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Happy Valentine's Day!

Love is in the air, and Online Author Visits is celebrating with a contest that gives you the chance to win books not only for yourself, but also for your library! The winner will get to choose 3 books from among works by our incredible pool of authors, which includes Janet Lee Carey, Dia Calhoun, Deb Lund, Martha Brockenbrough, Joan Holub, Suzanne Williams, Lisa L. Owens, Claire Rudolph Murphy, and Trudi Trueit.

In addition, a collection of books will go to a U.S. library selected by the winner. There’s even an ARC (Advanced Reviewer’s Copy) in the mix from author and readergirlz co-founder Dia Calhoun, so don’t miss out!

Read the full report and find the entry form here.

Yes, we are at day 10 of the Golden Coffee Cup. Hopefully you are ahead with your goals and deserve some holy snappin'. Snap! Snap! Snap! If not, don't panic. We still have two thirds of the Golden Coffee Cup to go. Ramp up your efforts or consider revising your goals. The GCC is about keeping it real.

No clue what a Golden Coffee Cup is? Click here.

Today we have a hanging in there doodle high five from Trudi Trueit.


Trudi is also pouring out the daily hot java. She's revved up for the Golden Coffee Cup this year and is working on a new middle grade fiction novel.

Trudi writes about her doodle: It sort of sums up why I became a writer - angst, so much angst! It was either be a writer or a comedian and since public speaking makes me throw up I figured everyone's clothes were much safer with me writing. Humor books for kids are some of my favorite books to write, because humor is so vital to life. Laughter helps us get through the hard times, learn about ourselves, and step out of our pain to reach out to others.

So, true, Trudi. Honestly, folks, laughter is the only thing that keeps me sane! Thanks for the affirmation!

Trudi also sends three tibits of inspiration for you:

1) Take the work seriously but not yourself.
2) A writer is not defined by the binding, or lack of one (I was a writer long before I got published).
3) Keep your sense of humor. Who knows? One day you may actually get paid to use it!


Now for the SHOUTOUT! If you want to learn more about Trudi, check out her blog, her website, and her author page at Simon and Schuster, (At this site Trudi says: I have answered a TON of trivial personal questions like, 'if you were a bird, what sound would you make?' Okay, it's not that bad but close.)

Hope you use that sense of humor today. See ya tomorrow for the next hot cup of java to spur you on with your goals.

People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily. Zig Zigler

Today's high five comes from Samuel Ichiye Hayakawa. Born in Canada, he became a well-known academic and political figure in America. SI was an English professor and then a United States Senator from California. One of his greatest contributions was as a semanticist. He investigated the history of language patterns and habits of thought.



This guy was someone my parents required me to read. They considered his book, Language in Action, a part of the journey of an individual to be part of a free thinking society.

First a quote from the preface of his book. This bit chills me to the bone, and I hope I keep the flame of sentiment alive:

It was the writer's conviction then, as it remains now, that everyone needs to have a habitually critical attitude towards language — his own as well as that of others —both for the sake of his personal well-being and for his adequate functioning as a citizen. Hitler is gone, but if the majority of our fellow-citizens are more susceptible to the slogans of fear and race hatred than to those of peaceful accommodation and mutual respect among human beings, political liberties remain at the mercy of any eloquent and unscrupulous demagogue."

And then this quote from SI:

In a real sense, people who have read good literature have lived more than people who cannot or will not read. It is not true that we have only one life to live; if we can read, we can live as many more lives and as many kinds of lives as we wish.

Try to live up to these ideas in every book you write. Open yourself up to literature so that you will live many lives. Be aware how important your journey is. You are sent to open the hearts of children to new lives and new worlds.

Remember we are in the company of genius. Time to greet another Golden Coffee Cupper, the talented Trudi Trueit. She has a series coming up in 2009 from Aladdin books, Girls Allowed (Dogs Okay). The first title: Secrets of a Lab Rat. Click here for a sneak peek!

OK, one more thing, just in case you need to dance it out. Here's Carry on Wayward Son, from Kansas from 1976.



Whew, let me know of your successes! I will do some holy snappin'!