो चार बार खुद भी अनुभव लिया है) ब्रेकिंग न्यूज देने के लिए सबसे आगे हम के चक्कर में बाईट लेने के लिए ऐसे उतावले हो जाते हैं कि धक्का मुक्की या गुस्सैल शब्दावली से भी परहेज नही करते.. !!!

चाहे कोर्ट से निकलते वकील की हो, नेता की हो या अन्य …!!!!और अगर वो पत्रकारों की मारामारी लाईव हो गई तो … !!(जोकि अकसर हो जाती है) ! बस यही मुहं से निकलता है !!! हे भगवान !!!

Once upon a time जब पत्रकार को बहुत सम्मान के साथ देखा जाता था. पत्रकार होना बहुत गर्व की बात होती थी पर आज के संदर्भ मे बात करे तो ….. !!! एक पत्रकार या रिपोर्टर चार चार पांच पांच चैनल की कवरेज कर रहा है. मुद्दा बस खबर देना है. बात की गहराई तक जाना या न जाना उसका सरोकार नही. किसी खबर की कवरेज के लिए जाने पर जनता को एक शकां रहती हैं वो कौन सी राजनीति पार्टी से हैं किसी कार्यक्रम मे मात्र उसे मुख्य अतिथि या सम्मानित इसलिए किया जाता है ताकि अगले दिन उस कार्यक्रम की खबर मुख्य रुप से छ्प सके. ऐसी बात नही है कि अच्छे पत्रकार नही रहे वो बिल्कुल हैं पर अच्छाई पर बुराई इतनी ज्यादा हावी हो चुकी है कि अच्छे भले पत्रकार भी खुद को पत्रकार कहलाने से कतराने लगे हैं. उफ !!!

 

 

 

Once upon a time   जब चैनल पर कोई बहस  में आने वाले लोग शालीनता रखते थे और बिना किसी की बात काटे  सभ्य ढंग से बात करते थे पर आज …. !!!

आधे धंटे के बहस ऐसे ही खत्म हो जाती है आमंत्रित मेहमान एक साथ बोलते हैं और कौन क्या क्या बोल रहा है किसी का सुर समझ नही आता इससे भी ज्यादा दुख और हैरानी की बात तब होती है जब एंकर भी किसी व्यक्ति विशेष के पक्षपात में बोलता है और हंसी भी आती है जब आमंत्रित मेहमान एंकर को ही चुप करवा देते हैं कि आप ने ही बोलना है तो हमे किसलिए बुलाया है !!! एक बार तो सुनने मे आया था कि हाथापाई भी हो गई थी( हालाकिं ये मैं नही देख पाई)

कुल मिला कर ये जो भी हो रहा है ठीक नही हो रहा. कम से कम न्यूज एंकर को अपनी भावनाओ पर, अपने हाथ की भंगिमाओं पर विशेष ख्याल रखना होगा अन्यथा वो खबर बनाते बनाते कही खुद ही खबर बन गए तो ???

तभी तो मैं कह रही हूं कि Once upon a time जब सही पत्रकारिता हुई करती थी !!

 

 

The post Once upon a time appeared first on Monica Gupta.

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