Lisa Orchard's Blog

The Starlight Chronicles!

Hello everyone! I hope all is well with you! Sorry for the long absence, I was dealing with chemo therapy and had to curtail some of my activities for a while.

While undergoing my treatment, I had three books published in the Starlight Chronicles. I thought I'd give you guys a heads up! The covers and blurbs are below:

Lark Singer’s relationship with her mother is prickly to say the least. As she enters a musical competition that could launch her career, Lark also searches for answers her mother would rather keep hidden. Throw into the mix the fact her best friend Bean has been acting strangely, and Lark finds herself launched into uncharted territory. Will her quest for answers sabotage her musical aspirations?


Lark Singer is seventeen years old and already on the way to a brilliant music career. As she and her band, Starlight, gear-up for an upcoming, life-changing band competition, though, life seems to be throwing her a few curve balls. The mysteries of her past seem to be unraveling, and she’s no longer certain she wants to know those answers, or how knowing about her past will affect her difficult relationship with her mother. And when her best friend, Bean, changes things between them, all her plans for a musical future are placed in jeopardy. How can she balance her unraveling personal life to keep her musical goals on track?

Seventeen-year-old Lark Singer and her band Starlight have entered a competition that could launch their musical career if they win. However, Lark soon discovers that her nemesis, Duane McIntyre has also entered making her desire to win stronger than ever. How far will Lark go to win and what will it cost her in the end?

Check out Lark's story! Each e-book is $.99!

Things that Bring Me Joy

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today with another top ten list. I’m talking about things that bring me joy. :) I don’t know why I decided to write about this today, maybe I’m feeling particularly joyful. I don’t know, but here they are.

My family
That’s right my family is one of the greatest sources of joy for me. I know every mom says this and it’s a cliché, but it’s also true. I love listening to my kids when they don’t know it and their conversations are so sweet and innocent. It reminds me of what’s important in life.
My hubby is my rock and he makes me laugh. That’s very important, laughter, after all it is the best medicine. ;)

My Writing
I love writing and researching a new story. I absolutely love it when a new idea comes into my head. There’s a calming feeling that comes over me when I finally sit down at my computer and begin typing. I forget about all the little irritates of the day when I’m immersed in a story. It’s a great feeling.

Working With Kids
There’s something about working with kids that does me good. Whether it’s working with young teens during my writing workshops or volunteering at my kids’ school, I find it uplifting. I enjoy their enthusiasm and their desire to learn. They want to know everything!

Hiking
Hiking in the forest is one of my greatest joys. I love getting outside and walking through the woods. There’s so much beauty in nature and sometimes I just need to absorb that. I also love walking on the beach. Being near the water relaxes me and I enjoy the majesty of the waves as they break against the beach. I like to take these walks alone because that’s when I do my deepest thinking.

My Friends
I enjoy time alone, but I also enjoy spending time with my friends. Because of our busy schedules we don’t get together as often as we’d like, but it’s always good to reconnect with friends you’ve shared adventures with and travel down memory lane.

Reading
Reading feeds my deep desire to learn. I love learning new things, whether it’s research for a story or research for an issue in my personal life. I love to learn. I choose to be proactive and find solutions to problems, whether it’s in my personal life or a problem with a Work in Process.
I also love reading for enjoyment as well. There’s nothing like getting lost in a great story. Sitting in a lounge chair by the beach, reading is a one of my greatest pleasures.

Traveling
Since I have a deep desire to learn, I love to travel and learn about my destination. I took a trip to Key West, Florida a few years ago and I enjoyed walking through Ernest Hemingway’s home there. I wondered what it was like to live and work there.
I also took a trip to Cancun a while back and I went to Chichen Itza. That was an incredible experience. As I climbed the steep staircase, I was in awe of the complexity of the structures there. The detail in their stone carvings astonished me. I could tell they were an advanced civilization and I’ve always wondered what happened to the Mayans. Haven’t you?

Exercising
I can hear you all groaning out there! But it’s true, I love the feeling I have when I’m finished exercising. Notice I say finished.  When I start to exercise, I’m not feeling particularly joyful, but by the end I’m always glad I started. I usually run or do Pilates, but since I’ve pulled a muscle in my back, I’ve been walking. Did you know walking one mile burns as many calories as running a mile? ;) This is good to know, don’t you think?

Bubble Baths
I absolutely love bubble baths. It’s a great way to relax after a run or after a stressful day. Since I’ve had kids, I can count on one hand how many bubble baths I’ve been able to take, but I do have memories of them! :)
I used to light candles and fill the tub with hot fragrant bubbly water. There’s no better way to relax!

Massages
There’s nothing better than a full body massage. I used to get these before I had kids and I loved them. They’re great after a stressful day at work. They’re expensive, hence the reason I got them before kids, but they’re an indulgence that’s good for you! :)

So there you have ten things that give me joy. What things give you joy? Leave a comment I’d love to hear from you!

We need More Diverse Books!

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you! I’m back today with some exciting news. My website/blog is getting a new look. You can already see some of the changes, but there are more to come, so please bear with me as the construction commences! Here's the link if you'd like to check it out! http://www.lisaorchard.com/


I don’t know if you’ve been paying attention to what’s going on in the Twitter World, but this last week the #weneeddiversebooks hashtag trended on twitter. I even tweeted and retweeted some of the messages because I think it’s true.

Although, the trend was mainly bringing to the attention of Tweeties everywhere that most books are of Caucasian construction, I think we need to look at all kinds of diversity and not just skin color.

There’s diversity of religion, diversity of sexual orientation, as well as racial diversity. In my humble opinion, if there were more books on these subjects then people would become more knowledgeable and with that knowledge, they’d become more tolerant of these different groups. Maybe this would help the bullying issue we seem to be facing in our schools and workplaces. Wouldn’t that be great?

A few books out there deal with racial diversity. Not the subject so to speak, but one of the main characters is of a different racial group than Caucasian. These books are a start in the cry for diversity.

I’m wondering if there were more diverse books available, would there be less anxiety in our teens. When you think about it, the teen years are full of angst because everyone’s trying to fit in. What if they learned through reading that we’re all different and that’s okay?

There’d be less teen angst that’s for sure. Wouldn’t it be great if teens spent their time investing in themselves as opposed to trying to fit some unrealistic ideal? More books that are diverse could accomplish this, wouldn’t you agree?

So not only do we need more of these types of books in our bookstores, but we also need to have our kids read them. :)

So make sure when you come across a book where the hero is other than a Caucasian, give it a shot. You might be surprised by what you learn. Remember, reading fiction is a great way to learn too.

Thanks for reading my post today and if you know of a great book that deals with diversity leave a comment. I’d like to read it! :)

What I've learned Juggling Motherhood and the Writing Life

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you! I’m back today and I’m talking about what I’ve learned juggling motherhood and the writing life. Those are my two main goals in life to become an awesome writer and to be an awesome mother.

These goals are sometimes at odds with each other, because writing takes a lot of time and so does mothering. It’s a little bit easier now because the boys are in school and I get time during the day to write, but I still find myself stealing moments during the day to write a smidge here and there.

In addition, there’s more to writing than meets the eye. There’s also editing, writing query letters, and finding an agent or publisher. After that, there’s more editing and then you have the unending job of promoting your work once it’s published. Sometimes, I have a hard time balancing between promoting my work and actually creating it. Throw my hubby and my kids into the mix and that’s when I need about ten more hours in my day.

I try very hard to carve out some time for my family. I think it’s important. I want my kids growing up feeling valued and loved. It’s kind of a trial and error thing because our kids don’t come with instruction booklets do they? Moreover, with two distinct personalities; the needs of one child are different from the needs for the other child and as a parent; I have to figure out what those needs are. I’m fortunate because I have a hubby who helps!

There are times when I’m in the middle of a great scene and I’m going gang-busters that I’m interrupted because one of my little guys needs some attention. This can be frustrating, but then I think about how I want to be remembered. When I do this, when I imagine the result that I want, it’s much easier to keep my frustration under wraps so my kids feel like their emotional needs are being met. I don’t want to be remembered as the mom who was always saying, “Just a minute.”

Although, there are times when I have to say those words and it’s not always when I’m writing. It may be one of those times when I just need to sit down and take a breath. I tell myself that’s okay too, because if I get drained from always giving, then I can get a little grumpy. :)

Taking a break is good for me. Therefore, it would make sense if it were good for me, then it’s also good for my kids, so it’s one of those win-win situations. Mom’s less stressed if she takes a little time for herself and that means she’s more fun to be around.

We all want to be one of those “fun” moms, right?

Having kids is a great way to set priorities. The things that seemed so important when I was single just aren’t important any more. When my kids were babies, everyone told me that my life would become busier and more complicated.

So not true. The complicated part anyway. Sure, I’m busier because I want my kids to have all kinds of positive experiences so I’m busy trying to introduce them to new things, but complicated? No way.

Having kids strips away all the meaningless crap you were doing because you just didn’t know any better. My children have simplified my life. I make sure I only spend time on the things that are important to me.

If you have any thoughts on juggling motherhood and your other endeavors please leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you!

"Books on Base"

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you! I’m back today to share with you an exciting project that I’ve been working on it’s called “Books on Base.”




The purpose of “Books on Base” is to gather children’s books and donate them to our military bases. I’m working in conjunction with VolunTEEN Nation on this project. VolunTEEN Nation is an organization that encourages teens to volunteer. They have volunteer opportunities throughout the United States.




To learn more about this wonderful organization click this link http://www.volunteennation.org/



We’re hoping to improve the selection of books for the young people whose parents are serving our country. As we all know by improving the libraries, we’ll improve the literacy levels of those bases. Check out this blog post for the proof. http://lisaorchard.wordpress.com/2013...

What a wonderful way to show our support of our troops by donating books to their libraries. I’m going to be making a donation. How about you?

If you’d like to make a donation, you can send your children’s paperbacks to this address:


VolunTEEN Nation
500 South Meramec Ave
St. Louis, MO 63105

Thanks for reading my post today, if you have any questions feel free to leave a comment and I'll get back to you!

The Inspiration that keeps me Writing!

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’ve been busy these last few months with a new job and working on my Coming of Age novel. Because of that, I have had quite a few guests on my blog. So, I thought today I’d write a quick post for all of you to let you know what inspires me to keep writing.

I love Christmas time. It’s my favorite holiday. The reason for this is because; it’s a time of giving. I love giving gifts and shopping for my family, but it’s also a time of great inspiration. At least it is for me. Just the other day, I thought of another idea for a great story. But I have to finish the one I’m working on plus its sequel before I can start it. Sigh.

However, I digress. Anyway, this year I participated in an event that occurred close to home. I became involved with the “Raising Spirits with Reading” program at the Helen Devos Children’s Hospital. What an experience.

I must say, it was very rewarding to meet the young people who’re battling life-threatening illnesses and watch their faces light up when they get a signed copy of your book. It’s hard to describe that feeling. Knowing you were responsible for that bright smile. That spark of happiness in another day of fighting for their lives. That’s more rewarding to me than making any bestseller list by far and it has inspired me to keep on writing.

I also ran a writing workshop for a girl’s group. It’s so nice to work with young girls who’re pursuing their dreams. They want to learn and it’s a rush to work with such eager young minds. It was another rewarding experience for me, and one more reason to keep writing.

I feel it’s good for the girls as well, to meet an author or an artist and realize that they’re normal people and not celebrities. I feel this way because it makes their dreams possible. I mean if this “normal” mom can write a book, why can’t I?

That’s the feeling I want these girls to leave with when they leave my workshop and I feel like I accomplish it each time I do one. It’s another reason I keep writing. I want girls to grow up with the confidence that they can achieve their dreams if they “believe.” And isn’t this the season of believing? ;)

Thanks for reading my post. I’d love to hear what inspires you to keep writing. So leave a comment I’d love to hear from you!

Book Fair adventures

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today and I’m going to write about a personal experience that I had over the weekend. It’s kind of funny now, but at the time…not so much.

I should have known it was going to be one of “those” days when I got up.

My alarm went off and the numbers on the clock were blinking in their neon redness twelve o’clock. My clock reverts to twelve o’clock when there’s an interruption in power. I didn’t think anything of this at the time, though I just stumbled out of bed, and jumped in the shower.

After my shower, I made my way to the kitchen to make some breakfast. As I opened the fridge, I glanced at the clock. Did a double take and glanced at it again. Then I walked forward and put my face right up next to it, just to make sure I was reading it correctly. Sure enough, it said four thirty. It was four thirty on a Saturday morning; I didn’t have to be up until seven. Of course, I freaked out a bit and then went back to bed, wet hair and all. I should have known then, what kind of day it was going to be, but I ignored this glaring sign. Totally disregarded it.

I was so excited, I was going to meet fellow author and great gal pal Lori Lapekes. We were going to share a table at a book fair/craft show/bake sale and sell our books. We haven’t done this together in quite some time and I was really looking forward to it. I went to MapQuest and found directions to our destination. Lori arrived, and together we set out for this quaint little town north of where I live.

Things were going smoothly; the directions were accurate and Lori and I were chatting, having a great time. Until…MapQuest told us to turn left on Elm Street.

That’s when things started to get a little funny. We were supposed to look for Croton-Hardy Dam Rd. We became concerned when we’d driven south for ten miles and hadn’t come across it. So we backtracked.

Pulling off the side of the road, we asked a woman who was pulling out of her driveway for directions. She gave us some, but when we got to where she directed us, the road she said we needed wasn’t there. Now we were really concerned. We didn’t want to be late and miss the fair.

We pulled up to a four-way stop and parked along the side of the road. We weren’t sure what we should do. When another car pulled up to the stop sign, I acted quickly and waved them down.

This nice young woman gave me directions. She even wrote them down for me. Lori and I were on our way. However, things still didn’t go smoothly for us.

We were on a Michigan highway and unbeknownst to me the speed limit for these highways is fifty-five miles an hour, not the seventy that I was going. At least that’s what the State Trooper said when he wrote me a speeding ticket. Boo! According to him, all State highways are fifty-five while interstate highways are seventy. I learned something new! Grrr..

We asked this officer of the law for directions and he gave them to us. It seemed like he knew what he was talking about and his directions matched the young woman’s, so we were once again on our way, going fifty-five instead of seventy. :)

We finally reached the tiny burg that housed the show we wanted to attend. However, there was still another glitch in the directions. According to the directions from the cop and the young woman…we were supposed to turn left. After going to the wrong school and getting still more directions. We found out we were supposed to turn right.

We weren’t out of the woods yet, though, because we still couldn’t find the school we were looking for. That’s right, you guessed it, we stopped and asked someone who was standing on her porch where the school was. She didn’t know and her daughter didn’t know either. Now, you have to understand, this was not a large town by any means.

Finally, we found it, nestled off on a side street. We were an hour late. We had a speeding ticket. But we finally made it. We even sold some books.

We talked amongst ourselves in between moments of trying to sell our books and there were bouts of hysterical laughter and tears running down our faces. Now that we had arrived, we could laugh at the comedy of errors that occurred on our way to the fair.

Lessons Learned while Shopping for Halloween

Hello everyone! I hope all is well with you. I’m back today and I’d like talk about a little something on the personal side. This weekend I took my boys shopping for their Halloween costumes. This is always an adventure!

My oldest found his immediately and they had his size so he was satisfied very quickly. However, my youngest is a tiny little guy, and we always have trouble finding something that will fit.

This shopping trip was no exception. You see he wanted a “creepy” costume just like his brother’s. Unfortunately, they didn’t have his size. He didn’t panic, yet. He scrutinized the costumes that would fit him, but didn’t like any of them.

By this time, I was anticipating a battle, or a crying fit in the store, so my anxiety level had turned up a notch. He went back to the costume that he liked, but wasn’t his size and started whimpering.“I want this one.”

I reined in my frustration and said, “Well. That one’s too big.” I pulled it off the rack and inspected the hem. “Maybe, Grandma can hem it so it fits you better.”

“No.”

Why don’t we go to a different store and see what they have.”

“NO.” He shook his head stubbornly.

“Well, little man. I’m out of options. You need to decide what you want to do.”

By this time, I expected a meltdown. I prepared myself for the dreaded tantrum and envisioned a scenario where I’d have to drag him out of the store, kicking and screaming. Instead, what happened was he again inspected the costumes that were his size and chose one.

Of course, it was the most expensive one on the rack. Groan. Nevertheless, I bought it because that was the one he wanted.

We made it out of the store but on the ride home, he started to cry, claiming he didn’t get the costume he wanted. My heart went out to him; it’s so disappointing when we don’t get exactly what we want.

So, I said to him. “I know, honey. But you didn’t like any of the alternatives that I came up with either.”

It was as if a light bulb went off. He stopped his crying and sniffed. Then when we got home, he enjoyed his costume just as much as his older brother did.

This is one of those “life lesson” moments that we as parents get every once in a while. It’s about making choices and I feel that all kids need to learn this.

Sometimes we don’t get to have the choice we want for whatever reason. So, we have to make the best choice from the options that are available to us and live with it.

My son learned that lesson this weekend and it made me realize that I have to remember that too. I’ve got to make the best decisions I can with the options that are available to me. And not get caught up in the negativity of not having the perfect option.

This just makes sense. I say my son learned this lesson this weekend, but I relearned it as well. What a bonus! Two life lessons for the price of one! ;)

Thanks for stopping by and reading my post today! I appreciate your time and if you have any life lessons that you’ve learned from your kids, or vice versa, please share them! I’d love to read about them. :)

Improving our Libraries will Improve our Literacy Levels

Hello Everyone! I hope all is well with you! Last year I did a post on Literacy and it’s a subject that’s near and dear to my heart. And at that time I had the thought that e-books might be one of the solutions to our literary woes. But then I started working on a grant proposal for an organization (more about that later) and I did some research and found out something very interesting.

In all communities lack of funding or poverty is the number one cause of low literacy. By providing the tools (e-readers, e-books, and paperbacks) needed to fight this issue we are having a direct effect on it. Wan (2000) reviewed multiple reports to find the positive impacts of reading to children. Some experiments Wan reviewed involved reading aloud with individual students while others combined alone and group storybook readings to a class. Wan’s findings showcased that reading to children was vital to personal and school achievement. Even Stephen D Krashen author of “The Power of Reading” and Professor Emeritus at the University of Southern California said, “In my opinion, the place to focus is the library, both the school and public library. Studies show a positive relationship between library quality (school and public) and the amount read, as well as a relationship with reading competence. Better libraries mean more literacy development for younger readers as well as for high school students.” Therefore, successful approaches to reading including read-aloud programs and setting aside time for reading. The first way to do this is to improve the amount of books on the library shelves.

So the gist of the last paragraph is that if we improve our libraries (school and public) we’ll have a positive effect on literacy levels. Here are some statistics that support this claim.

Information Brief: Impact of School Libraries on Student Achievement by the New York Comprehensive Center

State Impact Studies



Collaboration between Teachers and the School Library

Collaboration between teachers and the school library through cooperative planning, identification of educational resources, and imparting information literacy skills, positively impacts teacher effectiveness and promotes student growth.

• Colorado: A study conducted in 2000 showed that students in elementary schools with highly collaborative relationships between teachers and school librarians scored 21% higher than students with less collaborative relationships on the Colorado Student Assessment Program, or CSAP (Lance, Rodney, & Hamilton-Pennell, 2000).

• Indiana: A 2006 study showed that when principals put an emphasis on in-service opportunities for collaboration between teachers and school librarians, there was an increase in test scores of 29.5% compared to those who placed a lower emphasis on such activities. Additionally, collaboration in curriculum design and delivery of instruction resulted in a 7.8% increase in test results. It should be noted that these relationships were evident in both the elementary and high school grade levels (Scholastic, 2008).

• Illinois: A 2005 study involving high schools showed that American College Testing (ACT) scores were highest for 11th graders when there was a high degree of collaboration between school librarians and teachers across a range of activities such as identifying materials, planning lessons, and motivating students to read.

• Oregon: A study indicated that schools with the best Oregon Statewide Assessment reading and language scores had teachers who were twice as likely to collaborate with school librarians. Furthermore, students in such classes were over 3 times more likely to visit the school library (Scholastic, 2008).

Access for Students

Providing access for teachers and students to school library facilities and resources, including through flexible scheduling, helps support students and has a positive effect on retention, work performance, and grades.

• Delaware: A study noted that teachers and faculty placed high value on school libraries due to their role in providing students with technology access, as well as ensuring information source quality and diversity. The study concluded that teachers believed that such access helped them perform their responsibilities and duties better (Todd & Heinstrom, 2006)

• Illinois: A study involving schools that provided increased access to the school library through flexible scheduling found that fifth grade students performed 10% better in reading and 11% better in writing on the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) compared to those schools with less access. Similar results were seen in high school, where there were 5% differences between schools on the ACT (Lance Rodney, & Hamilton-Pennell).

• Michigan: A study demonstrated that teachers and students in schools with the highest reading scores on the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) were four times more likely to have access to the school library on a flexibly scheduled basis than those in the lowest scoring schools (Rodney, Keith, & Christine, 2003).

These statistics demonstrate that the more teachers work with their library and the more resources a library can provide this has a direct effect on literacy levels of the students. This also applies to public libraries as well.

Without a variety of books to choose from a public library will attract very few readers. So, the more books a library has the more young people will be using its facilities.

A low cost alternative is the e-book. E-readers can hold approximately one thousand e-books. And e-books are less expensive and more durable than paperbacks. So, let’s help our libraries. We can donate our books and our time to them. I said it before and I’ll say it again! E-books are one of the solutions to our literacy issues!

Thanks for stopping by today and reading my post! Leave a comment and share your thoughts! I'd love to hear from you!

It's a Back to School Blog Hop!

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you! Guess what? I’m participating in another blog hop this week! That’s right! It’s the back to school blog hop! The members of the We ♥ Middle grade Books Facebook Group are hosting it and we’re giving away some awesome prizes! Books! That’s right! Books for your tweens and teens!

Here's the link to my Blog:

http://lisaorchard.wordpress.com/2013...



So please visit the other blogs and see what you can win! Here at my blog I’m giving away one full set of the Super Spies series (e-book copies) to one winner! And a ten dollar Amazon Gift Card to another. How do you enter to win? Very good question!

You can enter a variety of ways. You can like my Facebook author page and leave a quick comment letting me know you’re from the blog hop. The link is below:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lisa-O...

You can also tweet about my books and leave the tweet in the comment section below: Here’s an example of a tweet you can use:

What would you do if you were 15 and accused of murder? http://www.amazon.com/Super-Spies-Lad...

Amazon bestseller and great #teen read! 4.5 stars!

You can also leave a comment telling me your favorite book you read during your middle school years.

And you can enter more than once! Good luck and don’t forget to check out the other blogs on the hop! They have prizes too!

Click the link below to check out the other participating blogs!

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Here are the three books in my Super Spies series!






Blog hop is open until midnight, September 15th! Winners will be announced on the 16th! Good luck everyone!