IN THIS MONTH'S ISSUE: Overdue Louisville, Here I Come THE BLIND FAIRY Zahra's Fun Fact My Personal Gossip |
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This month, my newsletter is late. Sometimes, there's just no getting around the demands of life. As September rolled into October, I was focused on the SCBWI-Carolinas fall conference. At the conference, I presented a workshop, led five one-on-one critiques, and volunteered at the registration desk. I also attended wonderfully informative workshops and participated in networking and creative activities. As a published author, I had the pleasure of signing books at the autograph party. What I didn't do was plan ahead to prepare and send my October newsletter on October 1. Now that the dust has settled, I'm glad my newsletter didn't go out on time. If it had, these conference photos wouldn't be in this month's issue: |
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Top left to right: Group selfie during my workshop; posing with SCBWI Regional Administrator Erica Wood; posing with up-and-coming picture book author Alnita Coulter. Bottom left to right: My books at the conference bookstore (they sold out!); posing with middle grade authors Lexi (middle) and Susan Haas; posing with picture book author and critique partner Carolyn Bennett Fraiser. |
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Huge shout out to my publisher, Level Best Books, for working with Carmichael's Bookstore in Louisville, KY to ensure an inventory of Society of the Sentinelia would arrive on time for the 2022 Louisville Book Festival October 28 & 29! As soon as school lets out on October 27, I'm hopping on a plane to the Mid-South, if you will (since it's technically in the South, but west of NC and in the middle of the US). I look forward to meeting middle grade readers, media center staff, librarians, and bookstore owners during the festival. My table will be stocked with plenty of swag: pencils, pads, stickers, bookmarks. And, if my books sell out, I'll have bookplates to sign for those who order through the bookstore or online. |
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Haven't read Society of the Sentinelia, yet? Here's where you can purchase your copy! |
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I'm wrapping up revisions so I can submit THE BLIND FAIRY to my editor. THE BLIND FAIRY is book 2 of 5 in the Zahra of the Uwharries series. It's scheduled to be released May 2023. Without giving anything away, I can reveal there's a turtle involved. |
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If you are a reviewer, media specialist, bookstore acquisition manager, librarian, or avid middle grade reader who would like a digital advance reader copy (ARC), please click the button to request one! | | |
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Acorns are plentiful this time of year. They are the fruit of the oak tree. Each one contains just a single seed. Zahra wants you to know that squirrels aren't the only ones who love acorns! Zahra and scraebins like her use the fruit and seed in stews and soups (cold, of course). They also use the husks and caps for plates, bowls, cups, and more! |
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We're one of those, now. We've joined the ranks of the Shibumi Shade people. We've always been umbrella people. We were born into umbrella-people families. We raised our children as umbrella people. The brightly colored umbrella didn't quite fit into the trunk, but we made it work for years. We've always been able to figure out how to get the bulky poles and umbrella into or onto our vehicles betwixt and among our luggage, children, and pets. We were so committed to the umbrella way of life that a couple of years ago, we invested in a metal and PVC umbrella stand that easily bangs into the sand to secure the umbrella against coastal winds. This year, during our beach getaway, the fancy holder snapped in two. We were left with no way to secure our umbrella in the sand. We researched replacing the holder, but our hearts weren't into it. We'd been surrounded by Shibumi people all week. They arrived with their lightweight over-the-shoulder packs that could fit easily in the smallest of hatchbacks. After taking about 90 seconds to put up their Shibumis, they had plenty of shade all day long. When they were ready to leave, they easily folded up thevstakes and fabric and were on their way. All the while, we struggled with our sandy, awkward umbrella. We realized as we shopped online for something to keep our umbrella upright that we were done squishing under the small dot of shade afforded us by our red, yellow, blue, and green round awning. While we could find our spot from anywhere on the beach—the umbrella stuck out like a cartoon balloon in a parade—we longed for anonymity. And a bit more shade. We were tempted by easier set up and breakdown. We longed for something that took very little space in the trunk of our mini-SUV. So we did it. We bought our first Shibumi. For the two days we had it before we had to depart, we relished in the cool shadow of our modern beach shade. Our Shibumi Shade neatly hangs on a hook in our home, now, as we await another opportunity to sit in a sea of Shibumi's next to the sea. |
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