A Visitor on New Year's Eve

We were surprised by a visitor this afternoon at the cabin!

A pileated woodpecker graced us with his presence. Male pileated woodpeckers are about 18-19 inches long and have a wingspan of about 30 inches. He is the largest woodpecker in most of North America - the ivory-billed woodpecker can be larger. (The ivory-billed woodpecker is rebounding from a close extinction.)

His song is breath-taking. You can hear a recording of one here. With his songs and the tap-tap-taps as he looked for insects within our sugar maple trees, he was his own orchestra!

This picture is not the best. Sorry! I had to take it through glass windows with a camera not really equipped for this kind of work. When I quietly went out onto the porch for a better shot, he ventured off to other trees deeper in our woods. I hope he returns!

Now, if I could only get the donut-hogging squirrels to skadaddle!

New Year's Blessings to Everyone

As I sit here at my computer on the last day of 2008, I reflect back on the year and its many opportunities and blessings. For me, the year has been full of delightful moments and soul-searching challenges.

I have been exceptionally busy this year writing seven children's books, guiding (and being guided by) thousands of students both online and in the classroom, carting my daughter around to her many learning and life opportunities, sharing memories with family and friends, and getting lost in the woods to snap picture after picture.

My end-of-year reflection could focus on the economic challenges that face each of us, our country, and the world. My reflection could focus on the long winter that still awaits us. (It is snowing here -- again.) My reflection could focus on the bills that have to be paid, the oil tank that will need to be filled once more this winter, the impending college tuition bills, and the juggling of time and funds to do everything that needs to be done (and that we wish to do).

Instead, I chose to focus on time, more specifically, the gift of time. My new year's resolution is to give myself that gift. More time to take long reflective hikes with the neighborhood dog. More time to practice my yoga and meditation. More time to get lost in books that others have written. More time to simply sit by the lake and stare into the open space and water. More time to make music on my Native American flute with the loons. More sightings of breath-taking great blue herons, young, mischevious beaver kits, shooting stars, and playful river otters. More time to watch the clouds dance and rainbows illuminate stormy skies. More time for me to stop and notice. More time for me to share with others what I have been blessed to see, hear, and feel. Yes, a bit selfish, but if I don't recharge and regroup, the rest won't happen. It can't.

So, I ask you, what gift will you give yourself this year?

I wish everyone the happiest of new years. May your year be filled with love, laughter, and an abundance of blessings. May you find yourself curled on the couch with a good book and a purring kitten. May you wander and allow yourself to get lost, if only for one brief moment. May your year be filled with creative moments, unbounded spirit, and music of the soul. May you focus on the good things that will find you (and you will find).

Today is your day. This year is your year. Make it everything you deserve it to be.

Christmas Congrats to Belka!

Belka, one of my online Writing for Children students from Australia received a wonderful Christmas present in her stocking!

Her story about a fairy named Ashling will be published this summer in a children's magazine.

Congrats to you, Belka! Keepsa going!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

'Twas the night before Christmas
And all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring,
Except for a mouse.

The kittens were nestled,
All snug in their bed,
As visions of catnip
Pounced through their heads.

When up on the cabin top
They heard such a clatter,
The felines did spring
To supervise the matter.

And what did they see
As they sprang up the stairs?
A fat, jolly man
With white beard and white hair.

Santa, they mewed,
Could it really be you?
Dear Junie and Ammy,
It is, it is true.

Good little kittens
I see you have been.
So I brought you some presents
With feathers and fins.

Toys for the chasing
And cans filled with fish
And a new fleecy pillow
To fill your last wish.

And as he departed
His white upon white
He sang to his reindeer
To the sky, take flight.

And that is the end of this Christmas eve tale.
Or tail.
Or tails.

Meowy Christmas from the Smalley kitters to all.

May your Christmas Eve be a quiet one.

And may all your Christmas wishes come true.

Green Ice

I went searching for photo shots between winter storms today. In the spirit of Christmas, I found green ice. Really!

This shot was taken on a small tributary to East Canada Creek near Stratford in western Fulton County. The water was moving quickly here, so the ice was actually forming on the rounded river rocks at the bottom of the creek. With the green tint of algae in the water, the ice was forming with a green hue.

Just down river, the water was slower and calmer. There were no green ice boulders under the water. But then again, a few hundred yards further, the water picked up speed and green ice formed once more.

I don't remember seeing this before. Now, if a beautiful red cardinal had just flown into the shot as I was preparing to take the photo ...

All I want for Christmas is the perfect shot,
the perfect shot,
oh, the perfect shot ...
all I want for Christmas is the perfect shot,
so I can enter it in a contest!

Fa la la la la la la la rah!

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

If the weather folks are correct, we're currently experiencing storm #2 in a series of 4. The snow is falling -- we're expecting a foot or more of snow today and tonight. It's good weather for addressing Christmas cards! (Yes, I'm a bit behind this year! I'll need storms 3 and 4 to get my presents wrapped!)




To entertain the family felines, we hung a suet feeder and some sugar donuts near the dining room window. I think I'm being equally entertained as I try to take photos of the our feathered visitors today.

Check back in a day or two. The cats are enjoying the Christmas tree and its ornaments. Help! We tied the tree to the logs to keep it from being cat-nappled.

We are Siamese if you please. We are Siamese if you don't please.

Student Success Story

The administration at ed2go, the online consortium of over 2,000 colleges and universities around the world, recently recognized the accomplishments of one of my Writing for Children students.

Here's what they had to say:

December 2008 - Carol Smalley, ed2go's Writing for Children and Creating a Successful Business Plan instructor, recently received a message from one of her students. We thought you'd be interested in what the student had to say.

I took your Children's Writing Course at ed2go last year. I just wanted to take a minute and thank you. I had not considered the non-fiction market prior to your class. However, it turned out to be a wonderful place to start. I published my first article in a girl's magazine this summer and have just gotten my second submission accepted for publication. I now have something to put on my resume!

Thanks for your inspiration.


The next session for both classes starts in mid-January. Why not join us? Learn more at www.CarolSmalley.com.

After the Snow

As the sun started to shine on this cold and blustery day, I headed out to capture the moment. Most of these shots were taken along Route 10 between Pine Lake and Piseco Lake in the Southern Adirondacks.

I liked the canal-like channel the water formed here in the West Sacandaga River wetlands. I'd like to have some of this persistence!







Near the Caroga Fire Department is a small creek with a tributary that formed an ice cave as it emptied into the main flow of water. It would be easy to drive right by this and never notice it.





This one's for Judy. A typical ice structure started to form along a rock cropping. Apparently, it pulled away from the rock and created its own free-standing ice sculpture. I'm not sure I've ever seen this happen before.






The water engineer in me has always been drawn to this waterwheel just north of Lake Alma. The snow made a perfect frame for it today.





The last one is along the drive up to our cabin in the woods. It's an early holiday wish to everyone.

Keepsa Going!

This morning, one of my online students from Australia in my Writing for Children class shared that this was one of her mother's favorite sayings. Keepsa going! These are words I need to hang near my work area.

Sometimes, after a creative burst, I need time to regroup and recover. This has been one of those weeks. I'm part in pre-holiday mode, part in cleaning mode (procrastinating writers are very clean), and part in winter slump mode.

I hopped out of bed this morning wishing for some beautiful winter photo shots. I met disappointment. It was dull, gray, and washed out. As I write this, it is snowing heavily. If the sun peeks later this afternoon (as it has been promised), there might be some good shots to capture. Fingers crossed. Toes too.

But between then and now, I'm going to curl up with a new writer's manuscript. I enjoy coaching children's writers. Today I'm going to see through the eyes of a child how adults can sometimes act. Something tells me there's a lesson in there for all of us to learn.

Check back later! I hope to share a photo or two.

Congratulations to Alison Dixon

Writing for Children alum Alison Dixon received an early Christmas present. Her poem, "Fish Fun," will appear in the February '09 issue of Stories for Children Magazine.

Congrats, Alison!

Sliding into Monday

Winter weather has arrived here in the Adirondacks. This holiday weekend ushered in a little snow, sleet, and freezing rain.

It was the perfect weather to write a novel -- so I did!

Diary of a Milt, a historical fiction journal-type novel for grades 5 to 8, is done. Well, at least the first draft is. Now to dot the i's and cross the t's, and then off it goes through cyberspace to the centennial committee at Milton Hershey School.

And then I wait ... for requested revisions, of course!

Ahh, the life of a writer.

Hope you had gobbly good turkey day.

Now, what will I do next? Oh, yes. An emergent reader on living green. Due right after the next holiday!

The Writer's Life

As I wrap up work on my middle-grade novel for Milton Hershey School on this holiday weekend, I have had a chance to reflect on the life of a writer.

It's quite simple, really.

Not being a writer. Not writing. Not bring words to the page. All of that is hard. Very hard.

It's simple to be a child again. Or, in this case a teen.

My novel takes place in 1977-78. I was a senior in high school during that school year. This novel has been a walk down Memory Lane. Elvis dies. Star Wars is born. Disco takes the dance scene by storm. There's an energy crisis. Gas prices go up. The president is at odds with Congress. Women want equal rights. People march to be noticed. A new roller coaster twists and turns in Hershey, the setting for the novel.

So, maybe this is my story that I'm writing. Maybe the 8th grade boy in my novel is experiencing some of what I experienced and some of what I felt.

The novel is due on Monday. It's part of Milton Hershey School's centennial celebration. I best get back to work to dot the i's and cross the t's and give John Travolta space to dance across the screen. (Saturday Night Fever took the country by storm.)

Capturing Life in the Adirondacks

Sometimes, I wish I could capture time and never let it go. It feels as though time is slipping by me these days with many deadlines and obligations. Just this morning, I taught a workshop on time management. Can one truly manage one's time or does time manage us? Just how much control do we have over this fourth dimension, and why does it spin faster with each year we add to our lifespan?

I suppose that photography is the closest we can get to capturing the moment and suspending time. This week, as I selected ten photos to enter into Adirondack Life magazine's annual photo contest, I realized the number of blessings I've been afforded this year. Work is rewarding, family is loving and supportive, and natural beauty is plentiful.

These are a few of my entries for this year's competition. Thank you for allowing me to share a few moments of mountain time with you.

Frosted

In chilly 10 degree temps with a biting wind to boost, I headed up to the lakes this morning to take some pictures.

This photo is of West Caroga Lake in the southern Adirondacks. I arrived in time to see the wind whip across the open water to create waves of ice flows heading toward the shore. As the ice reached the water's edge, it froze in solid waves. Some of the spray settled on the rocks in the foreground. In the background is mist as it rose. It's unusual to capture a photo will all the phases of water -- solid, liquid, and gas.

From Caroga I headed to Pine Lake, my summer swimming hole. There, nature played artist along the beach as she created crystals and ice blossoms.

I'll be spending my afternoon in warmer quarters -- in front of a fire working on my novel for Milton Hershey School. Last night I did research on baseball cards, the Panama Canal, the 1970s energy crisis, and more. I wonder where my thoughts will take me and the novel today.

One Red Fox, Two Shooting Stars

As I was driving into my corner of the woods last night around 11 PM, I was blessed with three sightings that made my heart sing.

First, a red fox did a little shuffle dance in my headlights as I came up upon him on a back country road.

Then, as I made my way into a crisp Adirondack night clearing, I was blessed with not one shooting star but two. It seemed as the two stars fell from behind me to before me, showing me the way home.

I wish I had my camera with me this morning as I scooted my daughter into town for an activity. The open fields glistened with frosty ice as the morning's sun awoke the world from its night-time slumber.

Today is a cold winter-like day here in the north woods. I am working on a novel as I sit before a warm fire in my little cabin in the woods. My two writing assistants (Siamese kittens) are stretched before the fire. They have the right idea!

If I get enough done on my book today, my plans for tomorrow include an early morning photo shoot. Stay tuned. There may be a picture or two to share.

Preparing for the New Year

Although it's only November, it's time to think about 2009.

During the year, I collect memories of my travels through photographs. Today, I took a stoll through the year and selected some of my favorites to place into a 2009 calendar that is available for sale through my Cafe Press web site.

If you're looking for a little natural inspiration to get you through the coming year, take a peek at what the Adirondack Mountains and surrounding areas of New York State offer to those who trek its trails and travel its backroads.

I posted a few pages of the calendar here for you as a tease!

But don't give up on 2008! We still have weeks to go to leave our mark on a roller coaster year.

Carol

Cheers! Cheers!

The cork has popped. The celebration has begun. After many months of research, the first draft of the picture book for Milton Hershey School is on its way via the Chocolatetown Express (Big Brown).

Will there be changes? Absolutely!

Will the cover look like this one? Absolutely not!

I leave the final design in the hands of the graphic arts pros.

But for now, it's time to catch my breath, clean my desk, regroup, and finalize the middle-grade novel for the school.

The next two weeks will be crazy, crazy. Bring on the chocolate. The fingers are ready to fly!

Feeling a Little Nutty

Today I'm feeling a little nutty. In addition to the white stuff falling from the sky outside my office window, I'm finalizing work on my children's picture book for Milton Hershey School. The book stars an acorn, which, to be exact, is actually a fruit and not a nut.

Before Sunday services at Founders Hall on the MHS campus, I took a stroll with my camera. The campus is rich in botanical gifts, including many oak trees. There are red oaks, like the growing tree in my book, and there are white oaks. (The easiest way to tell the difference is in the leaves. Red oaks have pointed lobes. White oaks have rounded lobes.) With many oaks comes a buffet of acorns, which the squirrels go a bit nutty over. I captured this trio as they scampered and played beneath the boughs of some mighty oaks.

On Monday I was a silent observer. The MHS senior class (2009) planted its memorial tree near the alumni section of campus. Soon, they will be graduates of the school, and off setting roots in other parts of the state and country. Of course, that tree was an oak. It's a powerful symbol.

Milton Hershey once said that to plant a tree is to offer something for those who come after you. I suppose that writing a book is very much like planting a tree. We leave our legacies behind us in our words, our actions, and our deeds.

I'm off to plant my tree. I hope your day is full of opportunities to grow into a mighty oak.

With a Sweeter Heart

I returned this evening from Chocolatetown. My heart is a bit bigger because of the experience.

This weekend was part of Milton Hershey School's Founders' Day celebration. I attended two events on campus, both at Founders Hall (picture). The school celebrated its 99th birthday. They are ramping up for the big centennial celebration, of which my two children's books will be a part, in 2009.

If your travels take you to Hershey -- to the park, to a concert or event, or even to the chocolate spa for a little calorie-free pampering, give yourself a gift. Take one hour out of your visit to walk inside Founders Hall. Be inspired by the greatness of the spirit behind the school for children in need. Look up inside the dome-shaped rotunda. View the movie for visitors. Read the success stories of the school's alumni. Meet some of the young students who call Milton Hershey School their home. Your heart will thank you.

Now, go eat a chocolate bar, preferably one made in Hershey. Every calorie helps a child.

Scrooged

On the road again ...

I'm headed back home to Hershey this weekend -- part business and part pleasure. My 15-year-old daughter will be traveling with me. It will be nice to have some car company.

First, the business. This weekend is the annual Founders Day celebration at Milton Hershey School. I will be on campus on Sunday for their special worship service and then again on Monday for the all-school assembly. I'm also being interviewed by an Elizabethtown College student (and editor of the school's publication) as part of her senior multi-media project. Her topic is Milton Hershey School's Centennial Celebration. I'll share more about that interview and project at a later date.

Sandwiched between these two school events is a little family fun. My extended family (the many layers of lasagna) meet regularly for dinner theater programs. This get-together is to see the musical version of A Christmas Carol at Dutch Apple Dinner Theater in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I'll be enjoying some Pennsylvania Dutch fare with ghosts of Christmas past.

So, a little chocolate, a little shoo fly pie, and many more miles on the Subaru Forester (148,000 and counting).

When I return, it's butt-in-chair time. So much work, so little time!

Have a nice weekend, everyone. I'll share my latest adventure with you on the other side.

Carol

There's Nothing Better than the Beach

I just returned from a two-day whirlwind of 750 miles of driving, one pooping seagull, one fish head (rolly polly fish heads), an outstanding meeting to launch another book project (Thank you, Michele.), crazy drivers on the Garden State Expressway, one missed turn (and an adventure through the Catkskills), and fantastic fun with a fellow memory capturer (Thank you, Judy.).

My travels took me to Ocean City, New Jersey, and back.

Although the weather wasn't prime for snapping photos, these three captured the moment the best.

I'll be returning to Ocean City in July for many more pictures.

Stay tuned for more information about the book project by the beach ...

Looking for Lynx

The neighborhood is abuzz with the possibility of a rarely sighted lynx. The lynx is a wild cat with tufted ears, long whiskers, a short tail, and wide, padded paws that serve as snow shoes in the winter. Lynx can grow to a length of four feet and weigh almost 50 pounds. It is illegal to hunt these animals, as they are currently listed as threatened. As I trek the trails around my cabin, I will now be on alert for this beautiful animal. I hope I have my camera with me to capture its presence here in the mountains.

On the topic of pictures and cameras, I was delighted to learn today that one of my entries in FMCC's Works on Paper was selected for the upcoming art exhibit. Mistical Morning Meditation will be on display starting December 5 at Fulton-Montgomery Community College in Johnstown, New York. This is quite an honor for someone who plays with her camera. Maybe it will be the nudge I need to get serious about this art form and my study of it.

For now, I need to get serious about my writing. I will be hand-carrying the picture book for Milton Hershey School's centennial celebration to Hershey with me one week from today. Tick, tick ... the clock moves on.

The Devil Made Me Do It

As ghosts and goblins gathered to swoop down upon the Smalley cabin on Halloween night for tricks and treats, the feline monsters prepared to strike back.

Junie wore her devilish best, while Ammy attempted to blend in with the mice in the cabin. (Adirondack mice are part of the decor. They just don't share that little secret with you in Log Cabin Living.)

We know that Junie is really an angel in disguise, and the two of them will one day not only catch a mouse but do something with it other than play soccer. (They need to earn their keep!)

Yes, many people would consider this animal abuse! The terror lasted for only a few minutes, however. The kittens are now happily enjoying a platter of fresh-cooked turkey, while the rest of the family is feasting on Pennsylvania Dutch turkey pot pie. Yummers!

Happy Halloween to everyone!

A Scene from The Office

Yeah, I know! You were expecting something a little more exciting from the show based in Scranton.

Welcome to October in the Adirondacks, where it is a chilly 20 degrees today. But, the good news is the sun is out and the skies are blue.

This is a scene from my office window. I'm itching to go out and take photos of this snow-flocked autumn day, but the little kidlet is hugging her pillow on the sofa. She's been up all night with the flu. With this crazy weather, we'll all be sick. Rumor has it the temps are to hit the 60s in the next few days. Now, where did I put that sun screen?

Bye, bye, Winter. Hello, Autumn! (This is called wishful thinking.)

Carol

Ho Ho Ho Merry Halloween

Ho Ho Ho ... it's Halloween!

Mother nature is playing cruel tricks on us here in the northeast this week. Here at the cabin, we received about six inches of snow. We were lucky. Some places got whopped with 20 inches or more!

But, come on! It's only October. You know ... pumpkins, scarecrows, trick or treat, smell my ... snow boots?

Last night brought high winds (power outages), heavy wet snow, and even some flooding to small creeks and streams.

Send your warm wishes our way. It's too early for the white.

Carol

Stretching the Comfort Zone

Most of my works on paper are books, but every once in a while, I stretch myself. Today is one of those days.

Each year, Fulton-Montgomery Community College hosts a Works on Paper exhibit. Artists from around the state of New York are invited to submit their work for consideration. Today, is my day to stretch and submit.

I'm entering two photographs, both in their original, untouched and unaltered, states.

The first one I am calling Mistical Morning Meditation. I got lost (in thought) one cold Adirondack morning and captured this scene on Caroga Lake in the Adirondack Mountains. It reminds me of that peacefulness that surrounds us if we only slow down long enough to allow it to come to us. The mist came and showed me a slower way, if only for a few hours that morning.

The other photo is an evening shot of reflection. I had been observing and writing about a beaver family not too far from my house. There were two parents and a kit. The male parent and the kit liked to torpedo underwater and then splash me close to shore with their strong tails. It's difficult to take good shots of these ingenius builders. They usually don't appear until the last rays of sun for the day, and they are sneaky and fast! I am calling this one Artist or Engineer? It's a diptych, with two parts of the whole asking the question.

As I close this morning's post, snow is in the forecast, perhaps a foot or more. I remind myself it's only October. It's time to fill the bookbag and be prepared for a long winter's rest!

I hope to share a snow shot or two tomorrow.

Carol

Head West, Young Readers, Head West

On the tails of bison and trails of Native Americans, explorers Lewis and Clark search for the elusive Northwest Passage in my latest emergent reader, What's So Great About Lewis and Clark?, published by Mitchell Lane Publishers.

My beach buddies thought I was a bit crazy this past summer, as I read old journals by the explorers and drew lines in the sand to show the trek west and back again. I journeyed with the Corp of Discovery as they faced new challenges, people, and possibilities.

Although the book is written for adventurous elementary school students, even adults will lose themselves in this history-changing trek to Oregon and back again.

Curl up with a cup of hot chocolate and escape. Enjoy!

Carol

More News from Chocolatetown USA

Thanks to the Hershey Chronicle for this week's article about my two projects at Milton Hershey School.

The clock is ticking, and I'm having fun.

Carol

Homeward Bound

I just returned from a week on the road and time as an author in residence at Milton Hershey School in Hershey (PA), where I am penning two children's books for the school's upcoming centennial celebration in 2009-2010.

I had a wonderful time with the MHS middle students at Catherine Hall, where I shared a work in progress with them and answered great questions from students and staff.

It was good to plant my feet on Hershey soil, where I was born and raised, and the smell of chocolate reminded me of my roots. Sometimes it's good to be back home among family and friends, if only for a few days.

The Lebanon Daily News did a story on my visit. You can read it here:

http://www.ldnews.com/news/ci_10726121

Now, the pressure is on. I have three weeks to get a first draft of the picture book to the centennial committee for review. The middle-grade novel is close behind.

Thank you to the staff at MHS for making my visit a rewarding one. I look forward to returning next year to sign copies of the books for each student and faculty member.

And, for those middle-grade students who shared personal stories with me for the novel, I'm enjoying reading your words. Who knows? Maybe your story will make it on the pages of the book in 2009. You'll have to read the novel to fnd out.

See you for the big birthday bash in 2009!

Carol (back in the mountains where the temps dropped well below freezing last night and snow is in the forecast for this week! Brrr!)

Playing in the Woods

There's nothing better than playing in the woods on an autumn afternoon. To learn more about red oak trees for my picture book for Milton Hershey School (http://www.mhs-pa.org/100years/celebration/photo-gallery/), I spent some time with my neighbor and friend, Tom Shearer. Tom is a retired forester from DEC. He reminds me of one of my favorite children's book characters -- Crinkleroot by Jim Arnosky. Being a "few years older than me," Tom makes me feel like a couch potato as he cares for his many acres of Christmas trees and hardwoods. Today, after stocking his ponds with fish, Tom showed me how to take a core boring of a tree to determine its growth rate, age, and periods of stress. Thanks, Tom! I'll bring back some Hershey Hugs and Kisses to thank you appropriately!

Morning Meditation

Some days, a writer just has to escape. Today was one of those mornings. I awoke before the light and escaped with my camera to capture the morning mist as it rose in the Adirondack Mountains. These are three of my favorite shots from my morning journey of the soul. Enjoy!

Traveling the Scenic By-Way

Here in the Adirondack Mountains, fall foliage is at its peak. On Wednesday, I ventured north with photographer and friend, Judy Olson, to capture some of nature's most glorious moments. Our destination was Paul Smith's College, one of the premier forestry schools in the country. There, I met with Brett McLeod, an instructor of natural resources, to learn more about the red oak tree for one of my centennial books for Milton Hershey School. It was a glorious day. Thanks to Judy for taking this photo (and other photos to document my work on the MHS books) and to Brett for sharing his passion and knowledge with me. Now it's time to plop my butt in the chair and write!

Island Destinations

With the chill of autumn in the air, my mind has drifted to the high seas of the Caribbean, Hawaii, and other island destinations. Why? In addition to writing books for children and teaching adults in entrepreneurship and writing in online classrooms, I am also a cruiseline enrichment speaker. Over the past few days, I compiled my latest program offerings.

What could be more fun than learning and sharing information about female swashbucklers, mermaids and sea monsters, the design and construction of the Panama Canal, the healing properties of water, tricksters and tigers and native folk tales, lovers' leaps, wild mountain women, and totem poles and icebergs? All in a day's work ... bring on the sunscreen!

You can view my list of destination-specific programs at http://www.carolsmalley.com/cruise.htm.

See you on deck! Happy sailing (on the seas and through life)!

Carol

Congratulations, Jessica!

I returned from Hershey with a buffet of good news!

First, former "Writing for Children" (http://www.ed2go.com) student, Jessica Kennedy, aka The Differently-Abled Writer, received her first book contract for a picture book.

You can learn more about Jessica here:

http://www.jessica-kennedy.com/index.html

I guarantee she will inspire you.

Thanks for sharing your good news with us, Jessica. Remember to send me a signed copy of your book when it's hot off the press. I'm saving a spot on my shelf for you.

Other good news? We were able to save everything on the computer. Yee-haw! A back-up hard drive is on order. I lucked out on that one.

And, my trip to Hershey was exceptionally fruitful. Many thanks to the fine folks at the Hummelstown Area Historical Society, The (Hummelstown) Sun, the Milton Hershey School History Department at Kinderhaus, and Myron and Phil for too many laughs as you traveled down Memory Lane at Moldavia (their old student home). I'm having too much fun with these book projects.

On Saturday, my husband and I traveled to historic Sharon Springs for the annual garlic fest. We bought way too much garlic! I guess we're good to go for vampire season this Halloween. For those of you not familiar with Sharon Springs, it is a Jewish healing springs resort town in upstate New York rich in health and history. Work is underway to restore the town to its former destination point.

I hope everyone has a productive week.

Till the next update,
Carol

Crashed!

What a weekend. A computer crash and due book manuscript hit at the same time. I'm trying to keep my sanity! Luckily, I have a saved copy of my manuscript. I'm not so sure I will be able to recover all of my photographs, however. Lesson learned. Subscribing to an online back-up system has just risen to the top of my to-do list.

This is an incredibly busy week for me. I'm off to Hershey (PA) once more to work on my two book projects for Milton Hershey School and then new sections of both of my online courses start next week. This is an exciting time.

I'll share news from the road when I return.

Till then,
Carol

Saying Good-bye to Summer

My beach buddies and I said good-bye to summer this week. It's hard to believe that fall is upon us, but as I look at the leaves here in the mountains, hints of red and orange appear. It won't be long before snowflakes are falling. Bummer!

My latest book is hot off the press. Threat to the Spotted Owl by Mitchell Lane Publishers is now available. You can see it here: http://www.amazon.com/Threat-Spotted-Robbie-Extinction-Readers/dp/1584156872/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220614514&sr=1-1. Many thanks to wildlife photographer and biologist Jared Hobbs (http://www.hobbsphotos.com/index.php) for his outstanding nature shots.

My 15-year-old daughter, Elise, and I are wrapping up work on another emergent reader for Mitchell Lane. This one is on hamsters and how to convince your parents you can care for one. No, we don't have hamsters -- just two crazy Siamese kittens!

And next week, I'm back to Hershey (PA) to work on my two children's books for Milton Hershey School's upcoming centennial celebration: http://www.mhs-pa.org/100years/celebration/photo-gallery/.

Thanks to graphic designer and photographer Judy Olson (http://judyolsonphotography.com/) for getting my web site up and running. There just aren't enough hours in the day.

This busy gal needs to tackle her to-do list! Have a great weekend, everyone.

Carol