When Side Characters Become Interesting

Great post by Teagan Berry about side characters. I’ve found myself writing separate stores for a few of mine.

A Writer's Path

by Teagan Berry

A little more than a year ago, I was hard at work on a novella about a main character from my in-the-process-of-editing book trilogy. This main character made new ‘friends’ (if that’s what you call cellmates in prison) who were required to help push the plot along. One of these side characters sparked an interest in me and then poof! All of a sudden there was a whole life story to explore.

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Miriam’s Well

Happy Passover

rachelmankowitz

Tonight is the first night of Passover, and I’ve been thinking about how this Jewish holiday makes me feel – this weeklong commemoration of the escape from slavery to freedom – and why it doesn’t make me feel free. Maybe it’s because so much of Judaism, both in its ancient and modern forms, leaves out the stories of women; the Hebrew Bible, and the advent of Monotheism, were bathed in misogyny and the distrust and erasure of women, and that absence of women feels especially obvious at the Passover Seder.

“But I’m at the Seder.”

People have come up with all kinds of ideas for how to make the Seder more inclusive, more fun, more meaningful, or shorter. At the yearly Women’s Seder at my synagogue we add something called a Miriam’s Cup to the table, but there was never an explanation for what the cup was meant to…

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Looking For Some Great eBook Deals?

Everyone needs a good read.

Check out the books listed on Indies Unlimited for some great deals this week.

Everything is either 99 cents or free!

Yup. You heard it. 99 cents or free.

Click Here to See the Deals

Time is limited for some offers.

Tell all your friends so they don’t miss out.

STAR TOUCHED

Sometimes it’s hard to be who you are meant to be.

Eighteen-year-old Tatiana is running from her past and her star-touched powers eight years after a meteor devastates earth’s population.

Her power to heal may be overshadowed by more destructive abilities. Fleeing the persecution of those like her, Tatiana seeks refuge in a small town she once visited. But this civil haven, in a world where society has broken down, is beginning to crumble.

Only by harnessing the very forces that haunt her can Tatiana save her friends…and herself.

WOLF DAWN

A Hidden Past – A Deadly Secret

Gifted with the ability to wolf-talk, Kara has lived with the wolves since she lost her memories eight years ago. Now at sixteen, snippets of her past send her searching for answers.

But the warm welcome she receives in the human village hides more danger than life with the pack.

Quotations On Perseverance

A few good quotes to think about.

charles french words reading and writing

(https://en.wikiquote.org/)

“If you fell down yesterday, stand up today.”

H. G. Wells

(https://en.wikipedia.org)

“Courage is not having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don’t have the strength.”

Theodore Roosevelt

(https://commons.wikimedia.org)

“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”

Eleanor Roosevelt

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Yes, Networking is Crucial

How is your networking?

Andrew McDowell

Years ago, I talked about using social media for promoting one’s work and oneself as a writer, which has become even more important because of COVID. But promotion and marketing are but a part of something more important for life as a writer: networking. The more connections you make, the better your chances are at improving your odds. And something else I’ve learned is that networking consists of so much more than social media. While technology has been playing an increasing role in life even before COVID, face-to-face interaction is still a vital part of networking, and one I think all writers crave and have missed during this pandemic.

I still have vague memories of the first time I went to a meeting of the Maryland Writers’ Association years ago. I was nervous at first, but I quickly realized I needed to return. And I have had no regrets since…

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Hope, and a Wish Tree

Another great post from Jennie.

A Teacher's Reflections

This is a year of Hope.  Children need it.   Adults need it.  When they find Hope, it carries them along.  Far.  Wish Trees are beacons of hope, where people give their most important and sacred wishes.  They have been all over the world for centuries.

We’re planning a Wish Tree at school in the spring.  It will help children.  They need Hope and Wishes.

Have you ever seen a Wish Tree?

Walking with friends along a Cape Cod beach, we rounded a bend where the sand meets the water.  This was a remote stretch of the beach, quite a distance from the usual spot where people set up their chairs and umbrellas. The walk was long.

And there it was.  An old felled tree.  It was covered with shells, each one placed carefully. The shells were a multitude of types and sizes.  The enormity of what was right in…

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Humpty Dumpty – What Happened After His Fall?

What a wonderful story of overcoming difficulties.

A Teacher's Reflections

“All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
couldn’t put Humpty together again.”

So, what  really happened to Humpty after his fall?

“After the Fall” by Dan Santat tells the story.  It is one of the most innovative children’s picture books ever.  Humpty is ‘mended’… but not really.

“There were some parts that couldn’t be healed with bandages and glue.”

This is the beginning of the story, and children are immediately captivated.  Is it because of Humpty Dumpty?  No.  He is a character they know, yet it’s the words and illustrations on this page that make children think, “I feel that way sometimes.”

See that ladder?  It is throughout the book; ‘there’ and an obstacle in many everyday things he wants to do.

As the book goes on, Humpty cannot climb up.  The ladder to his wall is looming.  He just can’t do it, and he misses out…

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Writers–Believe In Yourselves and Your Writing

charles french words reading and writing

(Photo by Karl Starkey on Pexels.com)

Hello to all the writers out there!

This is a difficult and very trying time in which we all find ourselves. One thing you can be sure of, in this period of great uncertainty, is that you are writers.

You are the voice of imagination, of story-telling, and you are the conscience of society!

Believe in yourselves!

Believe in your writing!

Keep writing!

(Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com)

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A Tale of Two Dale Chihuly’s – Part 3

Art is not only beautiful, it inspires. Research has proven that an arts education helps develop critical thinking skills.

A Teacher's Reflections

In Part 1, I discovered my first Dale Chihuly at the National Liberty Museum in Philadelphia.  In Part 2, I read aloud the poetry book my classroom wrote, inspired by the museum.

A recent update: the museum is planning a new Peace exhibit in March.  They have asked for my classroom books to be part of the exhibit.  Nice!

Part 3
My second Dale Chihuly is at the Huntington Museum of Art, in Huntington, West Virginia.  It stands over ten feet high with 352 hand blown glass pieces, and is housed in their conservatory under a glass canopy, standing in a pond of water.  This beautiful art glass is titled, “The Huntington Museum of Art Tower.”

I was born and raised in Huntington, yet I did not see this magnificent glass structure until many years later, as it was constructed in 2006, decades after I married and moved away.

I…

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“Life Begins When You Get Back Up” – a Memorable Day at School

Kids and Covid

A Teacher's Reflections

 Music brings joy to children.
Books bring questions and thinking.
Teachers bring love and answers.

Today at school was a day I’ll always remember.  So will the children.  Emotions ran high.  In Dickens’ words, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”  It was COVID, overcoming fear, needing to be held, singing and dancing, and reading aloud one of the best children’s books – perfect for the day.

It started in the morning with Eddie.  He just stopped.  He folded his arms, scrunched up his face to keep from crying, and refused to talk.  All the coaxing in the world did nothing to help him talk.  Finally I said, “Eddie, come here” and pulled him onto my lap.  He curled up.

I knew what to do.  He wanted to be rocked.  I remember listening to a song recently on the radio that has a chorus:

“Rock…

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