Sherrill Joseph's Blog, page 3

Thank You!

Hello, Kids and All Readers!

I hope each of you had a meaningful and joyous holiday season.

Mine was wonderful! I drove a short distance across town to my cousins’ lovely vintage home that was aglow with scented candles in every room, a to-the-ceiling Christmas tree, a fireplace ablaze, and much good cheer. Eight of us gathered around the dining room table for a delicious Christmas dinner of roasted chicken, tri-tip roast, homemade popovers, green vegetables, and chocolate cake with peppermint-meringue topping. Later, we were blessed to open many gifts.

On this late-December day as the year winds down, I want to thank each of you who has faithfully read and reviewed my books, attended my author takeovers on Facebook’s Cozy Mystery Party, tuned in to live Instagram interview events spotlighting me, and entered by newsletter giveaways. You have warmed my heart more than you know.

Research for Book 6, Upas Street: Shocking Specter, is nearing completion. One piece of that work has involved my reading a fascinating biography of Kenneth Strickfaden, the man who came to be known on the sets of Universal Studios’ horror classics from the 1930s and ’40s as “Dr. Frankenstein’s Electrician”!

In mid-January, I will begin writing the first draft of the book. I can already hear our four Botanic Hill detectives calling to me to sit down and get their next challenging case underway. And I always do what they ask!

So, get a clue, Readers. I hope you have a wonderful, prosperous, peaceful 2024! And may much good reading be in store for you. ~Sherrill

Happy Holidays!

Hi, Everyone,

The holiday season is here! I hope you’re getting into a festive spirit.

I just returned from Pennsylvania where I had Thanksgiving with family. I traveled to my son-in-law’s parents’ home. Then, my daughter, son-in-law, two grandkids, and granddog drove up from Virginia for the big feast and long weekend. Everyone pitched in! At the house, we grandparents prepared the usual suspects: roasted turkey and gravy, mashed and sweet potatoes, rolls, and apple and pecan pies. My daughter and family brought cranberries, roasted vegetables, and stuffin’ muffins. A truly delicious meal–with leftovers! 

On Friday, we visited Dutch Winter Wonderland in Lancaster County and rode the theme park’s train where we were dazzled by the twinkling lights that illuminated so many trees. Magical, especially for my train-and-truck-loving two-year-old grandson!

On Saturday, my daughter and family brought out chocolate cakes and gifts and held a joint birthday party for the two grandmas for our November and December birthdays. And I got to spend an entire weekend playing with my sweet, active, healthy, happy grandkids. My abundant blessings gave me a warm feeling as we could all be together. 

Now, I want to thank all of YOU for being loyal newsletter subscribers, accompanying me on my publishing journey, and purchasing my books. And I hope your Thanksgiving gave you pause to realize your blessings, too.

As you probably know, Book 5, Jacaranda Street: Gravestone Image, launched in September, joining the other four Botanic Hill Detectives Mysteries. I enjoyed showcasing one of my favorite writers, Edgar Allan Poe, in Book 5. Book 6, Upas Street: Shocking Specter, will keep me busy as 2024 arrives. Look for it in the fall.

So, get a clue, Everyone. I hope you experience the magic that the holidays can offer, whether you are with family, friends, or spending quality time with yourself. Now, dig out those holiday books, movies, music, and recipes. Whatever you do, all four Botanic Hill detectives and I send you our best wishes for a joyous holiday!  

 

Now That’s Scary!

Hello, Adult Readers and Scary Story Aficionados!

Withered leaves rattle in the chilly wind before their death-drop. October shuffles to its end. Darkness descends sooner now, encouraging owls and bats to fly about the countryside in search of earlier feasts. Jack-o’-lanterns glow and burn to ward off evil spirits. Some trick-or-treaters venture forth while others decide to huddle indoors with a bowl of popcorn, some candy, and a book or movie to elude banshees on the loose . . . out there.

All these signal that Spooky Season is upon us, culminating in Halloween!

What better time of year than now to share with you the THIRTEEN MOST TERRIFYING BOOKS AND SHORT STORIES OF ALL TIME?

Below is the frightful list according to Hewlett-Woodmere Public Library in Nassau County, New York. To read the books’ or stories’ synopses, please click HERE.

Pet Sematary , by Stephen King The Island of Dr. Moreau , by H.G. WellsThe Cask of Amontillado, by Edgar Allan Poe (Yay, Poe!) The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde , by Robert Louis StevensonThe Turn of the Screw, by Henry James Frankenstein , by Mary Shelley The Exorcist , by William Peter Blatty Something Wicked This Way Comes , by Ray Bradbury Silence of the Lambs , by Thomas Harris Hell House , by Richard Matheson Rosemary’s Baby , by Ira Levin Dracula , by Bram Stoker House of Leaves , by Mark Z. Danielewski

What?! No Agatha Christie? Sheridan Le Fanu? Shirley Jackson? Robert Bloch? Ann Radcliffe?

So, get a clue, Readers. Were your favorites listed? If not, maybe they’re on BUZZFEED’S list. Or check at BOOKRIOT. Or try THEUNCORKEDLIBRARIAN. Whatever deliciously terrifying horror fiction you dare to open this spooky season, please remember: First, make sure all the doors and windows are locked. Happy, haunted reading!

(Photo Credits: Dracula–E.A. Holloway; Turn of the Screw–Eric Pape in Collier’s Weekly; Frankenstein–Karoly Grosz; The Cask of Amontillado–Harry Clarke. All images are Public Domain from commons.wikimedia.org.)

Champion in a Roadster

Dear Kids and All Readers,

She drives a roadster (first maroon, then blue), is a force for good, unafraid to speak up, and delivers the baddies to Chief Pete McGinnis with time left over to get to Ned Nickerson’s college football game without a hair out of place. And she’s been doing all that for 93 years! Who can this powerful woman be?

None other than my forever-eighteen-year-old mystery-book hero and fictional BFF, Nancy Drew!

I recently joined the Nancy Drew Fan Club. We members are called Nancy Drew Sleuths. No surprise that there is such a club, right? But joining begged the question, “Why do many of us still worship Nancy Drew after all these years?” I mean, her books have never been out of print and have sold over 80 million copies!

First a little history to put things in perspective. Since her creation in 1929 by Edward Stratemeyer, head of the children’s fiction literature syndicate, Nancy Drew made her appearance in her first three cases in 1930 (The Secret of the Old Clock, The Hidden Staircase, and The Bungalow Mystery). Would you believe that Mr. Stratemeyer considered naming Nancy Stella Strong or Diana Daring? Fortunately, her unostentatious but still forceful honorific, Nancy Drew, won out.

Nancy’s first twenty-three cases were written by a newspaperwoman named Mildred Augustine Wirt (later Benson) under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. She used Mr. Stratemeyer’s chapter-by-chapter, detailed outlines to bring to the pages “an up-to-date girl, at her best, bright, clever, resourceful, and full of energy.” In the 1950s, Stratemeyer’s daughter, Harriet Stratemeyer Adams, mostly took over for Mildred Wirt Benson. It wasn’t until 1980 that Benson was revealed to be the original ghostwriter of the Nancy Drew mysteries.

Nancy Drew has inspired generations of readers including Sonia Sotomayor, R.B.G., Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton, and yours truly. Maybe you as well. Legions of us.

So what accounts for Nancy Drew’s staying power and appeal? According to Alexis Soloski in her October 4, 2019, article for the New York Times, “Nancy Drew and the Mystery of Her Enduring Relevance,” [the girl sleuth’s] “appeal has always been that people relate to her in various ways: She is an archetype, just generic enough for readers to imagine themselves in her sensible heels,” imbued with her confidence, respect, and authority. We garner vicarious sparkle and elan when we become her in her adventures.

According to Melanie Rehak, author of Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her, “[Nancy] will live on as long as we continue to crave heroic, fearless women, or women who face their fear and move past it.”

If like me, you’re a huge Nancy Drew fan, here’s where you can shop for Nancy Swag! Bags, jewelry, clothing, party favors, and more–all for love of Nancy Drew.

So, get a clue, Readers. Who is your fictional hero and why? What was and remains their appeal for you? Please let me know HERE!

 

 

 

 

 

First-Day Jitters

Hello, Kids, Teachers, Librarians, Families, and All Readers,

While on my usual early-morning walk today, I couldn’t help but think that it’s the First Day of School!

Kids were supposed to start school yesterday here in San Diego, but Hurricane Hilary blew through as a tropical storm on Sunday and granted students a Bonus Day of Summer. San Diego Unified is the second-largest school district in California, serving more than 121,000 students in 226 schools. The school board president wanted to make sure the schools and grounds were safe and ready to receive everyone; hence, the reprieve.

As I headed home, I encountered two little neighbor girls, all dressed up with First-Day-of-School tiaras proudly displayed. They were ready to skip up the street three blocks with their dad to the same school that I attended. The sisters had already met their first grade and TK (transitional kindergarten) teachers last week.

The girls looked thrilled. Dad looked a little anxious. I felt those old first-day jitters creeping in on their behalf!

Even though I retired ten years ago from a long teaching career, this time of year still churns up the butterflies–no! Make that Pterodactyls flapping around inside my stomach. I remember years ago as I stepped out of my car in the school parking lot, a senior teacher told me that she still got the jitters. We teachers want everything to go well so that our students feel welcome, relaxed, and ready to learn. And if the kids were happy, I was happy.

Perhaps your child needs help dealing with school anxiety. Try this ARTICLE with five tips from pediatricians at Cleveland Health; and/or this ARTICLE with tips to empower your child against anxiety from Psychology Today.

So, get a clue, Everyone. Some things never change! To whom this applies: I wish you a Happy New School Year! And may those pesky raptors within settle down quickly so we can crack open our books.

 

The Authors Guild Calls on AI Industry Leaders

Hello, Adult Readers,

You’ve probably noticed that in Hollywood, CA, many members of the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA are on strike, bringing focus to the emerging use (and abuse) of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the movie, television, and radio industries.

Perhaps you aren’t aware that fiction and nonfiction authors are also demanding intellectual property rights and protections in the wake of unregulated use of AI impacting their craft and finances. Enter the Authors Guild.

The Authors Guild (AG), a national organization to which I belong along with about 13,000 other U.S. authors, is actively advocating for us, demanding that Generative AI leaders “obtain, consent, credit, and fairly compensate writers for the use of copyrighted materials in training AI.”

In mid-July, “AG submitted written testimony before the U.S. Senate Intellectual Property Subcommittee in connection with the government’s July 12 hearing on artificial intelligence. The Guild’s testimony underscored the threat to the writing profession from unregulated use of generative AI technologies that can produce stories, books, and other text-based works and displace the works of human authors in the marketplace. The testimony also called Congress’ attention to the inherent unfairness of AI companies’ use—without consent, credit, or compensation—of millions of books, articles, essays, and other written works to “train” generative AI systems and essentially making them a part of the AI’s fabric.

“AG emphasized that unless Congress intervenes to put guardrails around the development and use of generative AI technologies, the important copyright incentives that drive original expression and enrich our cultural discourse will be rendered meaningless.

“AG proposed detailed policy recommendations that would require AI companies to seek permission for using writers’ works, pay compensation to writers who allow their works to be used, disclose training data, and pay writers for use of their styles, names, likeness, and parts of their works in AI output.”

Last week, “AG delivered its AI open letter to the CEOs of OpenAI, Alphabet, Meta, Stability AI, IBM, and Microsoft, as well as all 535 members of Congress. Since then, the letter has been written about at NPR, The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, the Associated Press, United Press International (UPI), CNN, BBC, CBC, Al Jazeera, the Daily Mail, Forbes, Bloomberg Law, Insider, The Economic Times, and more.

“As of now, more than 10,000 AG writers and their supporters have signed the letter. Signatures include luminaries such as Dan Brown, James Patterson, Jennifer Egan, David Baldacci, and others.” Signatures from the rest of us not-so-luminary authors are included.”

For more from AG about its advocacy, artificial intelligence, and AI’s impact on writers, please click HERE.

To read more about AG in the News, including info on 8,000 authors demanding that OpenAI leaders pay them for unauthorized use of their works, click HERE.

As an author, reader, and/or supporter of authors, you are invited to sign AG’s AI open letter by clicking HERE. Check out my name on page 11 of 124.

So, get a clue, Readers. AI is here to stay. And it owes its livelihood to creatives; therefore, I believe we need to seek positive, fair, common sense ways to integrate AI into creative endeavors and the use of copyrighted works for writers’ compensation. What do you think?

(Photo Credit: Anna Shvets on pexels.com)

 

 

 

Why Adults Should Read Kids’ Books

Hello, dear Readers of all ages,

Kids, I know you read children’s books. But adults, do you?

Reading does not always have to be a progression to increasing difficulty for adults with a creeping fear that if they pause and glance back, they will lose ground and suddenly “de-mature.” Try pausing sometime. You will survive. And you just might retouch magic.

As a former kid, now grown-up kid, mom, grandmom, retired teacher, and children’s book author, I’ve been reading and rereading children’s books, my preferred genre, all my life. I don’t plan to stop–ever!

Why do I love children’s literature?

It transports me back to simpler times, where I am instantly bombarded with images, tastes, and aromas from my childhood. Like the corn chips and apples I used to eat while curled up with a Nancy Drew mystery book. The smell of dinner my grandmother was cooking in the kitchen. My grandfather’s cigar tobacco. My treks to the library, coming home with an armful of treasured mysteries. I’m back in my childhood house, happily surrounded by loved ones, most of whom are now long gone.

Children’s books are life rafts, inspiring me to beat the tall waves of this world that want to sweep me overboard. They assist me to revisit how I can be the best person I can be. Like sour Mary Lennox, who overcame obstacles that turned her frowns and pouts into smiles and acts of loving kindness in my favorite children’s book The Secret Garden. 

I encourage you to click HERE to read BBC Culture’s Katherine Rundell’s fascinating article about the importance of adults continuing to read children’s books and a brief history of the evolution of children’s books. She said it best: “Children’s books say: the world is huge. They say: hope counts for something. They say: bravery will matter, wit will matter, empathy will matter, love will matter.”

So, get a clue, all readers. W.H. Auden wrote, “There are good books which are only for adults, because their comprehension presupposes adult experiences, but there are no good books which are only for children.” No matter your age, I hope you’ll pick up a children’s book soon and often and find golden nuggets that ignite–or reignite–you. 

Photo by cottonbro on pexels.com

Juneteenth

Hi, Kids and All Readers,

As most of you know, today, June 19, is “Juneteenth”!

Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021, so some have the day off.

I hope you are celebrating Juneteenth as the United States’ other Independence Day!

So, what is Juneteenth? On June 19, 1865, the last slaves in the United States were finally freed, months after the Thirteenth Amendment passed that “abolished all slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.”

Why did it take months for some slaves to find out that they had been freed? For the reason for that delay and a history of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, including then President Abraham Lincoln’s involvement in the amendment’s creation and passage, and why his Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 did not free all slaves, please click HERE.

It would take three more years, until 1868, for the Fourteenth Amendment to be adopted that “granted citizenship and equal protection under the law to all people born or naturalized in the United States.”

Juneteenth has a complicated history! You can read about it in a Time magazine article by clicking HERE.

Kids, here are some watchwords and phrases associated with Juneteenth: Black history; remember; honor; enjoy freedom; sense of community; pride; slavery abolished; cook plenty of greens; barbecue; potato salad; peach cobbler; Southern cuisine; a taste of Harlem; indulge; picnic; jubilee; music; dance. Do you want to add to this list? Please let me know by clicking HERE.

So, get a clue, Readers. What are some ways to celebrate Juneteenth as we also remember its painful history? Food can help! Click HERE for some menus and ideas to keep Jubilee Day going. And books are always appropriate! Click HERE for some Juneteenth books for kids. Click HERE for adults’ books.

Happy Juneteenth! Let freedom ring for all.

(Photo Credit:  Khena22 on pixabay.com)

Chatting About ChatGPT

Hello, Kids, Parents/Caregivers, Teachers, Librarians, and All Readers!

Let’s face it. AI–Artificial Intelligence is here, and it intends to stay! That can be exciting, scary, or both depending on your perspective!

Recently, while researching the ramifications of AI for authors, employees, students, and others, I encountered an aspect of AI called ChatGPT. Have you heard of it? What is it? Do you use it? Do you use it safely and ethically?

For this month’s blog, especially as it pertains to kids, let’s begin with ChatGPT, or Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer, which was developed by an AI research company called Open AI:

Basically, ChatGPT gathers large amounts of data from the internet to create responses on demand. ChatGPT is unique because its answers are in conversational format, similar to how people write and speak. Click HERE for a child-friendly explanation of what ChatGPT is.

Here is what I have learned from scratching the surface of this topic. I have also provided some resources:

“ChatGPT is an AI chatbot technology computer software that interacts with users. It can process our natural human language and provide answers to our questions or generate text about a given topic. People can ask ChatGPT questions in conversational, or natural, language–as if they were chatting with another person. Such programs are called chatbots. ChatGPT can answer complex questions,” among other tasks.

Necessary caveats: “It is important to check the credibility of a source before trusting a chatbot’s information.” My addition: It is important for everyone not to become overly reliant on chatbots!

My initial question was can ChatGPT be a threat to kids? Yes! “Open AI’s ‘Terms of Use’ state that users must be 18 or older; however, it doesn’t ask users to verify their age when creating an account. Younger kids could easily access ChatGPT . . . ” It can be alluring for kids to go beyond the limitations of ChatGPT, i.e., expose themselves to inappropriate content, and/or to make themselves rely on it for producing their assignments (cheating and plagiarism), and lose sight of academic integrity.

And can ChatGPT be useful to kids? Yes! It can help them become proficient in a language, gain valuable information, be a 24/7 tutor, and assist with their schoolwork, i.e., help them become smarter and model how they can improve their work.

Here are some RESOURCES for you on this topic:

What can parents/caregivers do to keep their kids safe with chatbots? Click HERE for “5 Ways Kids Can Use ChatGPT Safely.”

What do parents/caregivers need to know about ChatGPT?  Click HERE for “How Your Kids Can Use ChatGPT Safely, According to a Mom.”

How are some schools responding to students using ChatGPT? Some are banning the use of ChatGPT. “The concern is that students could use it to do their schoolwork for them, from writing papers to solving equations [loss of academic integrity]. They could also be turning in work with inaccurate information. Educators are worried the program could affect students’ learning if they rely on it.” Click HERE to read more on this topic.

What are some overall guidelines for parents/teachers/caregivers to kids using ChatGPT? Click HERE.

What are the pros and cons of ChatGPT, and where is this technology going? Click HERE.

How can parents talk to their kids about ChatGPT (from Psychology Today)? Click HERE.

Do tools exist for detecting AI-produced text? Yes! Click HERE.

 

So, get a clue, Everyone. Chatbots have their pros and cons. Assistive technology discussions will burgeon. I will continue providing resources for you as I find them and share the pluses and minuses of ChatGPT for authors and others. Stay safe out there!

Photo Credit:  cottonbro studio on pexels.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What Moms Need

Hello, Readers,

On the eve of Mother’s Day, I want to say, “Let’s hear it for moms everywhere–those with us and those departed. Traditional moms and untraditional moms.”

I’ve been a mom since 1981. My daughter’s birth was the happiest day of my life. She left home in 1999 to attend college on the U.S. East Coast, found the man of her dreams, married him six years later, and still lives on the opposite side of the country from me. They have blessed me with two adorable grandchildren. Yay!

But I’m still a mom. It’s a mindset. And a heartset. (Self-created word.) Once a mom, always a mom. Moms love, laugh, cry, and worry no matter the years or miles.

Coincidentally, I ran across a helpful article, dated May 10, 2023, entitled “What Kind of Support Do Moms Need?“ written by Maryam Abdullah, Ph.D., the  Parenting Program Director of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. She is a developmental psychologist with expertise in parent-child relationships and children’s development of prosocial behaviors.

Some of the topics she discusses are Mom Guilt; Unfair Mom Judging; Society’s Five Primary “Good Mother” Expectations; Parenting in America Today; Four Important, Nourishing Supports for Moms; and, How Moms Can Build Their Support Networks.

So, get a clue, Readers, especially Moms. You are not alone. Moms can help each other build resilience and find support in their important jobs as mothers. I hope you’ll click the link above for helpful tips from Dr. Abdullah as well as to find links to related studies. Happy Mother’s Day!