You're Invited
writing events, a book recommendation, and awesome people doing stuff
Hello dear readers.
Tomorrow I’ll be in conversation at our little town’s “Hub”. We’re going to talk about my road from mom, teacher, and coach to author. We’ll also talk rejection (in fact, I got one today) and how real life can inspire fabulous fiction.
On Thursday I’ll be visiting a New Hampshire middle school for their Writing Festival. As they say in New Hampshire, I’m “wicked excited.”
Mark your calendar for these events because YOU’RE INVITED…(all events are free!)
April 19, Andover New Hampshire Hub on Writing, Process, & Q&A, 7pm, adults and teens
May 20, Andover NH Library “special guest reader + Q&A”
June 20, MCNIFFICENT BOOKS LAUNCH PARTY! Morgan Hill Bookstore, New London NH, 6pm (preorder for this special event and get a signed book, bookmark, and an exclusive hand painted story map by yours truly)
July 1, 2023 Wellesley Bookstore, Meet & Greet Book Signing, Wellesley MA, 2pm
Would you like to host or connect me with your school, library, book club, or bookstore? Be in touch - we’ll have so much fun.
Book Recommendation: A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY
I FINALLY read A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving.
How about this first line: “I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice—not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother's death, but because he is the reason I believe in God; I am a Christian because of Owen Meaney.”
It's the summer of 1953, when two eleven-year-old boys—best friends—John Wheelright and Owen Meany are playing in a Little League baseball game in Gravesend, New Hampshire. Owen hits a foul ball that kills John's mother. Owen doesn't believe in accidents; Owen Meany believes he is God's instrument.
At 637 pages, this is a BOOK, and not a book to skim. It really is an extraordinary story.
Watch HERE as John Irving discusses why he wrote A Prayer for Owen Meany — a novel that investigates the basis for religious belief. “I’m not religious. I wouldn’t call myself an atheist either. I doubt. But - I’m interested.”
Loved it. Read it.
What are you reading?
On Craft:
From my friend and writer, Tom Morgan, who quoted these words at the beginning of a Public Speaking event at my daughter’s school. Tom says, “The quotation is actually an amalgamation of three different Alexander Langlands quotations from his book Craft: An Inquiry Into the Origins and True Meaning of Traditional Crafts. Here's how they appeared in my welcome speech:”
As the archaeologist and medieval historian Alexander Langlands explains, “Craft is not just about making beautiful things,” but it is instead about taking the raw materials of our lives “and transforming them into something new and useful.” Craft is about “making a connection to the past, to the people who came before us,” and “in the process, transforming ourselves as well.”
Write on! Here’s to making beautiful and transformative things…
Writing Prompt: “What is a small hurt you have suffered? What’s the big principle or hidden injustice it represents? Stir your Main Character to react to it.”
Good News and Story Links
ICYMI: Kirkus is notoriously tough. Here’s what they said about MCNIFFICENTS
Bravery: A Russian dissident’s final speech as he faces imprisonment
Adore: Beatrix Potter's diary and 's newsletter
SO FUN! “I was invited to draw at a wedding” + little library artwork
Thanks for the mention!