The 9th annual PPD at Columbia, MO in Peace Park was a wonderful afternoon of workshops and shopping. The day was slightly cloudy and when the sun shone through the clouds, the temperature was perfect. It was a tad on the chilly side at other times. The turn out was rather smaller than in previous [...]

Tomorrow will bring the equinox where the day and the night are equal in length. With it the end of summer is officially here. In the northern hemisphere we’re getting ready for the coming winter and bring in the harvest. These little chipmunks are stuff themselves full and gathering as many nuts and seeds as [...]

Sign up to receive alerts when a new coloring page is posted each week and/or click here to view more coloring pages! Labor Day has come and gone here in the US. All the kids should be back to school now. I hope your youngsters are raring to go on their new school books. Here’s  [...]

Sign up to receive alerts when a new coloring page is posted each week and/or click here to view more coloring pages! School started today in my town. It’s right around the corner for many other communities if it hasn’t started already. This happy guy is so excited to be back to work. He’s missed [...]

To print out a hi-resolution coloring page click on the image.

I have had so many requests to do more alphabet pages, I couldn’t refuse. Since the lesser-know Goddesses and Gods series take such a lot of research, I thought I’d start off with ritual tools. Those I can do without hours of research and get them up sooner, too. Thank you all so much for [...]

Enter to win an advance copy of The ABCs of Lesser-Known Goddesses: An Art Nouveau coloring book for kids of all ages. http://bit.ly/mDaM2y

Happy Memorial Day! It’s hard to believe it’s already Memorial Day weekend. It’s a raw 55°F outside. I have a long sleeved shirt and a sweater on. We may even have to turn the heat back on overnight. Tornadoes slammed through Missouri yesterday and there are more forecast for today as well. So far my [...]

This week’s coloring page is ready for down load. Every week a new coloring page is added to the Yahoo group files. Join http://magicalchild.handcraftedpagan.com/newsletter/ now to get this and previous pages to color!

You can access this file at the URL: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LyonMartinNews/files/beaverbicycle.pdf

Friday, April 22, 2011 is Earth Day. Here just for you is a free down loadable coloring page. Head on over to my newsletter page to sign up and download yours today!

A golden, sunny, yellow-orange gold fish graces today’s down loadable coloring page. As always, you can get your high quality pdf at my Yahoo Group. Here’s the link http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LyonMartinNews/files/GoldfishColorPage.pdf You have to be a member to access the files. If you have a suggestion for one of these pages, please let me know either in [...]

With spring busting out all over the robins have been very busy at our house. My husband turns the compost heap several times early in the season. Usually, the first turning is about the time the robins are building their nests and are pretty hungry little birds! They line up as close to the compost [...]

Late Monday greetings, Maybe I should call today’s coloring page “Thoughtful Thursday.” I’ve been so busy with all kinds of projects, I only remembered about doing the page last night. I’ve added an alarm in my phone so I won’t forget again! Instead of the usual coloring page, this week’s sheet is an activity for [...]

I hope the recent weather ups and downs have been kind to you. Here in Missouri we’ve had hot and cold running spring. Just last week, the high temperature record of 116 years was broken. We reached the high of 84°F, in early March. I hope this isn’t a warning of a super hot summer. [...]

This is from my in-box. Since my children are all grown and my grandchildren are being raised Catholic, I can’t give pertinent answers to the questions. If you care to take a few minutes, I’m sure the young lady would appreciate your input. Thanks! Merry meet! I am a college student at Eastern Michigan University [...]

Today (March 8th) is International Women’s Day. The coloring page for this week is a super hero type woman. Beautiful and strong. Go to the Yahoo Group and print out one to share with your kids and tell them about the wonderful women in your life.  

The new coloring page is ready for down load. Go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LyonMartinNews to get your print quality Wolf Star coloring page. If you’re not already on the mailing list signing up is fast and easy. Stay up to date on what I’m doing and where I’ll be through out the year. If you have an [...]

This month’s Coloring Page is the last one in the ABC of Lesser Known Goddesses series.

What better way to celebrate the end of 2010 than with the letter Z?

Zorya Vechernyaya is a Russian Goddess who opens the castle gates for her father at the end of each day. Since this is the last letter of the alphabet it is also the end of the series. The downloads on the yahoo group web site will stay up until Yule. Then they will be removed. You might be wondering why. It’s simple — all 26 letters — with new art for some of them — will be turned into a bound coloring book — available for purchase soon on amazon. Check back for details in a few weeks.

Meanwhile enjoy the new coloring page. Send your colored image (less than 1mb) to lyon (at) handcraftedpagan (dot) com and I’ll post it to my blog!

New Subscribers…
We have over 900 subscribers to Magical Child News, with more arriving every day.
For those of you not subscribed to the newsletter – I create my coloring pages every 4-6 weeks for teachers, librarians, booksellers and parents to enjoy with their children, but also to let the public know about MY BOOKS!
• An Ordinary Girl, A Magical Child
• Aidan’s First Full Moon Circle
• Watchers
• Rabbit’s Song
• Smoky and the Feast of Mabon

VISIT http://groups.yahoo.com/group/magicalchildnews/ if you’d like to subscribe to the newsletter and continue to get these wonderful coloring pages.

Welcome everybody – I’m glad you’re here!

I want to be able to share all your wonderful emails, so I am adding a page to my web site which you can read or leave comments on. Visit my Comments Page. Thank you so much for your kind words!

Kids! Have your parents help you send me a low resolution .jpg of your colored images to lyon (at) handcraftedpagan (dot) com and I’ll post it on the blog!

Did You Know…
I create my coloring pages for teachers, librarians, booksellers, and parents to enjoy with their children, but also to let the public know about MY BOOKS. I hope you’ll take a moment to check them out and spread the word!

• An Ordinary Girl, A Magical Child
• Aidan’s First Full Moon Circle
• Watchers
• Rabbit’s Song
• Smoky and the Feast of Mabon

Visit the publisher’s site http://magicalchildbooks.com to learn more about individual titles and download activities.

Note: All Coloring Page images and activity pages are available for personal or non-commercial use. If you would like to purchase rights to an image for commercial use, please email me.

Merry Yule Blessings,
Lyon

At the beginning of the year I helped to launch a group blog with a couple of dozen other kid lit writers. The name of the blog is From the Mixed-Up Files of Middle-Grade Authors http://www.fromthemixedupfiles.com/ . Perhaps you remember me mentioning it this summer when we launched our first post in mid June.

The blog was a big success right from the start. We were amazed and humbled by the astounding response to what we were trying to accomplish. So we decided we really, really wanted to something to give back to the community, especially the kids who read middle-grade books, ages 8-12. The Great Library Giveway was born.

Last time I checked we had collected 66 brand new (or very gently used) books. These books will be donated at no cost to a US library – public or educational – which serves the middle-grade reader. And our blog readers are the ones who get to tell us which library they want the books to go to. All you have to do is go to the Great Library Giveaway blog post
http://www.fromthemixedupfiles.com/2010/10/the-great-library-giveaway/ and leave a comment to enter your favorite library. (Additional entries can be made if you post a link on your blog telling others about the giveaway.) The drawing for the winner is November 30th. Head on over to From the Mixed-Up Files for all the details!

Little Librarian is a wonderful addition to a budding reader’s book collection. It’s the first personal library kit made just for kids! It encourages reading and is powered by creativity and imagination, not batteries! Little Librarian provides book lovers with everything they need to transform their book collection into a library. Kids can practice the important skills of organizing, sharing, borrowing, and returning. Book pockets, check out cards, library cards, and bookmarks are just like the ones from the real library. Little Librarians will issue overdue notices and awards. Favorite books can be stored in the reading journal and shared with friends.
Visit their web site to see all the details.

Today we launched The Great Library Giveaway on the From the Mixed-Up Files blog. We have complied a list of almost 50 middle-grade titles that we want to donate to a local or school library. We are asking readers to nominate their favorite library, and our random generator will choose a winning library on November 30th.

http://www.fromthemixedupfiles.com/2010/10/the-great-library-giveaway/

So check in and nominate your child’s school library, or your favorite public library, or the under served library across town that you heard needs donations. Just find a worth library and tell us!

(For those who need a little extra push, we are giving the person with the winning entry a $25 gift certificate to their local indie store as well.)

So go! Run! Nominate!

It’s almost time for me to be back on the road. This month’s appearances are:

Tulsa, Oklahoma: OPHA Pagan Pride Days — Sep 11, 2010 – Sep 12, 2010

http://www.oklapha.org/paganpride.htm

Columbia, Missouri
Mid Missouri Pagan Pride Day — Sep 19, 2010

http://www.midmopaganpride.org/

Southern Ozarks, Missouri
Soule Fest — Sep 30, 2010 5:00pm – Oct 3, 2010 5:00pm

http://www.wolvenwold.drak.net/sf2010.html

If you are in any of these areas, I’d love to see you. Please come by. In Tulsa I will also be doing a reading of my newest book “Smoky and the Feast of Mabon” written by Catherynne M. Valente.

Speaking of “The Feast of Mabon,” it’s been getting rave reviews since its official release on August 21.

There are two 5-star reviews over at amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Smoky-Feast-Mabon-Catherynne-Valente/dp/0979683467

MidWest Book Review says “…”Smoky and the Feast of Mabon” is a lovely book that teaches children to appreciate the gifts of each season, but particularly fall, and not to mourn the passing of beautiful flowers or plants because they give many good gifts in their endings, and in their endings is another beginning. “Smoky and the Feast of Mabon” is enhanced by spectacular illustrations which bring the magical child story new dimensions. “Smoky and the Feast of Mabon” is written particularly for children ages 5-9.”

The book is available now for purchase at your favorite retailers. If they don’t have it, ask them to stock it for you. Please buy your copy now so you have it in time for Mabon on Sept 21. You can also purchase directly from the publisher at http://magicalchildbooks.com/smoky.html

If you head over to the publisher, you can also get a free teaching guide for “The Feast of Mabon.” It’s perfect for classroom, home school or Spiral Scout activities. http://magicalchildbooks.com/smokyguide.html

Hopefully, you have had a chance to download your ABC Goddess coloring page which was sent out earlier this week. This leave us 3 more letters before the series is complete.

Until next time, may the Lord and Lady keep you safe and bless your harvests, whatever your crop may be.

Blessings,
Lyon

You can buy the book directly from the publisher (Magical Child Books), at amazon, or your favorite retailer. If the store doesn’t carry the book ask them to order a copy!