Monday, April 27, 2009

Things Are Happening!

The Hill Country Book Store
719 South Main Street
Georgetown, Texas 78626
512-869-4959
We are excited to announce our first book signing event hosted by The Hill Country Book Store, Georgetown. We have been invited to share The Angry Thunderstorm on June 13, 2009 from 2:00 pm until 4:00 pm during Market Days. We would love to see you at this event!

The Angry Thunderstorm will blow into The Hill Country Book Store on June 8th. Be sure to stop by and get your copy of the book before the event.



2009 Pocahontas County Summer Reading Academy

July 29 - 30, 2009

We are looking forward to sharing The Angry Thunderstorm with the folks in Pocahontas County, West Virginia in July. We will provide more details for this event as they solidify.



What people are saying about The Angry Thunderstorm:







Thursday, April 23, 2009

Everyone said, "Write a book." So I did.

Writing the book was the easy part. Working with my niece on the illustrations was the fun part. Publishing the book was the exciting part. Marketing it... well that's another story in itself.
Don't get me wrong. I knew all along that the book was not going to sell itself. I knew I was going to have to talk to people - constantly - which has never been a problem for me. (Although I am beginning to feel like a book pimp.) I knew that I was going to face rejection - which has always been a problem for me. But I think like a champion, dust myself off and keep going - trying to stir up that buzz that is critical in any marketing plan.
We put our PR plan in place and set about trying to get media focus. We have our outreach to school districts. My friend Ann Fiala, Founder of the Reading Instruction Company in Austin, Texas, has developed a vocabulary and reading curriculum for the book. The curriculm is free to school districts for a limited time. We are visiting book stores - all the normal things you do in a marketing campaign.
Then, everyone suggested that I twitter. "Excuse me," I said politely, "but twittering in public doesn't seem like the right thing to do." My grandmother warned me about twittering about and being a children's author and such... It was then that I learned how technologically unskilled I had become. I learned that people twitter all the time now - and in public. They twitter and they tweet. Sometimes they re-tweet. They build relationships with their twittering followers, but still re-tweet with other people. It sounds so sordid. But everyone also told me I shouldn't twitter unless I really knew what I was doing. So I didn't - not now anyway - because it is obvious that I don't know what I'm doing.

Then someone said, "Write a blog." So I did.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Teaching this Author a New Lesson

Our post today is a huge "shout out" to Ms. H and her fifth-grade students at Pond Springs Elementary School. For those of you who do not know Ms. H., she is my son's teacher. Ryan adores her and thinks that she is the best teacher ever. I happen to agree. Not only because she has helped Ryan improve his grades and test scores by leaps and bounds, but because she teaches more than reading, writing, science and math. She teaches integrity, respect and accountability - all those fine subjects that go into building great character - no matter how old you are.

Ryan has been waiting patiently to share the new book with Ms. H. Finally, we had the opportunity give her a copy of The Angry Thunderstorm. She was so excited and told me that she was going to read the book with her class. "Oh no," I said. "This book is for children ages two to eight," thinking that the fifth-graders would be much too advanced for the book. Much to my surprise, I was wrrr.... (can't seem to be spit it out) wrroo... (one more try) WRONG!

Ms. H led her students through a read aloud. Afterwards, the class talked about the literary language, especially the personification of the thundercloud. They discussed the main idea of the book and the message takeaway. They talked about concepting and why I might have decided to write this story. While her fifth-graders may have sat in her classroom, it was I who learned the lesson: Picture books are still very useful for upper grades - and enjoyable at any age.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Carol did an absolutely phenomenal job writing The Angry Thunderstorm. The story appeals to children on many levels~initially, the rhyme and rhythm of the text captures their attention. Then they become awed by the charming illustrations. Plus the message of the story not only reassures them that thunderstorms mean them no harm, but actually help our world.

Yes, my three granddaughters all loved the book and begged for it to be read again and again.
After finishing the book, Anna who is 3, showed me her favorite picture in the whole book was the illustration of the thunderstorm as he "crept gently away" because it showed that he really wasn't angry! Ally, age 5, enjoyed the sounds and motions and by page 3 on the re-read, she actually "R-o-a-r-r-r-r-e-d!" with the thunderstorm. Emily, age 6 and in Kindergarten, loved the big words, like phenomenon!

As I have worked with schools lately, I have told them a bit about the book. Everyone gets excited (and that's before they have even held the book in their hands)! I hope each of you and all the young children you know will soon get to hold this wonderful book and enjoy all the words and illustrations that make The Angry Thunderstorm a truly special book!

Monday, April 20, 2009

The Measure of a Truly Good Children's Book

Some of the most precious memories with my children are the times we spent reading together. Sitting together in the rocking chair or cuddled in the bed. Little heads pressed against my chest with tiny fingers twirling my hair as we read our favorite books. I delighted in their facial expressions as we journeyed with The Runaway Bunny, or stretched our arms wide with Nutbrown Hare in Guess How Much I Love You. I'll never forget the tears when my daughter came to understand why the young man, now grown, had snuck into the room to hold his mother in Love You Forever. These were our favorite stories. We never grew tired of reading them. One of these books would always be in the bedtime mix; and they were always read more than once.
We released The Angry Thunderstorm, on April 1, 2009. It is a wonderful story - beautifully illustrated by my niece who just celebrated her seventeenth birthday. We introduced the proof copy of the book in San Antonio at the National Title One Conference in February. As a new author, I was truly happy with the response we received from curriculum developers, reading specialists and teachers across the country. I thought, "Wow! Surely these people would not tell me it was a wonderful book were it not true." But it wasn't until I witnessed my friend Ann Fiala, Founder of the Reading Instruction Company, having a read-aloud with her granddaughters and The Angry Thunderstorm that I truly felt the Wow! of being an author.
As they read, I watched the little girls' facial expressions. I watched them draw closer to their grandmother as the storm reached his intensity. I watched them calm with the storm as he explained his important role in providing for mother earth and all of her creatures. But the ultimate reward came at the end of the story when I heard three little words - read it again!
I knew then that we had met the measure of a truly good children's book.