E.G. Moore's Blog, page 2

Why you should write

Do you know why I started writing for young readers?

They started out as bedtime stories for my oldest daughter, specifically to encourage her not to lie or disobey at around age four. Soon they became these long, adventurous things I had to share with others. They were cathartic for my mom heart.

You should write, too. There are lots of forms, and often writing can release creativity, help you get organized, or get out those emotions you’re holding in. Can you say freedom? It can be something to keep your home and happiness high, like a pet without the maintenance. 😊

Check out some options below and try it out. You may just find that you love it!

Hand write your shopping or to do list – organize your thoughts and feel great about crossing them off!

Journaling – Creatively tell about what you see and feel, and make it a healthy habit daily or weekly

Write quick little poems – there are dozens of formats or just free hand it. This is cathartic, a creativity release, and an emotional outlet.

Short story or creative non-fiction – longer versions of poetry with the same benefits.

Be featured on my blog! Send in something you wrote after reading this blog post and you may be featured on my blog or Facebook page. Email it to me at egmooreauthor@gmail.com.

[For Parents and Teachers] Announcing ELA curriculum to accompany E.G. Moore’s #MG novels!

Being a parent and teacher is hard right now. Thank you pandemic of 2020 and beyond.

While I planned the release of my second novel Moon Daughter Rising (releasing January 29), I thought about how I could serve the families struggling through the change in learning environment. How to make learning fun again and get my stories in the hands of middle graders. Then it hit me: Make learning fun with a scavenger hunt! This idea sparked additional ELA curriculum to accompany my novels, which are now available on my store E.G. Moore Lessons and Legends. Some of them are free resources to make your job easier.

Another thing I’m working on are classroom bundles, which allow teachers to download enough copies of the books and curriculum for their entire class, and Google classroom curriculum with both novel excerpts and discussion points. Please subscribe to stay up-to-date on when these become available!

I’m excited for this new chapter in serving families with my fiction!

Until next time!

[Publishing news] Moon Daughter Rising eBook now available for pre-order!

My novel writing journey started with my oldest daughter’s story time. Her habit of lying led me to research how other cultures deal with disobedient or dishonest children. This rabbit hole spiraled into wild stories about the MicMac Native American tribe’s legends, the Chenoo and other fantastically scary creatures who came for naughty children. Maybe I should have stuck to threatening Santa’s coal, but her wide-eyed excitement kept bedtime stories fixated on the culture for months.

Eventually it became my first full-length novel, and after dozens of revisions, beta reads, contest entries, the love of a literary agent, winning an award, and a crazy 2020 delay, Moon Daughter Rising is preparing to enter the light at the end of the month!

MDR eBook now available for Preorder!Preorder eBook here

I’m especially humbled to have won the Idaho Writers League Novel Contest in 2018, where three industry professionals read the synopsis and first chapter and selected Moon Daughter Rising from the entries. The fact that so many recognize the merit of this novel makes me proud and excited.

Blurb:

Annalee’s dad went missing and no one is doing anything about it. 

The police say he abandoned her, but Annalee knows better.  Her aunt and uncle make her promise not to look for him, especially in the woods behind their family cabin for fear she’ll go missing, too. 

When she finds her father’s trail, she breaks a promise and tells a lie, hoping she can save him. Doing so attracts Winpa the abominable ice witch, who chases Annalee into their tribe’s spirit world.  Though she doesn’t know it yet, Annalee holds the third Wonderstone, the only possession her father left behind. The crescent-shaped talisman could give Winpa control over World Above the Sky and the ability to open the ancient ways to the Earth.

Annalee must seek help from an ancient grandmother and her spirit guides to grapple with her newfound moon magic and rescue her father and a grandfather she’s never known from their icy prison. Is she fails, World Above the Sky will fall to Winpa and the gateways will be open for evil spirits to roam Earth. But if she destroys Winpa, her father and grandfather stay locked in ice forever. Outsmarting Winpa will take, courage, honesty, and somehow mastering the power of the Moon Daughter rising within.  

A beautiful weaving of fiction, MicMac tribe legends, and some moral truths we all must face.

Be sure to subscribe to this blog and come back for the launch party on January 29 for giveaways and freebies you can get with your book order!

[For Teachers] 4 of BBC’s “Global Megatrends facing education” still relevant in 2020?

A lot has happened in the world in the last few months, let alone over the last year. I happened upon an article I read back in early 2019 from BBC where “Andreas Schleicher, head of education for the Oorganisation for Economic Cooperation economic think tank calls out some serious questions about education and wanted to re-explore it with our current events as a fresh lens.

Please note: I will only touch on a few of the topics discussed, thus the jump in numbers.

1. Wealth gap versus social mobility

According to the original article, the wealthiest 10% have incomes 10 times larger than the 10% poorest in OECD countries. Though I could find no official numbers on where the world currently stands as far as changes in classes by income, the New Yorker reported that “as large sections of the global economy have shut down, more than thirty-three million Americans have filed for unemployment.” This is but a fraction of the world, but reflects our current reality. Smaller businesses are going out of business, and those who once enjoyed stable livelihood are now on shaky ground. This reverberates the question of how equal access to education will be accomplished as this pandemic unfolds.

CreativeCommons by DiazWerks3. Migration on the increase

Topics of supporting global students, teaching values in the classroom, and acting to support identity and integration of these students hung in the global air last year. As travel screeched to a halt in an effort to stop the spread of the Corona virus, migration of students has faltered as well. Now the questions become how to we both protect and aid the students who are already in these unique environments on emotional and mental levels? The deemed “origin” of the virus is China, causing some additional concerns of discrimination. “Mirka Martel, head of research, evaluation and learning at the Institute of International Education, which is studying the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on U.S. institutions, says many schools have released institution‐wide communication and specific webpages to address the outbreak and response on campus. For Chinese students, Martel says some schools have set up counseling services and a hotline for them to report any instances of discrimination.” (US News)

5. Learning versus the echo chamber

Technology. We love it, and we hate it. Right now, it throws all sorts of opinions, theories, and humor out into the world, especially with quarantined individuals. The concern for universities to break through algorithms that run media in an effort to “navigate more open approach to ideas” is an even greater need now. Online coarses that most are finishing up now may create a wedge, but are dwarfed by the sheer onslaught of news and conversation, which may or may not still live in an echo chamber.

8. Online or offline?

We all know the value young people place on the internet, with use doubling since 2015. Last year, learning online was a question not of when but how. With the need for social distancing and fear of reoccurance, education instituations are recognizing the value and had to adapt quickly to the need for online learning.

Creative Commons by Savannah River Site

According to the New York Times, “the offices and schools of America have all moved into our basements and living rooms. Nothing is having a more profound impact on online activity than this change. School assignments are being handed out on Google Classroom. Meetings are happening on Zoom, Google Hangouts and Microsoft Teams. The rush to these services, however, has brought new scrutiny on privacy practices.”

Yep, Still Relevant

It’s clear that these issues are morphing into even greater concerns as our future unfolds day by excruciating day. Growing economic gaps, technologies effect on learning at every grade level, creating classrooms that offer perspective rather than single-minded opinions, and protection and care of exchange students continue to be concerns as we face the unknown.

Your thoughts?

I’d love to hear from my teacher audience. You’re on the education front line and offer valuable insights. Please comment with your thoughts in the comments or let’s start a convo on Twitter.

[For Parents and Teachers] Party order books for the classroom: yay or nay?

If you had asked me over three years ago if traditional publishing or independent publishing was a better option, I might have leaned more toward traditional publishing, especially when talking about children’s books. (Since then, I’ve seen the the quality in which indie books can be published and would recommend both.)

Perhaps it was this earlier mentality that made me shy away from party order books. I’d seen friends hosting parties and trying to convince me to check them out because they knew how important literacy and publishing were to me. It seemed as though they wanted me to back up the fact that these books were on par with industry standards. It took me until last Fall to really take one company, Usborne Books, seriously at a friend’s recommendation.

Let’s look at the pros and cons of these types of books for the classroom.

Cons: Setting up fundraiser, website navigation, and making the wish list fit in the budget

Unlike scholastic catalogs that you can send home with each student, setting up and communicating a Usborne party might take a bit more effort. Options might include a Facebook event, email campaign, or a special book night if there is an Usborne Rep in your local area. Thankfully, if you get a killer consultant, he or she can make this a lot of fun! I highly recommend my book lady Robyn Hill. (You can join her VIP Facebook Group to check it all out.)

“Reading has so many benefits! Reading will increase vocabulary and imagination. It will improve concentration and even reduce stress! Reading aloud to your kids no matter their age is also so important! It is an amazing bonding activity! Set the example and read in front of them. Have plenty of books accessible to them and make it FUN!” Hill said.

It did take me a little while to learn the navigation of the website, such as accessing my own wish list to make changes. An option for quick view on books would have been convenient so I didn’t have to hit the back button quite as often. Still, after a few trips, I got the hang of it.

The last issue is a good problem to have. There are so many books to choose from that making your wish list fit the budget may be difficult for book lovers. That variety actually falls into the “good” list below.

Pros: Costs and rewards, variety, and curriculum compatibility

One of the big concerns with classroom or library books is, of course, cost and how they fit into the budget. I expected Usborne book prices to be inflated due to the cuts for the company and their in-home consultants, plus hostess rewards. Turns out, many of these adorable books are affordable. Prices range from around $5 to $25, with the average falling around $10. This is very comparable to Scholastic classroom purchase catalogs.

The other great thing to help with the value of these books are the rewards that can be earned when a party is hosted. With traditional classroom ordering through big publishers, families order books, take advantage of discounted books, and earn money, prizes or more books for the classroom. The same can be done with Usborne, and I’d venture a guess that you’d get more back with them. With my first hosted online party where we were “building baby a library” (I’m pregnant with #3), I was able to get over $120 in books for around $20, with most of them being free!

Another thing I didn’t expect was the variety in age/grade range, learning topics, and activity options. I’d only heard of Usborne in the context of books for babies and toddlers, but they have books for all the grades up through teen fiction. That immediately brought to question how quality the words were, both in fiction and non-fiction choices. Guys, I can’t tell you how much enjoyment my family has gotten from these books. They are colorful, well-developed, playful, and really out-did my expectations. The topics are diverse, everything from developmental sounds, colors, and language to emotions, friendship, and family.

Okay so I know one of the big factors some of my readers may be thinking is how these books could fit into your lesson plans both in classroom and in home school topics or curriculum. The good news is that they do!

“Usborne Books are a fabulous resource to have in the classroom,” Hill offered. “They are extremely durable and many of our books come with internet linked resources that give teachers additional support to effectively utilize the books in the classroom.”

While these are durable books, please keep in mind they are not manufactured like the library editions of books that can be purchased from big publishers that have industrial strength glue and binding. BUT they are wonderful and hold up to the rough play and reading habits of my younger children.

Leave me a comment with your experiences with Usborne or other home party type book clubs in the comments. Thanks for stopping by!