Writers are Among Us

It is always a pleasure whenever I get an opportunity to make a school visit. In April I was extended the invitation to sit on a panel of experts at a local middle school, Glassford Hill MS. I was so excited!

I was greeted by the school librarian, Ann Carey, and her two awesome assistants. They immediately made me feel welcome and treated me like a celebrity. These ladies made sure I had everything I could possibly need, and then some.

I proceeded to give my presentation about the advantages and difficulties of being a writer. I asked if there were any in the group that had considered writing. Almost every hand reached toward the ceiling. Then I asked if any had put pen to paper or finger-tips to keyboard. Again, hands flew up like rockets from bottles. So I ended the presentation with throwing out a challenge. I told them that if any were willing to write an original piece of fiction or nonfiction, have it looked at by their English teachers, and then present it to me, I would give them a prize. Mind you, I never told them what the prize would be.

Within two weeks one of the students took me up on my offer and presented me with a story! Here is the prize: to showcase the story on my website and here it is! Hunter's Orders by S. K. James. I've created a new webpage on my site for young writers to introduce their work to the reading world and the work of S. K. James is the first!

Take a look at an example of the awesome talent that lurks within our reach and awaits us in our very near future. 

The Deregulation of Book Events

Oh my goodness! I've been home for almost two weeks and I'm still struggling to get back into my routine. From October 24th to the 28th I was in Houston, Texas at the National Black Book Festival selling books 1 and 2 of the PRINCESS KANDAKE series. Then after I got home I had to get ready for the Arizona Reading Association, another venue where I sold my books.

Both were awesome opportunities to introduce my books to new audiences. Now I have to get back to work and it's very slow going. I can't seem to get back into the swing of things. I keep getting distracted with first one thing and then another. I am about to lose patience with myself.

You would think that I'd have figured this all out by now, but it happens every time. I go to a venue, work hard, meet lots of great people, and sell some books. On the return trip home I'm all hyped up on what I want to do next time and how much writing I want to get done. I even had a few ideas about new projects rolling around in the old noggin.

But what happens when I get home? First, I'm so tired that I sleep most of the following day. Then the next day I unpack, do laundry, reorganize books, notes, and receipts. Spend some time with my husband the day after that. The next day I go to the gym, read a book, watch a movie. By now I can't remember any of those wonderful ideas I had, so I'm frantically looking through my notebook to see if I remembered to write them down.

So here I sit, in front of my computer, wondering what it is I usually do at this time of day.

Authors are Popular!

Just about everyone is excited to meet an author, especially if it’s a book they've read. Those of us who write for kids love doing school visits. We get to meet the very ones we write for and they get to tell us what they think about our stories.

Lately, there has been a reduction in school budgets, so paid visits are at a minimum. As a debut author, I don’t command the big bucks for a presentation opportunity. But the saying, ‘money isn't everything,’ is really true.

Earlier this  month I was asked to present at one of our local middle schools, Glassford Hill Middle School. The best part was that ‘I’ was the reward for the kids that had met their reading goals for the year.
The kids were great! We had a blast laughing and talking together. At the end, several of the kids bought my books. There were some who had forgotten to bring their money, so the librarian, Ann Carey, asked if I would leave a few books for them to purchase within a few days. Of course I said ‘yes’ and they came back and bought them.

Now for the cherry. Without my knowledge, the librarian sent pictures of the presentation to the local newspaper and they printed the story! What a wonderful surprise! This was so much better than getting paid—I sold books and I got free publicity!


So fellow authors, the next time you’re asked to give a presentation, don’t let the money issue keep you from doing it. The moral of the story is, when we give, it comes back to us.