S. Smith's Blog, page 29

Time Keeps Rolling On

I thought the time might be right for a general “update” blog. Update on what, you say? No, not the obvious, not THE BOOK. Just stuff; former posts, what I’ve been up to lately, the garden, the family. Things that should have been posts all of their own, but time just kept speeding on by. So if you care, read on. If not, maybe next time.

First, some of you may remember, waaay back in December I wrote a post called, Frustration, Forgiveness, and Possibly False Accusations. It was a story about suspecting one of my children in an act of destroying a rough draft that had gone missing. I promised to “recant” if the writing was ever found. Okay, so here’s the dilemma. The post was found, BUT, it was handed to me by the child under suspicion as torn out pages. Claims he found the pages in the empty notebook I gave him when he needed another one for school. Ahem. Still a mite suspicious, wouldn’t you say? On the other hand, given that I described my disorganized manner in writing pages in multiple notebooks all over the house … it was probably just me. Yeah, most likely. So I recant. Not that he ever knows I blamed him; my children don’t read my blog.

Okay, next. Back when the post office announced they would discontinue Saturday service, I wrote a post called Write A Letter, Save A Postal Service, followed by Part 2, where I complained about not being able to find stationery with matching envelopes (no note cards, please!) in stores anymore. UPDATE: Saturday service will continue–Yae! More updates: I decided to take my own advice and write more letters. It’s been fun! I get things in the mail now that don’t go straight into the recycle. I have a blogger friend in Minnesota and we send each other letters in the mail. I wrote to Percy and Louise Schmeiser (who are big heroes in the fight against Monsanto, and who are in one of my book’s dedications), and they WROTE BACK. IN CURSIVE. And, I finally found some lovely boxed stationery in a local store. Yes, it is expensive, but I bought it anyway.

Garden update: ehh, after a really warm early spring, the cold rain came back and most of the things I planted are not looking so glamorous. The carrots plain disappeared … But here is a photo of when my rhubarb seeded off.

Author update: If you’ve been following, then you know I’ve been getting out and about in the community lately. Here is a photo from my booth at an Earth Day event.



And here’s another one from one of my school visits.

And look at this one, compliments of the same sister who also suggested websites offering stationery: Her Morton Salt spiral notebook (mentioned in my last post)!

She says she thinks we got them on a school field trip, like a hundred years ago or something! (Okay, I added that last part; some people have accused me of being prone to exaggeration.)

Personal updates: Daughter home from college. Husband home from hospital. Son set to graduate from high school on Friday. Geriatric cats continue to live one, helping me increase in patience and compassion.

All right. Those few of you who are wondering about the books and holding out to the very end: Yes, there will be another sale coming up for the e-books. No, I don’t know when I’ll be doing another giveaway of the paperbacks. Yes, I have been working on Heirloom every day. And LOVING it. Please sign up for the e-newsletter if you want to know ahead of time when the sales, releases, etc. are. If you are on Facebook, that’s another option.

Well, now. That’s pretty darn long for a blog post.  See ya’ll later.

S.Smith is the author of the awesome middle grade series, Seed Savers. Visit her Pinterest and Facebook pages. Sign up for the newsletter!

Mutual Inspiration; Why I love School Visits

 

I had the wonderful opportunity last week to be a visiting author at two local middle schools, speaking to a total of six 6th grade classes, or about 200 students. It was awesome!!! As some of you might remember, I spent the better part of the past ten years teaching middle school kids, so there was little stress involved (as compared to my three minutes in front of City Council, which I may or may not blog about later), only a lot of energy expended.

Here’s what’s so great: they are a big part of my intended audience and whether or not they had read my books (some had, most had not), they really appreciated my visit. Because of the recent budget constraints, most of them hadn’t yet experienced an author visit. It was a big deal to them, and I understand, because I have been known to stand in line at more than one bookstore to “meet” an author and get his or her signature.

It’s fun being the big deal.

It’s fun talking about the writing process and my writing process.

It’s fun seeing the stories and books they are writing.

It’s so great to be both inspiring and inspired. Many of the students sent me little handwritten notes afterwards:

Today [Mrs. Smith] inspired me to start writing some books.

Thank you for inspiring me to read so I’ll be a better writer.

Thank you for sharing your book. It was very interesting and it made me want to read it.

I would love to be a writer when I grow up. I’ve actually been entering my books in 4-H…

I loved your visit to our school … I used all my points to buy your book.

I inspire them … they inspire me …

It was a real honor to have you come to our school …

I hope your other books go well.

I plan on reading all your books when they come out.

The presentation was amazing.

Keep calm and keep writing.

What’s not to love? And now I need to take a little time to answer some of the questions they sent me after I was gone. So listen up, kids!

What was your favorite genre to read about as a 6th grader?

I don’t really remember; I wasn’t much of a reader in 6th grade. I do remember really liking mysteries, though.

Who is your favorite author?

I don’t think I have a favorite author.  But I have read almost everything by Jodi Picoult. However, she is not a children’s author. (If you want to know more of the middle grade and YA books I like, please see the previous post.)

What inspired you to start writing?

I had a creative writing teacher in high school who inspired me to journal. Then in one of my Master’s degree programs I did a lot of writing, particularly poems. Not sure why I started writing novels about seven years ago. It’s something I think I had always wanted to do and then one day sat down and got started!

What was your earliest memory of writing?

I think maybe that would be the evidence of my name written in capital letters on every one of my grandmother’s children’s books, with the capital R in reverse. But, oh, that’s not what you meant. I actually remember writing stories in my big Morton Salt shaped spiral notebook. I wrote stories because I liked making up the titles, and especially naming the characters!!

I dedicate this post to all of you kids at Waldo, Claggett Creek, and Pratum, and  the other kids I’ve heard from who have read or done class projects and book reports on my books: YOU GUYS INSPIRE ME!!!! (And a big thank you to all the teachers and parents as well )

And I love hearing from you, so don’t be shy!

S.Smith

S.Smith is the author of the awesome middle grade series, Seed Savers. Visit her Pinterest and Facebook pages. Sign up for the newsletter!

Your Child’s Favorite Next Book, Book Giveaway and Blog Hop

Okay, I’m going to admit something an author should probably never admit: As a child, I didn’t like to read. It’s not that I had problems decoding—I just would rather have been doing something else. Like playing ball outside, or watching TV. I was one of those people (cringe), who used to say, “I’ll watch it (the book) when the movie comes out.”

I could not understand kids with their noses buried in books … it was just so uninteresting to me. And therein lies the key: there were very few people introducing me to good books, books I would enjoy.

I went to a small country school for the first eight years of my education. We had no library, no librarian, no book talks or visiting authors—just the bookshelf under the window. My family didn’t visit the city library. While I remember the excitement of first learning to read and I LOVED all Dr. Seuss books, I had a teacher in second and third grade who didn’t want us to read Seuss, she considered them bad books, for some reason. So I read all the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books on the shelf, which she didn’t particularly care for, either.

Those early years were not totally devoid of books. There were a few teachers who read books aloud, fifteen minutes after lunch each day. I remember Charlotte’s Web and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I wish more people would have suggested good titles to me. I adored Anne of Green Gables, but somehow never read any of the other Anne books.

When I had my own kids, I set about to teach them to love reading at an early age, and love reading they do. When they were little we subscribed to Children’s Book of the Month Club, and attended library story time on a weekly basis. Before the traveling Bookmobile went under due to budget cuts, we eagerly walked the four blocks to see what books might be on board that day. The librarians knew us by name and sometimes gave the kids advance copies as gifts.

At home, if I had a book I thought my kids should read or would enjoy, like To Kill A Mockingbird, I’d start reading it out loud to them, and then stop on account of a tired voice. More often than not, the book would be ripped from my hands and finished within a few days.

When the picture books are set aside and the kids are reading on their own, be ready to help them find books they’ll love. This of course will be different for everyone according to their interests. As mentioned earlier, I loved Charlotte’s Web, Anne of Green Gables, The Chronicles of Narnia. Later on I discovered The Little House on the Prairie series, Heidi, The Giver, The House of the Scorpion, Fahrenheit 451, Little Women, The Little Princess, The Hobbit, etc. My son loved the Warrior Cat series.

What will be your child’s favorite next book?

Despite all the new gadgets kids are accosted with these day, there has also never been such a great opportunity for them as readers. Social networking sites allow readers to “shelve” their favorite books, form groups, and share reviews (Goodreads, Shelfari, LibraryThing), making it easy to find books each individual might enjoy. There is even a site (probably several) for kids called Biblionasium. In addition, thousands of blogs, websites, and Facebook pages help parents and kids find good books. And with Kindles and free ebooks you don’t even have to spend the money like I did with Book of the Month Club. Then of course, the library has always been there for that; thank goodness for libraries and librarians .

Still looking for some good reads for the children for summer?  Try the Linky list at the bottom of this post.

Book Giveaway

Today through May 19, you can enter to win a signed paperback edition of one of my two books, Seed Savers: Treasure, or Seed Savers: Lily.

In a future where growing your own food is against the law, three friends risk their safety by studying the illegal subject of gardening. The children’s mentor, an elderly acquaintance named Ana, entices them with her description of the food she knew as a child—food unlike the square, processed, packaged food they have always known.  Constantly watching, however, is GRIM, the government agency that controls the nation’s food source and keeps in check all potential troublemakers. When Clare and Dante return home one day to find their tomato plant seized, and their mother jailed, they bolt.  Clare has heard of a place called “The Garden State,” and with their bikes, a little money, and backpacks, the children begin a lonely cross-country journey that tests them both physically and spiritually. Will they succeed in their quest to find a place of food freedom?  And can they, only children, help change the world?

Three winners will be chosen via random.org and the Giveaway is open internationally. The winners will be contacted by email and posted on AuthorSSmith Facebook page.

AND I ALMOST FORGOT, I’VE DECIDED TO PUT BOTH BOOKS ON SALE FOR THE DURATION OF THE WEEK! The Kindle versions are both $2.99 for Children’s Book Week, instead of the usual $4.99 price.

Ways to Enter

1) Leave a comment and your email in the comment section below answering this question: What was one of your favorite books as a young reader?

2) Sign up to receive my newsletter updates.

3) Like AuthorSSmith on Facebook.

4) If you have already read either of the books, leave a review on Amazon (worth 3 entries.) If you do this, please send me an email (authorssmith@gmail.com) so that I know which review is yours.

Special Thanks

A special thank you to Mother Daughter Book Reviews and Youth Literature Reviews for hosting this blog hop in honor of Children’s Book Week! Check out more links below and fill those bookshelves!

Click here to  view the Linky  list which will continue you on your way to visit more blogs and sign up for more giveaways!
S.Smith is the author of the awesome middle grade series, Seed Savers. Visit her Pinterest and Facebook pages. Sign up for the newsletter!

Seed Savers: Heirloom, Sneak Peek

 

Excerpt from Heirloom, book three in Seed Savers Series

Clare didn’t know how she could stay indoors on a day like today—sixty-five degrees, sunny and warm. And yet she couldn’t think of anything more to do outside. After she got home from school, she let the chickens wander while she pulled weeds from Marissa’s garden and checked the place they had planted a few of the first seeds the last time the weather had allowed. The lawn grass was long and green, and last season’s chard and kale had survived the winter, looking lush and appetizing. The overwintering herbs were ragged and scrawling, undoubtedly needing a trim, but Marissa was busy inside and wouldn’t be bothered. Dante played Monitor games. Clare thought about home. Even then, living in a city apartment, she had spent a fair amount of time outdoors. And it was even nicer here—less humid and buggy, and of course the farm was quiet and peaceful. It felt healthy to be outside.

 

As she stood, thinking, it occurred to her that maybe she could get started on her school work out here. There was a big swing on the front porch, and here in the back, the patio table—a bit green now, but easily cleaned—lingered in the sunshine. She would work on her English assignment; they were doing a poetry unit. She had never been asked to write a poem before—or at least not a whole portfolio of poems! Her assignment was to produce a variety of poems and ultimately assemble them into a book, poster, or Monitor montage presentation. She hadn’t yet decided on her project’s final form, but she could definitely carry a notepad outside and get started.

 

She hurried inside and rummaged through her folders until she found the instruction packet for the project. In the sunny yard, she curled up on one of the white patio chairs she had dragged onto the grass. Let’s see, where are those examples, she thought, flipping through the packet. She perused the list of poems they were to construct: acrostic, diamond, haiku, free verse …

 

“Hmm. Free verse sounds easy,” she said aloud. The chickens, cooped up nearby, mistakenly thought she was speaking to them and called to be released. Clare sighed, stood, and dropped her notebook onto the chair. “You girls were just out,” she said, but she didn’t really mind. She laughed as they ran and flapped, clucking as if they had been cooped up for months instead of just minutes. Back in the chair, Clare wrote:

The chickens run and cluck

    Fluffy bottoms swing from side to side

She couldn’t think of anything else to write and was tempted to scratch out what she had written. She tried again.

 Chickens

    scratching in the dirt

    as I scratch in my notebook

Just then a squirrel scuttled by, close, from the walnut tree, up a post, and into an apple tree. Clare had been so still it had not noticed her. She looked down at her paper and made changes.

Chickens

    scratch in the dirt

    as I scratch in my notebook

    A squirrel scampers past

    unaware of our scratching—

    neither the chickens’

    Nor mine.

She wasn’t sure she liked it. Maybe I’ll come back to it later, she thought. Maybe I should try another kind. She took a stab at a sensory poem.

        Five Senses Poem

Gnats hover just above the grass

Bumping my skin as they levetate (look up spelling)

their tiny bodies an unwelcome irritant

A crow calls in the distance

answered only by a fussing squirrel

The scent of freshly cut grass

and newly turned soil teases

me into thinking I can taste

spring.

But I don’t know what spring tastes like

  In my life, seasons had no flavor.

End of Excerpt

Next week I will be celebrating Children’s Book Week (May 13-19) by participating in a blog hop and book giveaway sponsored by Mother Daughter Book Reviews and Youth Literature Reviews. Stay tuned!!!!

S.Smith is the author of the awesome middle grade series, Seed Savers. Visit her Pinterest and Facebook pages. Sign up for the newsletter!

 

 

Garden Talk

This was the gift people could sign up to win. (Wagon not included.)

On Saturday I spent six hours sitting behind a table advertising myself as an author. It was Earth Day at the Oregon Garden, and since my book is about seeds, gardens, and knowing what food is and where it comes from, I thought it was an appropriate venue. Here’s the funny part: many people didn’t look at the books long enough to realize they were fictional books set in a future where gardening is illegal. Or that the main characters are a couple of twelve-year-olds on a quest to learn about real food, how to grow it, and where they can go to find a place where it isn’t against the law…

And so, I sat and talked garden problems with folks. When they asked about heirloom seeds or the difference between hybrid and genetically modified, I happily answered. One woman wanted to know where she could buy seeds that would grow smaller vegetables (such as a smaller head of cabbage); believe it or not, I answered that, too. Another person wanted to buy the dill seeds I had on display. Some people walked away never really understanding that my books were fiction. Others were visibly embarrassed when they discovered the truth;I tried to console them. After all, I did have to know about gardening and seeds to write the book. I enjoyed talking to them and was kind of impressed with myself at being able to furnish them with the information they sought.

The fact is, I am a seed saver. I do not belong to the Seed Savers Exchange, but I do save seeds for my local Food Share. We are growing out and saving seeds to create a local seed bank. I have been meaning for months to blog about it, but just never get around to it. Last year I grew out orange tomatoes and early jalapenos. This year I’ll do lettuce, maybe quinoa. Maybe I’ll post more about it later, but today I’m in a hurry to get back to work on book 3, Heirloom. And after a lot of cold days, the forecast for today and the next three days is for the mid-seventies…so I need to get OUTSIDE. I haven’t yet sown the lettuce for the Food Share.

A big thanks to those of you who have been encouraging and helping me with the promotion of Seed Savers. May your gardens prosper.

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Some of the friendly faces completing the “parts of plant” worksheet.

S.Smith is the author of the awesome middle grade series, Seed Savers. Visit her Pinterest and Facebook pages. Sign up for the newsletter!

It’s a Party!

An arch of colourful party balloons. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

It’s a party! This week I am celebrating the one year anniversary of Seed Savers: Treasure, and Earth Day. Not only are there balloons, but for FIVE DAYS, you can download the e-book for FREE. All you need is a Kindle or a Kindle app. So if you’ve thought about reading Seed Savers and haven’t yet, this is your chance. If you already bought the book, get another one ; or better yet tell a friend. Particularly tell friends who like gardening, or have children ages 7 – 14, or don’t think seeds and plants should be patented, or perhaps are slightly paranoid about big government .  Really, you risk nothing; IT’S FREE. (April 18-22 , 2013)

And while you’re picking up Treasure (book 1) for free, you might just want to add Lily (book 2) to your cart, as well. Think of it as “two for the price of one.”

And remember, plant a seed for the future.

May your garden live long and prosper.

-S.

S.Smith is the author of the awesome middle grade series, Seed Savers. Visit her Pinterest and Facebook pages. Sign up for the newsletter!

 

Poetry Without Words

Today I wanted to do one final post related to the weekend at Drift Creek Camp. I found the creeping, clinging, crawling, hanging moss and lichen to be so awesome that I tried for quite some time to write a poem about it. But it never came out right. So here are some of the photos I took. I only had a little Canon Sure Shot, so I’m sure I didn’t do it justice. I focused on the moss, because it was impossible to get a picture of the white trillium at the base of the giant Sitka Spruce. It really was. So here it is: Poetry without words.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

S.Smith is the author of the awesome middle grade series, Seed Savers. Visit her Pinterest and Facebook pages. Sign up for the newsletter!

Journaling 101

So the last post was about the wonderful time I had at the women’s retreat. I neglected to mention that even though it was my first time there, I was asked to lead one of the interest sections. The one on journaling.

I confess. When I was first asked, several things crossed my mind; the first of which was, “Lead journaling? But don’t you just open a notebook and write whatever is in your head?” Being the kind of person I am, I began to wonder if, after all these years and piles of notebooks/journals, I didn’t really know what journaling was. (This can happen after you’ve had a supervisor at work doubt your expertise when you’ve been an expert in your field for over twenty years…but I digress). Anyway, so I looked it up on the internet.

I found a remarkable website that not only assured me I WASN’T STUPID, but that gave great tips for people who somehow are intimidated by a blank page of paper. I’ve never had that problem. I salivate over empty spiral notebooks. Now I pass on to you what I shared at the retreat, giving credit where credit is due, of course.

I will include the link to the website at the end. There is much, much more at the site–you really do want to go there if you are interested in journaling. For now, I’m going to summarize the section called “How to Journal in 10 Simple Steps,” with additional comments from me thrown in. Those will be in italics. Enjoy.

1. Keep it Simple. Words on a page. It’s really that simple. (Yes! I knew it; no teacher needed.)

2. Keep it Private. And yes, of course. But this is why I have had a particularly hard time transitioning to blogging!!!!

3. Do it Frequently. Ah yes, and here is where the problem lies. This is probably where everyone could use a little guidance.

4. Banish the Grammar Police. Again, of course. If you are the only one reading it, just write!!! However, this is another problem in the journaler to blogger switch.

5. Write What You Know. This is more about #1. Just write whatever; there’s no right or wrong subject matter.

6. Find the Best Time and Place

7. Write for quantity, not quality (sort of a repeat of #4)

8. Try writing by hand. Journaling by hand in a paper notebook moves a different part of your brain than typing does. (Aha!)

9. Keep the stakes low. Don’t make any grand announcements before you start journaling.

10. Enjoy yourself.

At the retreat,we also listened to the podcast about getting started in journaling, which I thought was very useful. It’s all here: http://www.journalingsaves.com

 

Good luck, and happy journaling!

S. Smith is the author of the awesome middle grade series, Seed Savers. Visit her Pinterest and Facebook pages. Sign up for the newsletter!

 

Ladies Only

We were deep in the woods. A place so thick with large trees, so covered with green moss, that people from flatter, less foliaged places might feel claustrophobic and uneasy.  There is no connection to the outside world and when the generator turns off at night, you had better be in bed, or at least know where your flashlight is.

This past weekend I attended my first “women’s retreat” after being repeatedly invited by a friend for more years than I can remember. And at last, I had no reason to say “no.” (Thanks, Juel, for your persistence.)

It was a glorious time. The camp itself, the buildings, the location (in the Coast Range near Lincoln City) is enchanting. I try to imagine what it looks like to folks not from around here. Green moss clinging, crawling and hanging from every tree limb and bush. Sitka spruce so wide and tall you can’t fit them into a tiny box of a camera. But this place, Drift Creek Camp, is where I attended summer camp as a child in the 1970s. And as an adult I’ve come here with my church for “family camp” many times over the past twenty years. I know it well.

But this was the first time I came to camp when it was all women and all about women. We ate, we laughed, we danced, we sang, maybe cried or prayed. We shared concerns and stories at meals around small round tables, or sat silently reading by the giant stone fireplace. We hiked trails in the forest alone or in groups.

We created art out of paper in the craft room or sat in front of jigsaw puzzles looking for just the right piece. No computer, no dishes, no cooking, no job, kids, or husbands. There was opportunity to pay for massage by the minute, or retreat to a “quiet” room with a comfy rocker and desk. There were a few services we could attend—or not attend (where we thought about women of the Bible who had gotten bad raps)—as well as other “interest sections”: a book discussion, journaling tips, group exercise. It was all low key. You were free to do as much or as little as you wanted.

On the road home one of the riders in my carpool suggested a favorite thing of hers from the weekend was “the sweet potato fries.” I think my favorite was the laughter. There was a lot of opportunity to laugh–and I liked that. Who doesn’t feel great after some good out-loud laughing?

Another unexpected highlight for me was the second night, after lights out. I shared a room with three other women and as we lay there in the dark, we continued talking for a while. It reminded me of when I was a child and my two sisters and I shared a room, often talking too late into the night to our parents’ consternation. Or of my family now, when the kids were younger and when we camped, sharing one family tent, those old conversations from the sleeping bags filling up the dark. It was very sweet. “Goodnight John-Boy. Goodnight Mary-Ellen.”

Being an introvert, I signed up for this retreat with my feet dragging—sort of the way I sign up to do anything—but it was good. I’m ready for next year!

(Although there’s no guarantee my feet won’t be dragging again by then. )

S. Smith is the author of the awesome middle grade series, Seed Savers. Visit her Pinterestand Facebook pages. Sign up for the newsletter!

 

Questions in the Car (or The Long Trip Home)

Are bricks more expensive than concrete?
Why do people keep mules?
Why are there so many buildings around here that are falling down?
What if the jungle contains a virus that would kill the entire human race and we go down and log off the Amazon and release it? It would serve us right.
You know, the name Uther is pretty awful.
Isn’t having a female form of a word–such as hero/heroine kind of sexist?
Freeways are horrible. People can’t have cats…Freeways are animal barriers. That’s what they are, animal barriers.

This was some of what came out of the backseat on Monday as we drove from Tacoma to Salem. No, my son is not nine; he’s seventeen. Trying to decide which college to go away to in the fall. I will miss him. So much.

Aileen Smith Photography

S. Smith is the author of the awesome middle grade series, Seed Savers. Visit her Pinterestand Facebook pages.