A Long-Overdue Update

I can't believe how long it's been since I posted anything. The Author Night at Montage went very well, with about 40 people in attendance and a dozen books sold. Next I did the Author Fair in Piqua, Ohio, in conjunction with their annual Taste of the Arts. It was held in the library, which is a beautifully-restored old building. There were probably 20 local writers there, and it was fun meeting new people and seeing some I hadn't seen for awhile. On Memorial Day weekend, I sold books at the Friends of the Library annual booksale in Greenville.
June was a very busy month, but most of it wasn't concerned with writing. When I left the Library booksale on May 29, I drove to Kay's, near Akron, to scrapbook with her and Becky. Drove back for the Photo Club Banquet in Dayton on June 3, planning to drive right back up to Kay's the next day. Unfortunately, my van overheated as I was driving through downtown Dayton. Pulled into a garage and it was too late for them to look at it that day. My big concern was getting to the Banquet with the newsletters which had all the prizewinners for the year listed. I called the President, and he sent one of the other members to pick me up and take me to the Banquet. Of course, I had no way home afterwards. Lynn has always told me I can spend the night with her and Terry any time I need to, so I took her up on it. I slept on their livingroom floor on a very comfortable blow-up bed. She went to work the next morning, and Terry took me to the garage, where they gave me an estimate of $1100. (and charged $93 for the estimate!) Since I have AAA Plus, I called a tow truck, so that got both me and the van back to Greenville. We took it to Gary Coblentz, my mechanic. Meanwhile, all my scrapbooking stuff was in Kay's livingroom! It was going to take a few days to fix the van, so I rented a car and went back up there. It was an HHR and I'd like to have kept it so I'd have a van and a car! It was big enough to be comfortable for me. Drove it through horrible thunderstorms and tornado watches on the way, but I made it. Stayed there another five days.
On the way home, I stopped at Good Samaritan Hospital and sat in the waiting room while my friend, Jan, had surgery on her elbow. She'd had surgery in May and her elbow got infected and they had to remove the rod. My first meeting with Dr. Klosterman was when he came to the waiting room to tell me she had done well. I've seen him many times since - more on that later.
I got the van back and Gary did everything the Dayton garage had in their estimate, plus new rear brakes, for $662!
Jan ended up spending six or seven weeks in the nursing home for rehab, and I visited her most days, picked up her mail from the post office, wrote her checks, got things for her from the house, etc. Got to know the people in the rehab center at the Brethren's Home, which proved to be good.
In April I had started going to an orthopedic doctor, who ran tests, tried cortisone shots, etc. In July she referred me to none other than Dr. Klosterman to set up knee surgery. The next week, I fell and cut my other leg just below the knee. My nephew, Tim, took me to the emergency room and I ended up with stitches. Then my family doctor wouldn't sign the release for me to have surgery until it was healed, to make sure there was no infection. That put the surgery off till September 16.
I spent much of the weekend of July 23-25 at the fairgrounds in Greenville, selling my book at the Annie Oakley Festival. The next weekend, I went with nine others from my photo club to the Southwest Michigan Council of Camera Clubs Workshop. It was a wonderful four-day event on the campus of Hope College with all kinds of sessions and workshops to attend. I loved it, but it really took a toll on my leg. I hope to go next year, when it's all healed.
I've joined the faculty of Suzanne Lieurance's Children's Writers' Coaching Club. One of my duties is to do a teleclass once a month for an hour. It's like a conference call and people can listen while I'm doing it or listen to the recording later. That's been interesting.
Also in July, I finally signed a contract for another book for Chicago Review Press for their For Kids series, the same series as Heading West: Life with the Pioneers. This one will be on American Environmentalists. My editor and I had been trying to get this approved for well over a year. The recent oil spill seemed to stimulate interest in it with the powers-that-be.
I was pretty careful in August and early September because my knee was so sore. I also believed that the leg had given out on me, causing me to fall and cut the other leg. I did drive to Painted Post, NY the first week of September for a mini-reunion with classmates back there. We had quite a few people come for the luncheon. It's been so much fun to get back in touch with these people since the reunion two years ago. I moved right before my senior year, but had gone there from kindergarten through junior year.
My sister, Kay, decided to come for the surgery and stay till I was home and doing well. I already had plans to spend at least a couple of weeks in rehab at the Brethren Retirement Community here in Greenville. Our scrapbooking buddy, Becky, decided she would come from PA and she and Kay would clean and organize my house for me! Becky is a real organizer and the house really needed both cleaning and organizing after all the knee problems I'd been having.
I had a complete knee replacement at Good Samaritan Hospital in Dayton on Thursday, Sept. 16. I was only in the hospital two days! Then I only spent two weeks in rehab, before I came home. Becky had to leave the day before I came home, but she and Kay did a SUPER job with the house! It was such a relief to come home to a clean, organized house! Kay stayed for another week till she was sure I could drive, go to the grocery, etc.
I'm still going to the BRC for physical therapy two days a week. I'm off the walker and they said I don't need a cane. I'm walking quite well (except when I get up after sitting for a long time.) The only problem I'm having now is that the foot, ankle and leg are swelling a lot. They've run all kinds of tests and ruled out blood clots and other problems, so I guess I just have to live with it. I have lie on my back with my leg propped several inches above my heart for several hours a day, so that is playing havoc with trying to get the book done by Dec. 1. I had no idea how tired I would be after the surgery and how little I could get done at the nursing home or here. I'm hoping to get an extension.
Suzanne Lieurance is Showcasing my book, Heading West: Life with the Pioneers on her Children's Writers' Coaching Club website this month. In conjunction with that, she interviewed me on her daily Book Bites for Kids radio show this afternoon. That was interesting.

Chicago Public LIbrary Best of the Best, Scrapbooking, Birthdays, and Snow

It CAN'T be two months since I wrote anything! But it has been. Wow! Everybody is busy the last half of December, with Christmas, but that's been awhile! I guess I should spend more time on here and less on Facebook!
The year got off to a great start when I learned on New Year's Day that my book, Heading West: Life with the Pioneers, has been named to the Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best List for 2009, along with books by friends Kerrie Hollihan, Dori Chaconas, Brandon Marie Miller and Tanya Lee Stone! That led to an article and photo on the front page of our weekly newspaper, the Early Bird.
Our first snowstorm of the year came in on January 7, causing postponement of our Focus Photo Club meeting for a week. The theme was texture, and I did manage to get ribbons on all three photos, but it was a 3rd place and two Honorable Mentions.
On January 16, I picked up my sister, Kay, this side of Akron and we went to Utica, PA to spend time scrapbooking with our friend, Becky. We stayed there a week and had lots of fun scrapping and eating the great food that her husband, John, cooks for us. I got 49 pages done in 12 x 12 scrapbook. A week later we went back to Kay's and spent the night, then she came home with me.
Madison's fourth birthday party was that afternoon. Can't believe how those kids are growing! It was fun.
That Tuesday morning I got up early to use the bathroom and managed to bang my forehead on the corner of the vanity and cut it wide open. I was glad Kay was there, because there was a lot of blood and I couldn't tell if it needed stitches. It was a small cut, about an inch long, in my left eyebrow. We decided it didn't need stitches, and I didn't get as much of a black eye as I expected! It's still a little sore.

Our big snowstorms have been in February. I was subbing on Friday, the 5th. It began snowing about 9:30. It came thick and fast, and we ended up having a two-hour early dismissal. It was our night to eat out, but the weather was getting worse all the time, so just Regina and I went to Longfellow's. It's only four blocks from my house, and she lives two blocks from me, so it wasn't too bad, but I wouldn't have driven across town. We went early, like 3:00, and by the time we got home, we were under a Level 3 Emergency, which means only emergency vehicles are allowed on the roads.We ended up with 15 inches. Some wonderful man with a snowblower cleared out my driveway, which I really appreciated. We had additional storms on Feb. 10 (8 inches) and on Feb. 15 (5 inches). It's all still on the ground, and there's supposed to be another storm coming Sunday. I'm hoping that 12-14 inch estimate is wrong. It is attracting a lot of birds to my feeders and I enjoy watching those. I can see the feeders from the computer.
On Wednesday, February 10, I did a teleclass for my friend Suzanne Lieurance's Children's Writers' Coaching Club. I talked about creating puzzles, quizzes and other short items for children's magazines. That went well.
I decided to use part of my income tax refund to replace my kitchen linoleum with wood laminate flooring. I loved the linoleum when I got it, because it was white with blue flowers and went great with my blue and white cupboards. However, it soon started to get gouges and holes in it, so the old floor showed through. And instead of being smooth, it was full of little pits, which get filled in with dirt. The only way to get it clean, is to scrub it on your hands and knees, and unfortunately, I can't kneel at all. I think I'll LOVE the new flooring. It's like I have in my family room. Maybe next year I can get it in my office. My nephew, Tim, and his friend, Troy, are putting it down for me and it's almost done.
I have a couple of author-related appearances coming up. On Friday, April 9, I'll be the featured author at the Friends of the Library Author Night at Montage Cafe in Greenville. I'll speak for an hour or so, with an intermission so people can get drinks and desserts. I'll also be able to sell my books. On the weekend of May 21 and 22, I'm doing an Author Fair at the Piqua, Ohio Public Library. It's on Friday evening and Saturday 10-2. I'll have a table and sell books.
I just finished my fourth revision of an outline and activities for another book for Chicago Review Press. I'm just hoping it's approved so I can start researching and writing another book.

Busy Week and Another School Visit

I've had a very busy week. There were 13 here for Thanksgiving. Eleven were family and we invited two friends. My sister came the night before to help me with preparations. Everything went well, but it took its toll on my back and legs.
As soon as I recovered from Thanksgiving, I started baking cookies for refreshments for Photo Club on Thursday. There will probably be 75-80 people there and, of course, no one eats just one cookie! I've made seven kinds so far and have two to go. I started doing refreshments for the Christmas meeting when we had about 30 members, and after about fifteen years, I'm still doing it.
Photo Club is Thursday night and on Friday I have to leave about 5:30 AM to drive to Columbus, Ohio, where I'm doing six presentations for the Horizon Science Academy, which is a small middle school. I'll be talking to each grade separately in the morning about writing and publishing a book. In the afternoon, I'll do a program on Pioneer Life for the sixth grade, adapt it for a small group of seventh graders, including an activity, then speak to the eighth graders about some of the Colonial heroes I've written about. The afternoon programs are all new, so I hope they go well. I've made PowerPoint programs to go with them. It should be more interesting than talking on the same topic all day.
When I leave the school, I'll go on to my sister's house, near Akron. We'll spend the next few days doing our Christmas shopping, then she'll come home with me on Wednesday. We'll stop in Dayton for the Photo Club Board Meeting. Her great-grandson, Carson, will be five on Sunday, Dec. 13, so she'll come for the party. On Monday I'll probably take her partway home to meet her husband.
Then I'll get busy with the Christmas tree, decorations, etc.
Oh, as an afterthought, I enjoyed the Buckeye Book Fair in Wooster and sold 30 copies of my book, Heading West: Life with the Pioneers.

News on the Book Front

My website is up now! It's nothing fancy, but at least it's a place people can go if they are interested in booking a school visit. So far I have one paid one booked, and one freebie at the school where I taught. I'm only doing free ones in Greenville City Schools. That's Greenville, OH, not all the other Greenvilles in all the other states! Last Monday I was interviewed on the Robin Falls Kids Blog Talk Radio show. April interviewed me about the pioneer book and I read from the book and answered questions. The show lasted an hour.

This weekend is Prairie Days at Darke County Parks' Nature Center here in Greenville. I'm doing booksignings both days for Heading West: Life with the Pioneers. It's at 1:00 on Saturday and 12:30 on Sunday. The rest of the time on both days I'll be working in the gift shop. I'm having company for the weekend. My friend Marge is coming from Pennsylvania to "sit in the log house and look pretty," as Roger put it. She has a pretty pioneer dress and sits at the spinning wheel.

I've been invited to participate in the Buckeye Book Festival in Wooster, OH on November 7. I had to send a book for them to look at before I got the invitation. I guess they liked it! There will be 100 authors and illustrators with ties to Ohio. They sold 7000 books last year! I won't make any money upfront, but I'll get royalties later on the books I sell. It all adds up! It was timed perfectly, because I have Photo Club on Nov. 5, then planned to go to Kay's to scrapbook. So I'll go on the 6th, then to Wooster on the 7th, then back to Kay's. Wooster is the county seat of the county where she lives. Becky will join us to scrap.

Am still waiting for Chicago Review Press to okay my outline and activities for my next book, so I can get a contract and start working on it.

I subbed in fourth grade today, and sold three copies of the book to teachers at the school. Of course I have them with me at all times! And it pays off.

Bits and Pieces about my Writing

I've been working on the packets to send out to elementary schools. I wanted to get the website up before I sent them out, but that doesn't look like it will happen any time soon. I'm having no luck trying to put one together. I think I'm going to have to get help. More on that later. I'm glad I don't have any trouble adding to the blog!

I'm also trying to get the house ready for my sister, Kay, and friends Becky and Karen to come. They'll be here on August 15 to scrapbook. Karen can only stay a few days, but Kay and Becky will probably be here 10 days or longer.

We've set up booksignings for Heading West: Life with the Pioneers. September 27 and 28. They will be part of Prairie Days at the Darke County Parks Nature Center. I'll be signing for two hours on Saturday and one hour on Sunday. Roger, the director, wants me to be in pioneer dress. That's fine, because I wanted to make a dress to wear when I give school programs on pioneers. This will get me to atually do it! It's been a long time since I've had my sewing machine out, but I used to make most of my clothes!

I'm continuing to sell books to friends and acquaintances, so that's good news. People seem to really like the book when they look at it. It's already available in the gift shop at the Nature Center.

I need to get to work on the Photo Club Newsletter so I can have it done by Tuesday. The meeting is on Thursday, so this is a busy week for me, with the newsletter and printing photos for competition. Also on the first Wednesday of the month, I have lunch with a group of teachers I taught with at East School. On the first Thursday, which is also Photo Club, I have lunch with teachers I taught with at Woodland Heights School. Will take my book to show both groups.

Weekend Reunion and Writing Odds and Ends

Last weekend my sister, Kay, and I went to a family reunion with our McCarthy cousins in Ashtabula, Ohio. It was right on the lake in a park and the weather was wonderful! About 70 and sunny. It was fun seeing three of our first cousins and 13 of their children, plus assorted spouses. The first cousins enjoyed seeing the picture of their father and my father that I used in the pioneer book, Heading West: Life with the Pioneers.
Speaking of the book, my author copies are all gone and I just ordered 40 more. I also sent for a vendor's license so I can sell the books and collect sales tax.
I finished work on my brochure about school visits and am printing them out, after buying paper, envelopes and printer cartridges. I'm mailing them to a lot of schools in the area, in hopes of getting school visits. I also bought 100 stamps, but will need a lot more.
Worked some more this week on revising my proposal for the next book. Hope to finish that over the weekend so I can send it in on Monday.
Tonight I'm going to a scrapbook crop. IF Walgreens finishes the pictures in time, I'll scrap Jessica Zuklich's wedding which I shot on June 26. They had a problem with the website, so don't know if the pictures will be done in time. If not, I have plenty of pictures of the babies to do. (Carson and Madison don't appreciate being called babies, so don't tell them!)

Update on Heading West book

I finished the brochure for school visits and soon will begin sending them out to schools in the area. I hope that will get me some school visits. I love interacting with the kids.
I have one booksigning set up so far. It will be at the Darke County Parks Nature Center sometime in the fall. We haven't set a date yet. They plan to carry the book in the gift shop there.
I was pleased to be a guest today on the Blog Talk Radio Show, Robin Falls Kids Story Time. I was one of five children's authors. We each told about our books, then read an excerpt from one of them. I read part of the chapter, "Pioneer Children." The section I read told about kids' trip west in covered wagons and included several quotes from children's diaries. It was interesting to hear the other authors talk about their work, too.
Went to the Garst Museum here in Greenville today to show the book to Penny Perry, the director. She was nice enough to let me spend several hours in the museum, photographing pioneer artifacts. I wanted her to see how the pictures looked in the book. She was pleased with it, and told me to come back in a couple of weeks and talk to the woman who runs the gift shop there and thought she would probably want to carry it.
Am still trying to figure out the intricacies of website building. It's a little more complicated than doing the blog! Hope to get it done by August 1.
I'm working on revising the proposal for the next book, trying to make the changes the committee wanted, even though I don't fully understand what they mean! It may take more than one revision. I'm anxious to get started on another book!
I'll be gone this weekend to Ashtabula for a reunion with my McCarthy cousins. Will stay with my sister, Kay, in Wadsworth. I'm stopping in Delaware, OH on my way Friday to go to lunch with my mother's best friend. I had lost track of her, and found her through Facebook! No, she's not on Facebook, but her granddaughter is. She was 88 a few weeks ago and has very limited vision. It will be so nice to see her again!
Back to work on my revisions!

New Book - Heading West: Life with the Pioneers

Yesterday I got my copies of my new book, Heading West: Life with the Pioneers from Chicago Review Press. It's always so exciting to get a box of books and actually hold the book in your hands, after working on it for a couple of years! I'd seen the galley proofs, so knew the layout, but the photos look SO much better in the actual book! I'd been a little concerned that some were pretty dark in the galleys. My editor said part of it was the paper the galleys were printed on vs the slick paper in the book. I asked them to particularly see if they could lighten the photos of my friend, Marge Pepiot at the spinning wheel, my dad in a dress, and my grandfather with a hoop. They all look good in the book. The book also has 21 activities for children to do that have to do with pioneers.

I'm working on a website, hoping that will get me more school visits. Also making up a brochure to send out to schools. I'm really hoping for quite a few school visits. I love to do them and most children's writers I know make more from their school visits than they do from their books. I think the pioneer book will do well. I'm excited that it's my first book to be sold in bookstores. The others were all school/library books and the expensive library binding made them too expensive for bookstores.

I'm also waiting to hear about my proposal for another book with Chicago Review Press. This one is on environmentalists and will have chapters on a dozen or so different people, such as Thoreau, Audubon, and Rachel Carson.

Back to work on the brochure. I'm designing it in Microsoft Publisher.