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Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: ghosts, Most Recent at Top [Help]
Results 1 - 25 of 39
1. The Found-Art Mosaic of Storytelling, a WOW-Wednesday Post by S.P. Sipal

Gabi & her crows
Did you hear the news story that was going the rounds a couple of weeks ago about the young girl in Seattle who has been feeding the crows in her backyard for years and they repay her kindness with gifts? From buttons to broken beer glass to paperclips to a Lego piece, the crows bring the mini-human who feeds them faithfully the plunder of their scavenging. And she saves, documents, and treasures each one.

Perhaps it is because I have a backyard full of crows, or because my own daughter has always had a fascination with birds (or any animal for that matter), but this story really touched my heart. However, when I looked at the picture of some of Gabi's prized gifts, it was my imagination that was stirred. I saw something else...pieces for a mosaic.

crow gifts
Mosaics, traditionally made from shards of colored glass or stones, may have always been a product of recycling, even in ancient times. But recently, a new practice of "found-art" mosaics has grown in popularity. Taking bits and pieces of our discarded culture, of items considered worthless trash, these artists create stunning images that also say something about the way we live.

Much as Gabi's crows have done for her and the people who've heard her story. From birds usually seen as pests, comes a collection of debris a young girl treasures as priceless. A lovely mosaic is formed of the surprising connection that is still possible between human and nature when we pay attention.

So much of storytelling, it seems to me, is built upon feeding the crows. In the beginning, as fledgling writers, we flit about on the changing winds of craft and market, trying to find our way. We gather nuggets of advice, some good, some bad, and hoard it close, hoping to come upon the one piece that will transform us from ugly duckling to published author.

For most of us, time passes...and passes...and passes. Yet if we keep faithfully feeding our muse, writing new stories, making connections with other writers, living a full live, and always observing the people we interact with...then somewhere down the line, our crow of a muse may just gift us with one shiny, ocean-rubbed piece of glass. A request for a full. Or perhaps a sale of a short story.

Encouraged that this muse we thought had bird brains has finally been paying attention, we seek her guidance faithfully. And, eventually, the scattered shards of our writer's life comes together to form a beautiful picture. A sale of a novel. A touching letter from a fan.

By Found-Art Artist: Jane Perkins
And this is the point, it seems to me, where the gathering transcends our personal interests. For while we have been crafting our writer's life, we have also been gluing together the elements of our story. The tip of the hat from the old man at our corner grocer that works its way into our character's goodbye. The clean trace of a tear (last seen on our child) through a soot-covered cheek of our firefighter hero. The rough shards that make up the work we create are brought forth from a faithful feeding of of our muse. Authentic storytelling emerges from the life we live...more fully when we pay attention...and touches the lives of people beyond ourselves.



Writing can be a long and lonely road. But gradually, if we're patient, and if we keep feeding the crows, and value the bits and pieces of experience and connection they bring us, then one day we can piece together all these shiny discards into something harmonious. An amazing found-art mosaic of Story.



To celebrate the release of Southern Fried Wiccan, I am giving away a beautiful bee pendant. The honey bee was a symbol of Artemis of Ephesus, who greatly influenced my young heroine, Cilla. This handcrafted pendant also symbolizes the shards of inspiration that come together to form a story...like a beautiful mosaic.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

And "bee" sure to check out another giveaway on my home blog for a Turkish tea set!

About the Book:


http://www.amazon.com/Southern-Fried-Wiccan-S-P-Sipal-ebook/dp/B00TL90MUO/
Southern Fried Wiccan by S.P. Sipal
Cilla Swaney is thrilled to return stateside, where she can hang up her military-brat boots for good. Finally, she'll be free to explore her own interests--magick and Wicca. But when she arrives at her grandma's farm, Cilla discovers that life in the South isn't quite what she expected. At least while country hopping, she never had to drink G-ma's crazy fermented concoctions, attend church youth group, make co-op deliveries...or share her locker with a snake-loving, fire-lighting, grimoire-stealing Goth girl...

...Who later invites her to a coven that Cilla's not sure she has the guts to attend. But then Emilio, the dark-haired hottie from her charter school, shows up and awakens her inner goddess. Finally, Cilla starts believing in her ability to conjure magick. Until...

...All Hades breaks loose. A prank goes wrong during their high school production of Macbeth, and although it seems Emilio is to blame, Cilla and Goth may pay the price. Will Cilla be able to keep the boy, her coven, and the trust of her family? Or will this Southern Wiccan get battered and fried?

Amazon | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About the Author:

http://spsipal.blogspot.com/
S.P. Sipal

Born and raised in North Carolina, Susan Sipal had to travel halfway across the world and return home to embrace her father and grandfather’s penchant for telling a tall tale. After having lived with her husband in his homeland of Turkey for many years, she suddenly saw the world with new eyes and had to write about it.

Perhaps it was the emptiness of the Library of Celsus at Ephesus that cried out to be refilled, or the myths surrounding the ancient Temple of Artemis, but she’s been writing stories filled with myth and mystery ever since. She can’t wait to share Southern Fried Wiccan with readers.

Website | Twitter | Goodreads


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2. Karmack by J. C. Whyte

Karmack*Middle-grade fantasy novel

*5th-grade boy as the main character

*Rating: Karmack by J. C. Whyte (MuseItUp Publishing) is a good novel about a bully who learns a bit about karma through the creature pictured here. Filled with humor, interesting characters, plenty of pranks, adventure, and a subtle lesson, children will enjoy this book immensely.

Short, short summary: Sully is the Big Cheese of the 5th grade. He got that way by being tough (a bully) and playing pranks on everyone from classmates to his teachers. He has a gang, and he has enemies. . .until one day, when he sees a little creature, Karmack (stands for Karma) playing pranks on him and his friends. He’s able to catch Karmack and question him about what he’s doing. Karmack’s basically there to even out all the bad things that Sully and his friends are doing. If Karmack doesn’t do his job, all of their bad deeds will add up, and some doom will happen to them. In the end, Sully figures out how to beat bad Karma, and he changes as a result of it. Although it sounds like this novel could be preachy, I don’t feel like it is. The lesson is there, but the characters and situations are interesting enough to get kids into the novel and discuss the lesson afterwards.

Buy this book from the publisher: MUSEITUP Publishing: http://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/museityoung/karmack-detail

So, what do I do with this book?

1. This is a great book to work on reading skills, such as character arc, character emotions, and character motivation. Sully goes through amazing changes in the book–you can discuss why with kids–and also list characteristics he has BEFORE he meets Karmack that might have led to him being able to make these changes.

2. Give students a journal writing prompt: If you could have a conversation with Karmack about your good and bad deeds, what would you say? Write a one-page conversation between you and Karmack OR a letter to Karmack. Are you “balanced”?  Could you get “balanced”?  What if you are leaning in a good way–more good than bad?

3. Before you read the end of the book with children, stop at the part where Sully says he put the mustache on the photo. Ask: Do you think he really did it? Why or why not? How did it get there? Why is it there? What’s going to happen now that Sully admitted it, but maybe didn’t do it? Ask students to use their knowledge of the story world to make some predictions. Then after reading the ending, see who predicted correctly.  (As long as a prediction is logical, even if not correct, it works for this activity.)

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3. Happy Birthday PaperTigers! Here’s my contribution to the Top 10 Lists!

Happy 10th Birthday PaperTigers!

I’ve been blessed to be a part of the PaperTigers’ team since December 2006 when I took on the role of Eventful World Coordinator just prior to the launch of the PaperTigers blog. As the years passed and PaperTigers continued to grow, evolve and expand (most noticeably with the launch of our Spirit of PaperTigers Book Sets and Outreach Program) my role within the  organization changed too. In 2010 I was offered the job of Associate Editor and since then have worked closely alongside our wonderful and very talented editor Marjorie Coughlan to produce PaperTigers’ three components: the website, the blog and the Outreach site .

I consider myself so lucky to be doing a job that I love in a field that I love! Children’s literature has always been my passion and during my years with PaperTigers I’ve not been the only one in my family to benefit from the pile of  books that just have to be read for work. (Insert a big smiley face here because really…how wonderful is it to have to read books!) When I started working at PaperTigers my children were in elementary school so naturally we focused a  lot of our reading time at home on children’s and junior books. However as PaperTigers and my kids grew I found myself developing more and more interest in Young Adult books. Now I have to say that although children’s picture books will always hold a very special place in my heart , Young Adult books tug strongly at my heart too!  So when it came time to do a Top 10 list for PaperTigers’ anniversary celebration, it only made sense for me to select my favorite Young Adult books. Drum roll please….in random order I present:

1.  Secret Keeper  by Mitali Perkins (Delacorte Press, 2009)

When her unemployed father leaves India to look for work in America, Asha, her mother and sister move in with family in Calcutta. When news comes that her father is accidentally killed in America and her family’s financial difficulties intensify, Asha makes a heartwrenching, secret decision that solves many problems and creates others.

2.  Borderline by Allan Stratton (Harper Collins Children’s Books, 2010)

When Sami catches his father in a lie, he gets suspicious as does the FBI who descend on his home, and Sami’s family (the only Muslims in the neighbourhood) becomes the center of an international terrorist investigation.

3. Keeping Corner by Kashmira Sheth (Hyperion Books for Children , 2008)

12-year-old Leela’s husband unexpectedly dies and custom requires her confinement at home for a year, “keeping corner.” Prohibited from ever remarrying, Leela faces a barren future: however, her brother has the courage to buck tradition and hire a tutor to educate her. This powerful and enchanting novel juxtaposes Leela’s journey to self-determination with the parallel struggle of her family and community to follow Gandhi on the road to independence from British rule.

4. I am a Taxi by Deborah Ellis (Groundwood Books, 2006)

12-year-old Diego is deep in the Bolivian jungle, working as a virtual slave in an illegal cocaine operation. As his situation becomes more and more dangerous, he knows he must take a terrible risk if he ever wants to see his family again. As well as being a great read, I am a Taxi  packs in a store of information about Bolivia and the exploitation of children in the drug-trade, and raises polemics about the growth of the coca plant.

5. Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai (Harper Collins, 2011)

During the Vietnam War  Hà and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope. In America, Hà discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food, the strange shape of its landscape . . . and the strength of her very own family.

6. Karma by Cathy Ostlere

On October 31, 1984, Indira Gandhi is gunned down by two Sikh bodyguards. The murder sparks riots in Delhi and for three days Sikh families are targeted and killed in retribution for the Prime Minister’s death. It is into this chaos that fifteen-year-old Maya and her Sikh father, Amar, arrive from their home in Canada. India’s political instability is the backdrop and catalyst for Maya’s awakening to the world. Karma is the story of how a young woman, straddling two cultures and enduring personal loss, learns forgiveness, acceptance and love.

7. Orchards by Holly Thompson

After a bullied classmate commits suicide, Kana Goldberg – a half-Japanese, half-Jewish American- is sent to her family’s home in Japan for the summer. Kana wasn’t the bully, not exactly, but she didn’t do anything to stop what happened, either. As Kana begins to process the pain and guilt she feels, news from home sends her world spinning out of orbit all over again.

8. Tall Story by Candy Gourlay (David Fickling Books, 2010)

Andi hasn’t seen her brother  for eight years and when he steps off the plane from the Philippines, she cannot believe her eyes. He’s tall. EIGHT FOOT TALL. But Bernardo is not what he seems. Bernardo is a hero, Bernardo works miracles, and Bernardo has an amazing story to tell. In a novel packed with quirkiness and humor, Gourlay explores a touching sibling relationship and the clash of two very different cultures.

9. Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall (Lee and Low Books, 2011)

As the oldest of eight siblings, Lupita is used to taking the lead—and staying busy behind the scenes to help keep everyone together. But when she discovers Mami has been diagnosed with cancer, Lupita is terrified by the possibility of losing her mother, the anchor of her close-knit Mexican American family. Suddenly Lupita must face a whole new set of challenges, with new roles to play, and no one is handing her the script.

10. Wanting Mor by Rukhsana Khan (Groundwood Books, 2009)

Set in war-torn Afghanistan, post-Taliban and just after the American invasion in 2001, Wanting Mor brings a ravaged landscape to life and portrays the effects of war on civilians caught up in conflict, especially on children. Based on a true story about a girl who ended up in one of the orphanages Rukhsana sponsors in Afghanistan through the royalties of her book The Roses in My Carpets.

 

0 Comments on Happy Birthday PaperTigers! Here’s my contribution to the Top 10 Lists! as of 10/26/2012 7:24:00 PM
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4. Rgz Salon: Karma, by Cathy Ostlere, Reviewed by Lyn Miller-Lachmann

Rgz SALON member Lyn Miller-Lachmann has been the Editor-in-Chief of MultiCultural Review; the author of the award-winning multicultural bibliography Our Family, Our Friends, Our World; the editor of Once Upon a Cuento, a collection of short stories by Latino authors; and most recently, the author of Gringolandia, a young adult novel about a refugee family living with the aftermath of the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile. The book has had multiple print runs and is available for order. (Don't forget to read the fascinating Cover Story for Gringolandia.)

We're honored to have Lyn here as part of the rgz SALON, a feature where top kidlit experts clue us in to the best YA novels they've read recently. Today, she reviews Karma by Cathy Ostlere (Razorbill):


"Stories of couples brought together by love but threatened by their families’ enmities existed even before Shakespeare’s classic Romeo and Juliet and continue to enthrall readers today. One of the most compelling that I have read recently is Cathy Ostlere’s Karma, a novel in verse set in India in 1984, in the days following Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination at the hands of her Sikh guards. Following her mother’s suicide, 15-year-old Jiva travels with her father to India to deliver her mother’s ashes to their proper resting place. Jiva’s mother was Hindu, and her father is Sikh. Their religious differences forced them into exile in Canada, cut off from their families; the experience of exile, their neighbors’ prejudice, and the bleakness of their surroundings contributed to the mother’s depression and death. Jiva and her father return to New Delhi on the eve of the assassination. In the massacre of thousands of Sikhs afterward, they are separated. Using the name Maya—her mother’s name for her—Jiva ends up hundreds of miles away, saved by 17-year-old Sandeep who has his own story of separation from family and adoption into a foreign culture.

"Ostlere’s characters are multi-dimensional and

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5. Razorbill Is Canada Bound

What am I reading now? The Lemonman by Natasha Ferrill
 

Razorbill

On Monday, October 17, 2011, I was fortunate enough to interview Lynne Missen, Penguin’s newly appointed Publishing Director for Young Readers, regarding the launch of Razorbill in Canada. Our interview touched on what both Canadian and international readers can expect from Razorbill. And now, without further ado:

The Pen Stroke: When is the official launch date of Razorbill?
Lynne Missen: The launch of Razorbill is two-fold: Firstly, it will be marked with the paperback release of Cathy Ostlere‘s Karma. It’s a book about fifteen-year-old Maya who returns to her homeland of India after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Secondly, at the end of January 2012 a social media platform will be unveiled.

 

TPS: How many books will be published under the imprint annually?
LM: There will be half a dozen original content books. In addition, there will also be the release of second editions.

 

TPS: What types of books will be published under the imprint?
LM: Razorbill will be mainly comprised of young adult fiction for ages 12 and up.

 

TPS: How did the decision to launch Razorbill come about?
LM: It came from the desire to have an authentic and compelling voice. For that reason, readers will see a wide range of books being published under the imprint.

 

TPS: How does Razorbill plan to set itself apart from other imprints?
LM: We plan on making Razorbill the go to list. The aim is to foster a logo that will be recognized and respected by both teens and adults.

 

TPS: I’ve heard that Razorbill will be publishing Joseph Boyden’s latest novel. Can you speak about that?
LM: We are really excited about this. Boyden’s book will be based on his short story Turtle Island published in The Globe and Mail in July 2011. Turtle Island is about a young boy caught between the contemporary life of gangs and the struggle to come to terms with his Native heritage.

 

TPS: Can you shed light on some of the other authors you’ll be publishing?
LM: Scot Gardener, Hiromi Goto, Charles de Lint, Carrie Mac, Mariko Tamaki and Emily Pohl-Weary, to name a few.

 

TPS: With the increasing popularity of eReaders, will Razorbill books be made available as eBooks?
LM: Absolutely.

 

TPS: Earlier you mentioned a social media platform. Can you elaborate on what shape that will take?
LM: Razorbill.ca, a virtual community, will be a forum for readers and writers to discuss books as well as a platform that will allow them to share content and videos.

 

I would like to once again thank Lynne Missen for taking the time out of her

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6. Knowledge is Power

When I was in my late teens I thought I knew so much. I had already experienced quite a lot of life: love, marriage, childbirth and was living the life of a battered wife of an alcoholic. I was biding my time until I turned 21 and could escape (in Missouri you had to have your parent's permission to divorce if you were under 21 and I didn't have it). I hadn't graduated high school, but I was self educated. I read everything, carrying my paperback dictionary with me on the bus to work, looking up every word I didn't know as I read my way through Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle. After the Greeks I moved on to other philosophers, other readings. At 21 I finally asked a librarian for a list of the classics and read authors by the armload. Complete works of Dickens, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and so on. Wish I had been pointed to women authors earlier, but picked those up in the 70s.
When I went back to school, university at age 29, I tested out of the entire first year of college and all English requirements, all Fine Arts. 30 semester hours total. After I finally finished my university degree many years later, and wrote my master's thesis and had it accepted, I did think I knew quite a lot.
Those words engraved over the side door of my high school "Knowledge is Power" stayed with me. I know that my vocabulary, my ability to learn quickly, my excellent memory in my younger years, my insatiable thirst for information -- all have combined to help in move ahead in the world. I was able to provide for my family because of those things.
I could have been a factory worker like my mom with a tenth grade education, but I fought hard to move past that. I was kicked out of high school for being pregnant. My teenage husband was insanely jealous and when my (female) teacher at night school drove me home one night, he thought I hadn't gone because I didn't walk out the front door of the school(and he had come to check up on me.) So I was beaten and had to drop out.
Now that I'm older and actually think about things, I find that I don't know as much as I thought I did. So much of what seemed so clear now seems so fluid. So amorphous. Yesterday I wrote about the meaning of love, and not being sure that I do understand the meaning of love. Lately I've been thinking about what I believe about life. All my life I have believed in reincarnation. I mean ALL my life. When I was a very young child I remembered, remembered clearly my past lives. I would tell my mom about "before." I would say to her, "don't you remember Mama, when I was the Mom and you were the little girl?" and so on. I got into trouble for this belief at Sunday School until finally Mom told me to stop talking about these things at Sunday School, stop telling these stories. She tried to convince me they were dreams. They were not dreams. They were memories.
I also experienced deja vu ALL the effing time. It happened so often I couldn't believe other people weren't experiencing it too. It never happens to me any more. Why is that? And why did it happen so often when I was a child? What is that about? Why do I suddenly sound like Andy Rooney? Good lord.
So, if I believe in reincarnation, what else does that mean? I thought that made me a Buddhist. I have told people for years that I believe in the Goddess. I have had dreams about the Goddess, in which she comes to me and tells me I will never be alone, and so on. But I don't actually believe there is some Goddess somewhere in the sky or outer space somewhere protecting me. It's more that I believe we are all one. Like all the same energy connected molecules, and we will all just come back and come back over and over. Like that. But is there a higher power?
Will we always be people? Why would we be? When I say "we" are all connected, I mean that everything in the universe is connected, everything that is made of the same energy is connected. We could as easily be a cloud or a raindrop or a star or a piece of bugshit. Right? All the same. So why the memories?

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7. Thankful Thursday Part Two: The Visit

,
Okay, this is a mindblower to say the least.
Most of you know I have an Etsy shop and that I love ravens.
I came across this artist last week and I fell in love with her whimsy and her wares. I asked if she ever did ravens and she said she was thinking about it because she loved them as well.
Long story short, this is the one I comissioned, but she apologized for it because there seemed to be a tear coming from one eye.
I told her it was perfect because I had just lost a friend who called herself my raven sister and I miss her dearly. This raven is going to sit next to her flowers in my studio.
I'm taking this as a visit from Renee telling me (all of us) not to be sad.
Blown away twice in one day. The Universe works in amazing ways ;)

Please visit Jill's Etsy shop. She does wonderful work!

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8. Briefly looking up from page to enlist your help & tour schedule

Loooong day yesterday, loooonger day ahead today so I can turn in some overdue work. I had to bow out of my writer's group meeting today to get everything done and that has me very cranky and peevish.

Sidebar. Peevish. Has a good ring to it. Could almost be a faux-curse word, don't you think?

Not much blogging time today, but I wanted to share a couple of quick things.

A teacher named Heather and her colleagues are looking for ideas and advice from other teachers about using TWISTED in the classroom. She has the discussion questions from my web site, but wondered if any of you have other ideas. Any suggestions?

Speaking of the website, Theo the Web God is finishing the last touches on a map for CHAINS and is putting together the WINTERGIRLS pages. In my spare time (peevishpeevishpeevish) I've been combing through the site to find the inconsistencies between the flash version and the lo-resolution version, and updating the content. I still need to work on the biography.

What else would you like to see on my website?

I do have a quick and dirty version of the rest of this year's schedule, including the cities I'll be hitting for the WINTERGIRLS book tour that starts in ...... dear God, that starts in six weeks (peeveeveeveeish!!!!!).

NOTE - on weekdays, I am generally visiting schools and/or libraries during the day, then doing a public bookstore or library appearance at night. The school and library visits are coordinated by the independent bookstores indicated in this calendar. If you want more information, please contact the store, not me, because this is all the information I have so far.

As soon as I have the firm and complete schedule with times and addresses, I will post it here and to the website.

Friday March 20: Los Angeles CA, courtesy of Children's Book World.

Saturday March 21: Los Angeles CA, courtesy of Vromans & Mrs. Nelsons

Sunday March 22: San Francisco CA, courtesy of Books Inc. & Kepler's

Monday March 23: San Francisco CA, courtesy of Rakestraw & Copperfields

Tuesday March 24: Seattle WA, courtesy of Third Place Books & Secret Garden

Wednesday March 25: Phoenix AZ, courtesy of Phoenix Book Company & Changing Hands

Thursday March 26: Salt Lake City UT, courtesy of King's English

Friday March 27: Houston TX, courtesy of Blue Willow

Saturday March 28: Austin TX, courtesy of Book People

Sunday March 29: Oxford MS, courtesy of Square Books

Monday March 30: St. Louis MO, courtesy of Booksource

Tuesday March 31: Atlanta GA, courtesy of Little Shop of Stories

Wednesday April 1: Atlanta GA, coutesy of the B&N in Alpharetta

NOTE: On both 3/31 and 4/1 I will be speaking at the Kennesaw State Literature Conference

Thursday April 2: Vero Beach FL/Miami FL, courtesy of Books & Books

Friday April 3: Raleigh NC, courtesy of Quail Ridge


Other Travel Dates

4/10 - 4/18 Colegio Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Lima, Peru

4/24 - 4/26 Los Angeles Times Book Festival Los Angeles CA

5/3 - 5/6 International Reading Association Conference, Minneapolis, MN

5/15 River's End Bookstore, Oswego, NY

7/10 - 7/14 American Library Association Annual Convention, Chicago IL

8/3 Summer Writing Institute at SUNY Oswego (Oswego, NY), through the Reading and Writing Project of Teachers College, Columbia University

9/13 Brooklyn Book Festival, Brooklyn NY

11/6 - 11/8 American Association of School Librarians Conference, Charlotte NC

11/20 - 11/24 National Council of Teachers of English Conference & ALAN Workshop, Philadelphia PA

For the record, 2009 is officially packed full and there is no way I can consider any new engagements. If you have something you'd like me to consider for 2010, 2011, or 2012, you need to talk to the publishers' contacts on this page (scroll down a bit).

Tomorrow: A few WINTERGIRLS tidbits and news of SPEAK's 10th anniversary edition
Friday: I do the 25 Random things that I am, apparently, the very last person on the planet to do.

And something nice to soothe my peevishness.

This is the gas station we stopped at in Vermont.

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9. Next novel poll

What 27% of my readers want is for me to write a novel about unicorns versus zombies. And right now I gotta tell you I’m dead tempted cause it wouldn’t require nearly as much research as the current novel.1 So colour me slightly nudged on the zombie v unicorn front. I may have news to report upon said subject at some point in the future. Or not. You never know where my ten-second attention span will take me.

The next most popular options were a ghost story where the ghosts are perfectly aware that they’re ghosts. Which would be just a regular ghost story, right? One day I will write one of those. And then the snowboarding werewolves. Gotta tell you, I don’t see it happening. I’m not oudoorsy and I am particularly against being outdoors in snow. I have no desire to try snowboarding. None at all. And you can’t write about a sport you haven’t tried yourself. Also I’d have to learn all about wolves. Too much research! I am currently against research.

However, what most astonished me about the latest poll was that several of my readers—3% of the total—voted for mainstream realism. Clearly, they were messing with me. There can be no other explanation. Me write non-genre? Are you insane? I have noted all your names and will go after you in my own time. Watch your backs.

Enjoy the new poll. I was feeling random. It happens.

  1. Don’t hit me, Diana. I know you’ve done tonnes of research for your unicorn novel. But my unicorn v zombies novel would be a lazy one, okay?

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10. Book Review: Frognapped (Araminta Spookie book 3)


Frognapped
Araminta Spookie, book 3
by Angie Sage

Frognapped is a 2007 Cybils nominee.

Barry Wizzard's frogs are missing, and these are no ordinary frogs: they're acrobatic frogs and they do tricks. Araminta Spookie and her friend Wanda Wizzard, Barry's daughter, are on the case. After searching Spookie House for the frogs with no success, the two girls are convinced that the frogs have been frognapped. With the help of the house ghost, Sir Horace, the two budding detectives launch an investigation that will find them ambushed by a bicycle, face-to-face with a shark, and undercover at an aquarium show.

Frognapped is a really cute and fun book for elementary-age readers. It's book 3 of a series, but it works just fine without having read the first two. Araminta's hijinks are amusing and evoke the imaginative play of elementary kids. The humorous and lightly gothic illustrations by Jimmy Pickering perfectly complement the text.

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11. Book Review: The Ghost in Allie's Pool


The Ghost in Allie's Pool
by Sari Bodi

Allie doesn't even know her best friend Marissa anymore. Marissa has started hanging out with the popular girls, and she's become obsessed with being cool. Allie isn't cool enough for her anymore. Marissa and her new friends Crystal and Suzanne ditch Allie when they can, and when they can't, they're just mean to her.

Allie is badly in need of a friend when, in the middle of researching a paper for school about her Pilgrim ancestors, Allie meets the ghost of a Pilgrim named Dorothy May. Dorothy May isn't one of Allie's ancestors, but in a way Allie wouldn't exist if it weren't for Dorothy May: Dorothy May killed herself by jumping off of the Mayflower, and her widowed husband remarried, becoming Allie's ancestor. As Allie navigates the perilous waters of middle school, Dorothy May appears when needed and becomes a friend to Allie, helping her deal with her feelings of betrayal, fear, loneliness, and attraction for one of the boys in her class, and helping her to find the courage to stand up to the bullies. Allie, in turn, helps Dorothy May to work through the issues that she was unable to deal with in life.

The Ghost in Allie's Pool is an engaging story with realistic teen characters that ring true. It has a little bit of something for everyone: a little fantasy, a little middle-school realism, and a little bit of history. I don't have a lot of experience with middle school today, but the characters and situations seem believable. The bullying - including cyber-bullying -is shocking but not over the top, and is handled sensitively. Tweens in middle-school will find this an entertaining and relevant story. An author's note at the end explains what's real in the story of the Mayflower Pilgrims.

As a homeschooling parent, it's hard for me to believe that this kind of bullying can happen in school, yet from stories that I've heard, it does. One thing that The Ghost in Allie's Pool really brought out for me is that victims of bullying may not feel that they can go to an adult for help, and may, in fact, go to great lengths to protect their tormentors. It's up to the adults in their lives then - parents and teachers - to be aware of what's going on and to protect the children. No child should have to suffer this kind of thing.

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12. Giving Thanks...

Many thanks to Heather for letting me slide into the Tuesday position instead of my regular Saturday posting. There's a method to the madness and it goes hand-in-hand with our blog theme this week...

I am giving massive thanks today for one very special reason...from Publisher's Marketplace:

******
CHILDREN'S: YOUNG ADULT
Marley Gibson's GHOST HUNTRESS series, featuring a transplanted Chicago teen who begins to experience a psychic awakening, then forms a ragtag ghost hunting team to research and battle the belligerent ghosts in her historic Southern town, to Julia Richardson at Houghton Mifflin, in a very nice deal, in a three-book deal, by Deidre Knight of The Knight Agency (NA).
[email protected]
I am sooooooooooooo pleased to announce the sale of my new series and I can't wait to finish writing the books (I sold on proposal.) These books are very near and dear to me because, while doing extensive research for this series, I met some wonderful people and had some very interesting experiences while ghost hunting. Here are some of the pictures I snapped while out and about on my research:



(See all of the orbs?)



(See the whispy thing above her hand?)



(See the light anomaly on the right side of the mirror?)

So, what do you think of these pictures? Ghosts? Dust? Spirits? Lens flares?

Hugs,
Marley = )

SORORITY 101: ZETA OR OMEGA?
SORORITY 101: THE NEW SISTERS
writing as Kate Harmon

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13. Bride for a Knight by Sue-Ellen Welfonder

Jamie Macpherson has come back home after many years away because of his brothers’ deaths.  Something foul is afoot and he is determined to know what is going on.  His father is seeing his brothers’ ghosts and everyone is acting strangely.  Then there is the agreement to marry a neighboring laird’s daughter.  That turns out to be a gift from the gods.  Set in the 14th century, this historical romance transcends the typical highland romance fare usually offered up by authors by adding a touch of magic to the mix.  I hesitate to call it magical realism, but it treads the line between the fantastic and the everyday.  A well told tale.

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14. WAITER RETURNS WALLET AND MONEY

NOTE TO SELF: Sometimes a good deed by a stranger gives a person faith in humanity.



Tourist, Thomas McCauley, was nervous in as far as crime is concerned when visiting New Orleans for a medical convention. He somehow lost his wallet stuffed with $8,000 he'd won at a local casino and presumed his pocked had been picked.

However, good samaritan, waiter Al Castro, found the wallet stuck in a booth that had been used by McCauley. Now he could have kept it and no one would have been the wiser but instead he returned it much to McCauley shock.

McCauley had stashed the cash, won Thursday at Harrah's New Orleans Casino, in a spare wallet, with no ID that he carries, in case his pocket is picked. His friends back home had warned him about that possibility. After dinner and a show, he realized the wallet was gone.

McCauley said Castro, who'd waited on him and his friend, turned over the wallet as they rushed back into the restaurant.

When asked why return a wallet with no ID, Castro said McCauley was a "gentlemen" and I put myself in his shoes.

"Plus," he said, "my wife's been telling me she believes in karma. Good things happen to people to who do good things."

Amen brother!

McCauley said Castro refused his offer of a reward. But Harrah's general manager said, "we're going to take care of him."

There are good people in this world who do good deeds because they want to, period. For his generous act, we salute waiter, AL CASTRO!

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15. making friends at parties is often difficult for me


This is just one from a series of almost thirty little ghost paintings that I made in late 2006.

6 Comments on making friends at parties is often difficult for me, last added: 11/8/2007
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16. Poltergeist: A Greywalker Novel by Kat Richardson

  So once again I have missed the first book in a series and jumped right into the second.  This was a very gritty, urban magic book.  It reminded me of Shadowlight by Bradley and the Harry Dresden series by Butcher (although our heroine does not have nearly as many accidents as Dresden does in his books).  This is the story of Harper Blaine (love the name!) who is a PI and had a near death experience that has essentially changed the way she looks at the world.  Now she can move in the realm of ghosts and see magic around her otherwise know as traveling through the Grey.  It is a fascinating premise and is very well described (so often the author has a clear view of things that does not translate well to the reader).  So Harper is hired to find out who in a group of people is faking paranormal phenomena.  They are part of a study being done at a college and the professor cannot believe that the results they are getting are real and so, hence, someone must be faking the data.  Of course it is a real poltergeist that plays all sorts of havoc and whatnot on the town before things are resolved.  Harper while trying to solve the crime is still trying to figure out how all this greywalker stuff works.  The stories are more realistic because she does not know everything and did not have this near death experience only to be given knowledge of how it all works.  So she is slowly learning and I think will grow as a character in a much more believeable fashion because of it.  I definitely have to go back and read the first, but I will have to wait for the leaning tower of books to shrink a bit.  I look forward to seeing more about Harper Blaine.   

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17. Double Dating with the Dead by Karen Kelley

Typical fluff fare.  Girl who can see ghosts and Boy who doesn’t believe her get into a sparring match and are spurred on by publicists to live in a supposedly haunted hotel for two weeks together.  Let the steaminess begin!  This is pretty typical fare and while I was not disappointed, I was also not overly impressed.  You can guess what happens when they start living there.  Sparks fly between the two of them and before you know it they are doing a tango in the sheets.  And of course there are lots of heated arguments because each believes they are right about the whole ghost thing.  Suffice it to say that our darling boy learns that there are ghosts and all ends happily. 

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18. Who’s ready for a Halloween Party with Candy and Cakes and Caramel Apples? Happy Halloween from all your friends at LadyStar!


boo halloween ghost stories haunted tales and spooky monsters ghouls ghosts and goblins in cici n hikousens haunted halloween hunt

“Ranko-chan?”

Ranko Yorozu sat in the corner of the band room, aimlessly tapping the wrong end of a drum stick on a practice pad. She stared blankly at the rest of the drum equipment that surrounded her. She and Jessica Hoshi were the only two people in the room.

Jessica walked around next to Ranko and sat down on the floor so she could see Ranko’s face.

“I want my treasure back,” Ranko said.

“Do you think we could have fought those Halloween monsters?” Jessica asked, implying that the surprise attack would have made their treasures useless.

“At least we could have done something,” Ranko said. “We left little bit all by herself like the whole time. She could have really gotten hurt, you know? We have to get those treasures back no matter what.”

“Cici-chan is a smart girl. She went to find help. That’s what I would have done too. I’m proud of her,” Jessica said, making a fist.

“I’m proud of her too,” Ranko said. “She’s pulled us out of tons of trouble now. Her and that little lantern and the ferocious guard cat,” Ranko grinned very slightly.

“She said her and Talitha fought together really good,” Jessica said. “I wish I could have been there.”

“We’ve got a lot of trouble coming, Goofy,” Ranko said. “We’ve got to get those treasures back. Some of the monsters we face might be too much for just little bit and the Professor.”

Jessica nodded. “We’ll find them. I’m sure of it.” Just then, Alanna and Shannon walked through the side door, with Cici, Talitha and Leila following. Jessica waved wildly.

“Konban wa minna-san!” she smiled. Shannon shook her head and smiled.

“Well, here we are once again, huh?” Shannon said. “We found Teko.” Shannon let Teko down off her hand. He hopped to the floor and began walking towards Jessica. About halfway there, something distracted him and he wandered off to look at the shiny base of a chair leg. Jessica giggled.

Cici stood behind Ranko and tugged Ranko’s shirt. Ranko swiveled around on the drumset stool she was sitting on and faced Cici.

“I found a new power that my lantern gots!” Cici announced. Ranko stifled a laugh as she saw the expression on Cici’s face. Then her eyes glistened just a little and she put her hand on Cici’s shoulder.

“I want you to know how proud we all are of you, little bit,” Ranko said. “You’re a real fighter. Never forget that.”

Cici closed her eyes, smiled and nodded, then opened her eyes again. “Me and Hikousen are ready for anything!” Cici said loudly. All of the girls laughed, even Leila. Just then, Irina and Tara ran through the front door, with a short, fierce looking woman following them. She was dressed in a parka, carrying a mobile phone and a set of car keys.

“Oh my, girls. What have they done to you? Are you hurt? Are you all okay?” the woman asked as she walked around to each of the girls in turn, putting her hands on either side of their faces and inspecting them for injuries. It took her less than 30 seconds to make sure every single one of the girls was okay. She was scarcely as tall as Jessica.

“Mom, we’re fine,” Ranko said as she fussed over the girls one at a time. “Really, we’re all okay.”

“Tara and Irina said you were all in trouble and to come quick. I got here as fast as I could.”

“You closed the diner?!” Ranko exclaimed. “What about dinner? What about all the regulars? That radio guy and the paint truck driver! They’ll end up over at that burger place and get food poisoning again!”

“Relax, I sent the deliveries early this afternoon. It’s Halloween! Everyone’s going to parties anyway. All I need is a big bowl of candies for the goblins.” the woman replied. “It’s all under control.”

“Ladies, if you haven’t met her yet, this is my mom, Darci Yorozu.”

“Hi Mrs. Yorozu! I’m Jessica Hoshi, but you can call me Jessie!”

“Well, I’ll be sure to call you Jessie, then!” Mrs. Yorozu replied with a wink. Jessica grinned. “Now, who’s up for a Halloween party with candy and cakes and caramel apples!”

“Me!” Cici shouted.

“Me!” Jessica shouted.

“Sounds like fun,” Shannon said. Alanna nodded.

“Let’s hit the diner, then,” Tara said. “Ranko’s mom makes the best pies you have ever eaten before. She has about ten recipes for real hot chocolate too.”

“Ooh, my mom can make great hot chocolate. Hey! She made candy this year! You wanna get some before we go to the diner?” Jessica asked.

“Are you kidding?” Mrs. Yorozu said. “Bring some along! Bring your mom too. We can compare recipes.”

“My mom has tons of recipes! Yay!” Jessica exclaimed.

All of the girls walked together out the front door of the band room. Jessica was so happy they were all together again.

“Happy Halloween, Jessie,” Shannon said.

“Happy Halloween, Shannon-sama.”

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19. A New Power Discovered! The Warrior of the Rocks Fights the Halloween Monsters!


boo halloween ghost stories haunted tales and spooky monsters ghouls ghosts and goblins in cici n hikousens haunted halloween hunt

Cecilia Daichi a happy and brave girl
“It’s going to be a tough fight, Hikousen.”

Hikousen a big sleepy cat
“mwrowrzzzzzzz….”

“I can unlock it,” Alanna said, taking out her keys.

“Wow,” Cici said. “You’re just like a teacher, huh?”

Alanna smiled. “One of the perks of being in charge of the band is you get to unlock doors for them,” Alanna said as she turned the lock in the athletic building door. It was still dark inside, but they could see the hallway that led to the gymnastics training facility. Cici held up her lantern and the lobby area brightened slightly.

“Still glowing,” Talitha said, indicating Cici’s lantern. As Cici watched, it looked as if Talitha was talking in slow motion.

“What?” Cici asked as Talitha’s voice faded. Cici looked around frantically. Everyone was gone. Even Hikousen. She heard a voice whispering very close by.

“They don’t really like you,” the voice said. “Not really. They say you’re their friend, but you don’t deserve friends.”

“Who are you?” Cici shouted. “What did you do to Talitha and Alanna?!”

“They left you,” the voice said, as a shadowy shape began to emerge, moving towards Cici. She could see sharp horns on its shoulders and crooked hands. Cici held up her lantern defensively. “Didn’t they?” the voice asked. “You’re all alone, aren’t you?”

Cici hesitated.

“They left you because they don’t like you,” the voice whispered. “That’s why you have no friends.” The shape was close enough now for Cici to see what it was. Its head was the shape of a wolf’s, and it had very sharp high shoulders. Its entire essence was pitch black and a hazy indistinct grayish mist rose from its shoulders and head.

“You stay back!” Cici said. “I’ll zap you if you don’t stay away!”

“I am unarmed,” the voice said as the creature began to float slowly in a wide circle around Cici. “You know it wouldn’t be right to attack someone who hasn’t hurt you, don’t you?” it said. Cici hesitated again, watching the creature float past. Is it okay to fight? Cici thought.

“Maybe if you learned to get along with other people, you’d have friends,” the creature said. Cici’s expression slowly began to change as she listened. “Those older girls don’t really like you. They just tolerate you because they don’t want to hear you complain.” Cici sniffled.

“You’re not telling the truth. They do like me. They said so,” Cici challenged the creature.

“I’m not telling the truth? They are the ones who are lying. They all blame you for getting them trapped. They blame you because you hurt them,” the voice replied. “It’s your fault, isn’t it? Isn’t it your fault they got trapped? You could have saved them. You have an Ajan Treasure. Why did you fail?” Cici felt tears in her eyes. Maybe it is my fault.

“And now they’re going to leave you alone just like they’ve always wanted to,” the voice said as it slowly completed its circular path around where Cici was standing. “Look around. There’s nobody here. They’ve all left you. They’re going off to have their Halloween party. Even Acey. None of them like you. They don’t want you around. Nobody wants you around.”

“You be quiet!!” Cici shouted. “You don’t know! Those are my frien–” Cici’s voice broke. “They are!!” she screamed through her tears.

“No. You’ve never had friends. You know that. They are all trapped forever, and it’s your fault. Just admit it,” the voice whispered. “Admit it.” By now Cici was crying. She looked down at the lantern she was holding. Her hands were shaking and she felt an awful cold emptiness in her heart. There was nothing she feared more than being alone. And now she was alone with nothing but an evil voice for company. Even Hikousen was gone.

She could just see her own reflection in the lantern’s golden top. The Lantern. She felt its weight in her hands. It was the only source of light. It was then that she heard another voice. In her mind she heard faint words through the pain of being alone and abandoned. She could just hear the words through her fear of having no friends.

Are we the Ajan Warriors?

She stopped. The evil whispers faded away. Everything faded away. Her entire attention was on those words.

Are we the Ajan Warriors?

Something happened. What was a cold, fearful pain changed suddenly. A fire had started in Cici’s mind. Ajan Warriors. She thought of Ranko, and how many times she had encouraged Cici to do her best. She thought of Jessie and Shannon. She thought of the time they let her do an update all by herself. She remembered how they all cheered for her. She thought of Talitha, and how they had fought together. She thought of how proud Talitha was of how Cici had helped defeat the Halloween Monster.

Her mind burned. We are the Ajan Warriors, she thought. I’m an Ajan Warrior! She looked up suddenly, her eyes glaring with a warrior’s rage.

“They are my friends!” she screamed. “Because we’re all the Ajan Warriors!” Cici lifted the Chronicler’s Lantern, and it’s light glowed around her, pushing the darkness away. The creature’s eyes widened, and it snarled with white fangs.

“By the power of the Crystal Terrane! Ruby Lens of Fire!”

All eight lenses of the Chronicler’s Lantern shifted to a brillant, sparkling reddish color, and a fiery glow bathed the front of the athletic building in the seething light of a volcano’s blood. In that same instant, a cloud of yellowish-orange flames in the shape of a serpent’s head exploded from the lenses of the lantern and blasted through the dark shape as it turned to avoid the attack. A horrifying shriek echoed in all directions as the flaming remains of the shadowy fiend faded from sight.

Cici stood wide-eyed, holding her breath.

“Three cheers for the Ajan Wimps,” another voice said. Cici snapped to her right, ready to fight again. Floating in the air only a few feet away was the grinning face of a jack-o-lantern. Cici’s breathing was frantic and her heart was beating rapidly as she backed away, expecting another attack. Just then, Cici heard the doors of the athletic building slam open, and Ranko’s voice.

“There they are!”

Cici turned around with an expression of surprise and saw Ranko running towards her. Alanna was running faster, though. Just as Ranko reached the spot where Cici was standing, Alanna caught up and grabbed Ranko, who was clearly very upset.

“No, no, no..” Alanna said, pushing against Ranko and trying to hold her back. Shannon arrived to help, but Ranko was having none of it.

“You want to trap me in a cage?!” Ranko screamed. “Huh?!! Try trapping me again and we’ll see what’s left! Come on!” Ranko was jumping and pointing. Alanna and Shannon were doing everything they can to keep Ranko from rushing at the monster. Cici turned back to the grinning face.

“You’re the cause of all of this!” Cici shouted. “You leave us alone, ’cause now I know how to zap monsters!”

“We’ll meet again,” the jack-o-lantern said coldly. “You can’t defeat us. We’ll find you in Aventar. And next time we’ll have even more powerful sorcery.”

“Do I hear a bell?” Ranko snapped. “Because when I hear a bell, something’s about to get knocked out!” Ranko pointed over Alanna and Shannon’s arms. “You won’t have to look for us, rotface! Next time you find us you better bring something besides talk, and you mess with little bit again and I’ll kick you through those doors myself! You GOT THAT!?!” Ranko lunged again and again as Alanna and Shannon held her back.

“You Ajan Wimps make a brave noise,” the jack-o-lantern said calmly. “You have no idea what you face. When next we do battle, you will know the pain of defeat,” With that, the jack-o-lantern disappeared.

“Yeah!?” Ranko shouted. Then she clenched her mouth and teeth. There was nobody there. She slowly relaxed and Alanna and Shannon very slowly released her. Cici noticed Jessica, Talitha and Leila were standing a number of steps behind where Ranko had been held back. They still looked startled. Alanna turned to survey the situtation.

“Looks like they gave up,” Alanna said, trying to change the subject to help everyone recover from Ranko’s outburst. Ranko stormed past her.

“They better give up,” Ranko said angrily. “Because I’m just getting started.” Ranko walked through the side door to the Fine Arts building and slammed it behind her.

The other girls remained standing on the cement path outside the athletic building. Nobody spoke.

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20. Alanna Rescued! The Halloween Hunt Continues!


boo halloween ghost stories haunted tales and spooky monsters ghouls ghosts and goblins in cici n hikousens haunted halloween hunt

Cecilia Daichi a happy and brave girl
“Hooray! We found Alanna, Hikousen!”

Hikousen a big sleepy cat
“zzzzzzz….”

Cecilia Daichi a happy and brave girl
“Here’s what happened.”

“So Ranko and Alanna went to the athletic building?” Talitha asked as she and Cici walked out the side door of the band room.

“Uh huh,” Cici replied. “Alanna said Ranko went there to find you. Did you see Ranko?”

“No,” Talitha said, looking down. “From inside that cage I couldn’t see anything and I couldn’t speak, but for some reason I could hear and I wanted so badly to try and warn you that it was dangerous to come near those cages, but I couldn’t.”

“Me and Hikousen are ready for anything. Right Hikousen?” Cici looked down at the enormous cat she was carrying in her right arm. Hikousen continued purring, completely oblivious to everything going on around him. “He’s my best friend. He goes with me on all our adventures.”

“I like how Ranko always calls him our ‘ferocious guard cat.’” Talitha said, then smiled. Cici giggled.

“He’s always being big and fat because he’s a sleepy cat,” Cici said as she hefted Hikousen with her arm. Talitha stopped and looked around the entrance of the athletic building.

“It’s getting dark earlier now,” Talitha said, straightening her glasses. Lit lamps sat along side either side of the cement walkway on tall poles, and their yellowish light illuminated the sidewalk in front of the glass doors.

“I wonder if anyone’s here?” Cici asked. She glanced down at the stone timepiece on her wrist. “I don’t think there’s anything enchanted around here.”

“I don’t know if that’s good news or not,” Talitha said. “I’m almost sure those cages use some kind of powerful sorcery to keep people immobilized like that.” Very slowly, Talitha walked closer to the double glass doors. Inside, the half-lighted shadowy lobby looked eerie and indistinct. Talitha pulled the handle of one of the doors, which rattled. “It’s locked.”

Cici looked back and forth. “There’s nobody around at all.” Cici placed Hikousen on the grass alongside the walkway and walked over to the doors. She put her hands up to the sides of her face and peered inside. “Maybe we should knock on the window, ’cause there might be someone that can hear us.”

Talitha looked back towards the fine arts building. “This is very odd. Even on weekends there’s usually someone here.”

Cici backed up from the window and saw movement reflected in the glass. She whirled around and shouted. “Talitha! Look out!”

Talitha looked around quickly. To her left she saw a skelegor warrior only two paces away and charging at her with a bent and rusty sword! Talitha backed away and ducked to her left as the monster swung the wicked blade over and down towards her head. Talitha’s eye flashed and an explosion of golden light illuminated the entire area around the athletic building entrance. A resounding thump echoed off the brick walls of the athletic building as the fiend’s attack was neatly parried by the Goldenwood Shield.

Cici shivered as the monster’s voice slithered through the cool evening air.

“Your friendsssss are helplesssssss….” the skelegor hissed. Talitha frowned as she peered over the golden edge of her shield.

“You can’t defeat two Ajan Warriors, minion,” Talitha said as she slowly began to back away, holding her shield ready. The skelegor crouched, taking an agressive stance and brandishing its rusty sword. It slowly advanced towards Talitha, not noticing the evergreen trees planted along the side of the building. Talitha retreated between two of the trees as the skelegor readied its next attack. Then suddenly she shouted.

“Graceful evergreens, come to my defense!”

The skelegor screamed as the heavy trees slammed together and trapped it. The monster twisted and thrashed around, dropping its bent sword on the grass. Cici ran forward and grabbed the sword, then backed quickly away.

“I got its sword Talitha!” Cici said. Talitha ran out from behind the row of evergreen trees and over to where Cici was. The skelegor’s enraged scream startled Talitha again as she examined the sword quickly.

“What do we do?” Cici asked. “What if it gets loose?”

Talitha straightened her glasses. “Transmute your lantern, Cici. I’ve got an idea.”

Cici dropped the sword on the ground and held up her timepiece. “Chronicler’s Lantern, transform!” she shouted. A swirling cascade of multicolored light emerged from the timepiece and the lantern of gold appeared spinning in the air, bathing the ground in a rainbow spectrum of light. Cici caught the handle with both hands. Talitha began to back away once again after picking up the sword.

“When I say ‘go,’ use your shield,” Talitha said, bringing the Goldenwood Shield around to protect herself. “Ready?”

Cici frowned as she readied her lantern. “Ready!”

Talitha closed her eyes and listened carefully for the voices of the evergreen trees. In her mind, she heard pleasant whispers. All of the plants around the athletic building began speaking at once. They were all very happy to hear Talitha’s voice. My friends, she thought. Please believe in us. Please believe that we will protect you as we protect all life.

The evergreens answered, and their words were encouraging. They questioned Talitha’s plan, however. She could sense their concern even as they released the skelegor. The moment it was free, the enraged monster recklessly charged at Talitha. Cici realized the skelegor was running right at her!

“Go Cici!” Talitha shouted.

“Spectrum Deflect!” The Chronicler’s Lantern’s light became very intense and a spherical wall of energy emerged from it, surrounding Cici.

The monster ran headlong into the edge of Cici’s shield. Instantly a violent blast of magical energy from the Spectrum Deflect threw the monster backwards! A reflexive swirling colorful sphere appeared around Cici for a moment, then faded.

“Got him!” Cici shouted triumphantly. “You better leave us alone! ‘Cause we gots magical powers too!”

The monster climbed back to its feet and scowled at Cici, then charged again. Cici held up her lantern and another flash of brilliant light appeared as the skelegor slammed into the Spectrum Deflect. This time, the power of Cici’s shield seemed to increase in intensity, and the monster shuddered as colorful discharges of electrical energy coiled around it. All at once, the skelegor disintegrated, and Cici’s Spectrum Deflect faded.

Talitha exhaled and closed her eyes in relief. Cici turned around with a bright expression.

“We did it, Talitha! We beat a Halloween monster all by ourselves!” Just then, Cici was distracted by her Lantern. “Look! My Lantern says something around here is enchanted now.”

Talitha walked over, still carrying the rusty sword. “That’s peculiar. It didn’t detect anything before. Is it this sword?”

“I don’t think so, ’cause it would have said so when the monster first appeared, wouldn’t it?”

“Let’s go back over to the front door. Maybe now we can get in somehow,” Talitha said, walking back over to where Hikousen was sleeping by the glass entrance to the athletic building.

“There’s another cage!” Cici shouted, pointing at a spectral cylindrical shape next to one of the lights near the athletic building entrance.

Talitha straightened her glasses, looking up at the sickly grayish-blue magical cage. Inside she could just see the outline of a person.

“It’s Alanna,” Talitha whispered. “What do we do? How do I get her out of there?”

“Just put your hand on the outside and it goes away,” Cici said. Talitha placed the palm of her hand up against the shimmering wall of energy. A series of simple reddish-colored glyphs flashed brightly, then faded. A moment later the cage vanished suddenly. Alanna Kawa slumped to the ground.

“Alanna!” Cici ran up. “Is she hurt? Is she sick?”

Talitha knelt down and placed her hand on Alanna’s shoulder and nudged her gently. “Are you okay, Alanna?” A few moments later, Alanna’s eyes opened slowly.

“Hayashi?” Alanna’s voice sounded tired. “What happened?”

Talitha smiled. “You’re safe now.”

LadyStar™ Cici n’ Hikousen’s Haunted Halloween Hunt is Copyright © 2007 Heavy Cat Multimedia Ltd. All Rights Reserved

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21. Looks like the Halloween Monsters are Winning


boo halloween ghost stories haunted tales and spooky monsters ghouls ghosts and goblins in cici n hikousens haunted halloween hunt


Happy Halloween! boo halloween ghost stories haunted tales and spooky monsters ghouls ghosts and goblins in cici n hikousens haunted halloween hunt

“Sigh… it’s a shame too. They only found one Ajan wimp, and it’s been over a week.”


Happy Halloween! boo halloween ghost stories haunted tales and spooky monsters ghouls ghosts and goblins in cici n hikousens haunted halloween hunt

“Six days to go until we cancel the party for them. I can’t wait to see all the disappointment.”


Happy Halloween! boo halloween ghost stories haunted tales and spooky monsters ghouls ghosts and goblins in cici n hikousens haunted halloween hunt

“Come on, we’ve got more of those sad face buttons to sell.”


Happy Halloween! boo halloween ghost stories haunted tales and spooky monsters ghouls ghosts and goblins in cici n hikousens haunted halloween hunt

“I’m depressed.”


Happy Halloween! boo halloween ghost stories haunted tales and spooky monsters ghouls ghosts and goblins in cici n hikousens haunted halloween hunt

“You’re always depressed.”


Happy Halloween! boo halloween ghost stories haunted tales and spooky monsters ghouls ghosts and goblins in cici n hikousens haunted halloween hunt

“Yeah but today I have bonus depression.”


Happy Halloween! boo halloween ghost stories haunted tales and spooky monsters ghouls ghosts and goblins in cici n hikousens haunted halloween hunt

“Oh, have a nice day.”


Happy Halloween! boo halloween ghost stories haunted tales and spooky monsters ghouls ghosts and goblins in cici n hikousens haunted halloween hunt

“That’s not very funny.”


Happy Halloween! boo halloween ghost stories haunted tales and spooky monsters ghouls ghosts and goblins in cici n hikousens haunted halloween hunt

“Ssssend usssss more fiend mail. . . humansssss are such foolsssssss…”

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22. Fish Ghost


This is done in gouache and pen and ink. It is a personal work I did after reading Eva Ibbotson's Book Dial A Ghost, which is a great book about a group of gentle ghosts that have some problems.

2 Comments on Fish Ghost, last added: 10/27/2007
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23. HALLOWE'EN PARADE


©Ginger Nielson2007

0 Comments on HALLOWE'EN PARADE as of 1/1/1900
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24. Teko’s First Magical Clue to the Haunted Halloween Hunt


boo halloween ghost stories haunted tales and spooky monsters ghouls ghosts and goblins in cici n hikousens haunted halloween hunt


Jessica Hoshi a cheerful and optimistic girl

Cecilia Daichi a happy and brave girl
“It’s Teko! He’s making another flower appear in his beak!”

Talitha Hayashi a shy and brilliantly intelligent girl
“Just like in the Venom Deeps.”


boo halloween ghost stories haunted tales and spooky monsters ghouls ghosts and goblins in cici n hikousens haunted halloween hunt

Cecilia Daichi a happy and brave girl
“Look! My timepiece is glowing. That flower must be enchanted.”

Talitha Hayashi a shy and brilliantly intelligent girl
“It’s real pink rose too.”


Jessica Hoshi a cheerful and optimistic girl

Cecilia Daichi a happy and brave girl
“Teko flew away! I wonder why Teko sits outside in the trees all the time?”

Talitha Hayashi a shy and brilliantly intelligent girl
“I think he misses Jessie.”

Cecilia Daichi a happy and brave girl
“I miss Jessie too.”

Talitha Hayashi a shy and brilliantly intelligent girl
“The clue is, ‘anything could be a link.’”

Cecilia Daichi a happy and brave girl
“I wonder if we’ll be able to find them?”

Talitha Hayashi a shy and brilliantly intelligent girl
“Well, we’re the Ajan Warriors, right?”

Cecilia Daichi a happy and brave girl
“Right! That’s what Ranko always says!”

Talitha Hayashi a shy and brilliantly intelligent girl
“We’ve got our treasures and our powers back, so let’s go see what we can find together, okay?”

Cecilia Daichi a happy and brave girl
“Okay Talitha! Come on Hikousen!”

Hikousen a big sleepy cat
zzzzzz

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25. Yay for Teko!


boo halloween ghost stories haunted tales and spooky monsters ghouls ghosts and goblins in cici n hikousens haunted halloween hunt


Jessica Hoshi a cheerful and optimistic girl

Cecilia Daichi a happy and brave girl
“I found Teko and he gots clues for everybody so you can help us find all my friends! If you look around our site starting tomorrow you might find some of Teko’s clues and if you do it will help us find everyone faster! Come on Hikousen! Let’s keep looking.”

Hikousen a big sleepy cat
zzzzzz

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