P.G. Shriver's Blog, page 5

Favorite Kind of Selfies

Sally's favorite kind of selfies come from school personnel! Here's a couple of selfies Mr. Mandancini sent Sally. These happy faces... that's why Sally and I do what we do. We love it and they love it!

Sally the Backseat Driver

Sally, the Backseat Driver"Ah! P. G. look out!"

"Sally, I've been driving since I was nine. Relax."

"P. G., did somebody just blow the horn at us?"

"Yes, the driver behind us did that."

"Why? Are you going too slow?"

"No, Sally. I'm doing the speed limit. The driver wants to drive faster than the speed limit."

"Are we gonna make it on time, P. G.? Do you need to speed up?"

"Yes, Sally, we'll make it on time. The school is only 15 minutes away."

Screeeeeech!

Thump!

"Sally, are you okay back there?"


"Ohm mmm hmmom."

"What did you say, Sally? Sally? Oh, no! Let me pull over."

"It's okay. I lost my voice for a second. What happened?"

"That driver tried to pass me and ran out of room. I couldn't get over because of the guardrail. He almost ran us off the bridge. Are you okay?"

"Yup. Crazy fool! Why did he do that? He could've killed me!"

"Yeah... Are you back in the seat? Why didn't you have your seat belt on?"

"Uh, hello? I have stirrups for hands!"

"Oh, yeah. You don't need to get wise about it. Let me help you."

"P. G. why do people drive like that?"

"Power, Sally. Some people don't use their power to control their own lives; instead, they try to take power over the lives of others."

"Power... like electricity?"

"No, Sally. People power. Some people are given power over others and then they use that power to make the lives of others miserable. They play games with the people they are given power over instead of working with them to succeed."

"Games? Like Operation? I love that game! I like when the buzzer go off."

"No, Sally. Mind games that hurt the other person and tear them down emotionally."

"That doesn't sound like a fun game."

"It isn't, Sally. That's why you should not give anyone the power they want over you by acknowledging their mind games."

"Ah, you mean like getting mad at him for making me fall off the seat?"

"Uhm, yes and no. Yes on the getting angry part, but no on the seat part."

"But he made me fall off the seat!"

"Sally, that part was not completely his fault. That's another conversation ..."

"Well, who am I supposed to get angry with about that?"

"Nobody. Remember? Power?"

"Oh... it's you, isn't it?"

"Let's listen to the radio, huh, Sally?"

Howdy!

Sally here! 
I'm not supposed to be here. I wanted to blog, though. 
P. G. is busy trying to make more me's. Huh! Like that could happen. There could never be another me... but, I guess there will be likenesses. As long as they fulfill the duty of making kiddos happy, then I'll be happy.


I wish P. G. would hurry up. She needs to be writing my next story and taking me selfie searching. My next story is gonna include a red wagon. I already talked to my wagon friend. He can't wait to be a part of my next book. Boy, are we gonna have some fun!
Oh, I gotta get off the blog. I hear P. G. coming...
"Sally! Where are you? You're supposed to be modeling for me! Are you on the internet looking at your selfies, again? Really!"
Oh, selfies! Go check them out at https://www.geanpenny.com. Better hurry, though. It's almost time for bed! 
Bye now!

Sally... OUT THERE?

 Before I begin this little tale of Sally's beginning, I thought I'd share a couple of selfies from two schools we've recently visited. Sally and I love the sign above. It's a beautiful sign, but more importantly, we love the smiles that Sally coerces out of selfie takers.
Our most recent school reading brought us the picture below. Sally took selfies with each class, but I can't share all of them in this one post. We had such a great time at both schools and the children love Sally and her story!
All much beloved literary characters have a beginning, the story of how their author brought them to life.

Sally is no different. She has her story, the one that is only about her and her travels. All characters  have that. Some characters are okay with just having a story to tell, too. Not Sally. Sally longed for something else.

That something else was her beginning.

Sally began with a comment made by a friend, who also happens to be my cover/ book designer. One day she told me, "You have to put yourself out there." We had been discussing my picture on the cover.

Moi? No way! I am not an out there kind of lady! I am an in the shadows kind of lady... stay in the background... don't draw attention to myself kind of lady.

"You do. You need to get out there."

Sorry. No can do! Bad things happen out there! Rejection happens out there! People are mean out there!

Nagging voice, "She's right! You have to!"

Hmm... How does an introvert put herself out there? How does someone just go out there with confidence and smile and be... what? OUT THERE!

My way out there was Sally. I didn't know it at the time. Yes, she is a book character. Yes she is a puppet/ toy. Yes, she helps me read her story, but she is so much more than that!

People say she always seems to smile at the camera in her selfies. She's always looking at the camera. She's always happy. She's more because...

She is part of me. She is the part of me that isn't afraid to go out there and fail! She is the part of me that isn't afraid of people, judgement, cruelty. She is the part of me that makes those small children smile without having a fear that something bad will happen if they do!

When my husband came home yesterday, he asked me how the reading went. Immediately, I went into an animated discussion of the children's reaction to Sally and her story. The energy flowed out of me and filled the room. On the way to dinner he said, "You always light up when you talk about Sally and the kids she connects with."

It's because Sally's that part of me who has always wanted to be out there, sharing her stories, bringing smiles, creating joy in a sometimes dire world. Sally is the inner child in me, the one who never had the opportunities that she has now.

Sally was born from the unified creative energies of both myself and my husband. That's real support and love that went into that sweet, adventurous saddle!

Writers can write about any subject, create any character, tell any story, but without the inner self shining into that subject, character, story, there won't be a reader connection.

Everyone has a story to tell, but does everyone have the courage to allow their inner self to blossom into the story and feed the hungry seekers who are waiting to connect to the communication? Then, after they put all they have into the story, do they have the courage to get OUT THERE?

Children, adults, teachers, all love Sally. They love taking pictures with her. Children want to touch her, hug her, be near her. She makes it so much easier for me to get out there, and there's a whole lot of me in her story and her. It brings me to tears to think about how loved she is, and I think that's why children connect with her, the unconditional love, the fun, the carefree attitude that some of us really lack.

All of my characters contain a little of me, but I think Sally is me.

An author friend said to me, "Looks like you found your niche." Niche? No, I just found my way... OUT THERE!

Sally Visited the Giddings Public Library

When Sally saw the Giddings Public Library sign on her trip yesterday, her excitement blossomed. Take a look!
I'm actually here... at the place in the book!She couldn't wait to go inside and visit. Of course, she had a good reason for visiting the library. Her book was accepted for this special event in September!
Oh, look! The Texas Word Wrangler Festival is almost here!Sally had to get a selfie with this sign. She does take good pictures. She's always so happy! When Sally entered the library, she found the Texas flag. She loves flags!
Oh, I am so close to going in. Check out their awesome flag!I've never seen this little saddle so hyper. She gave her book to the sweet lady behind the desk and walked around the entire library checking it out. She found a familiar face, too!
Hey! Another saddle is here already!What a great visit to the Giddings Public Library and Cultural Center! Sally makes traveling so much fun. It's like seeing places for the first time... well, I guess she is seeing them for the first time. After all, she's been stuck in a dusty, old barn for a long time... :D

You can check out all the places Sally has been on her Travelin' Slideshow here.

Sally OTR

Sally goes on the road for more selfies today. She's making a special delivery trip to the Giddings Public Library and Cultural Center to drop off a copy of her book. Before she leaves, she wanted to share some selfies with you.

"Giddy up, Domino! We have to roll!"

"Stop tryin' to chew on me and give the camera a smile, Max!"


















This is her first trip and how she escaped her room of creation. As soon as she got her eyes so she could see, she was out of that room! Sneaky little saddle! Hope you get a chance to meet Sally and take a selfie with her. She's collecting as many selfies as she can on her last trip around the U. S.
"Why'd you say last trip? Are you planning to stick me in that old barn again? Lady, I got news for you! That just ain't happenin'!""Sally, get back in the house. We're not leaving, yet. Okay! Maybe it's not your last trip!"

Told you she was sneaky. I didn't even see her get out! Guess I better get ready to go.

Sally's Selfie with Her Proof

"Thank you, Mr. UPS man! I've been waiting forever!"Meet Sally. She came into my life a couple of years ago, as an idea--isn't that how we all start out?

Her book blossomed, and while I waited patiently for pictures she blossomed. She is a companion book puppet who is well loved by those who meet her. She is also the star of her book. This is her first story.

She's only just begun to tell her tales.

Her's is a tale of change, also. And smiles... lots of smiles!

Re-Brand

I am re-branding. This blog will be changing, if not deleted all together.

Under ConstructionThanks for your patience!

Children's Book Authors- Poll

Have you written a children's book and published it?

If so, I would like your feedback on a special non profit program that I am developing with an author association of which I am a member.

The ultimate objective of the program is to get your book exposure in schools everywhere, like Scholastic does for the big publishing houses, but on a higher level and with more fun for the students.

Benefits to Schools:
Students have fun with an excerpt of your bookStudents get to discover you Students get to meet authors and talk to themTeachers get free, scorable, literature assignments to can use for gradesTeachers and students will have the opportunities for scholarshipsBenefits to Authors:
Pay one fee per book for a lifetime membershipReceive interactive exposure for your book to thousands of school children annuallyThe best excerpt of your book becomes interactiveThe more fun children have with your book, the more they want it You can visit classrooms without leaving your houseIs it feasible to do?
Yes. I can do it right now. Is it a program children's book authors would partake of?
That's what I want to find out... so take my poll below and I will give you 20% off one book enrollment when the program opens, plus your book could be the first one in the program set to begin in Fall 2015. Create your own user feedback survey

Blips and Links

Argh!

I've come to a point where I don't even want to get on social media.

Is anyone else tired of the blips and links?

I became a part of that world, too. I wrote my blog posts, shared the links.

Those days are over for me. Promoting on social media is absolutely worthless! It can't be doing so much for all the numerous people out there selling "stuff". I've decided to quit. I mean, if I'm getting sick of all the sales pitches on Twitter and Facebook, my followers must be getting sick of all MY blips and links.

Facebook and Twitter are supposed to be "Social" media, not "Sales" media. Billboards used to annoy me. Now it's social media that annoys me. I need to change my followers and stop following all of those "sales" pitches. I want to talk to people when I'm on social media... don't you?

I don't want to be bombarded with sales links and blips of "things" out there.

Let's share quips, conversation and have fun.

I don't care what you have to sell. If you act like a used car dealer on Facebook and Twitter and force your blips and links on me, I'll run the other way and ignore you.

Think I'll start over. Clean out my lists. Begin fresh.

Time to stop the Blips and Links barrage.