SuperDylan – Subversive

I visited Mercersburg Elementary School yesterday as their 2014 Visiting Author. The kids and I had an amazing time! I’m hoping to visit schools like this more often. So much fun!

I think this is me reacting to a girl’s confession that the annoying thing her little brother does is bite her in her sleep. Yup, that would be pretty annoying.

The kids were so smart. They already knew about plot and could explain rising action, climax, and resolution.

What? All of you like video games? No way! This is shocking.

Photo op at the end. I like it that some of the kids called me “Mrs Author.”

The kids asked me great questions, too, like why and when I started to write, how long it takes me to write a book, if I ever make mistakes when I write, and whether I’ve ever been to the flower shop by City Park.

Sometimes the kids would be ecstatic to answer, but then they’d forget what they had to say. I feel that way in meetings sometimes, too.

SuperDylan and the Night Horse is out! Also this month, I’ve received some other exciting book news.

SuperDylan and the Night Horse, the sequel to SuperDylan and the Powers of Just Right, would make a fun, educational stocking stuffer for students in 1st-5^th grade. This book follows six-year-old Dylan as he learns that he and his family will be moving and he’ll have to make new friends. He starts having nightmares, but with a little advice from his sister, Dylan learns something wonderful about his own abilities. This book teaches imagination, creativity, and self-confidence.

I’ve also recently become involved in two other exciting projects.

I was asked to write a children’s book to accompany a sculpture to be built in the City Park lake here in Hagerstown, Maryland.

The sculpture is being created by Paul Rhymer, also the artist who created the watercolor above. The sculpture will show a mama bear teaching her cub to fish, and my accompanying story underscores the importance of self-sustainability, lifelong teaching and learning, and the parent-child relationship. I wrote the book a few weeks ago and was proud to serve on a team that asked the City Council for funding last week. We were awarded our whole request, and we’ll be able to print and distribute the book to 5,000 local school children, along with lesson plans and information about the sculpture, which will be unveiled later in 2014. This is another fantastic opportunity, and one I wouldn’t have had if it weren’t for the Washington County Arts Council.

The Washington County Arts Council has been very supportive of my SuperDylan book, which they sell at their Gallery. Mary Anne Burke, Executive Director of the Arts Council, said she immediately thought of me as the perfect local author to join the team involved in this exciting “Fishing Lesson” project. Thanks, Mary Anne!

I was also asked to be the 2014 visiting author at Mercersburg Elementary School in Pennsylvania.

I’ll be visiting the school in January, reading SuperDylan and the Powers of Just Right to students, talking a little about the writing process, and then answering student questions. The school is purchasing a signed book for every student in the school. This is a fantastic opportunity for me to share the book with others and interact with the kids while doing something I love. I can’t wait! Thanks to Michele Poacelli for recommending me!

Neither of these opportunities would have presented themselves if I wouldn’t have self-published the SuperDylan books. I’d probably still be waiting to hear back from agents and the manuscripts would have been stuck in a folder on my computer. I’m thrilled about both these projects, proud to live in such a supportive community, and glad I can debut the Night Horse along with these two pieces of fantastic news!

Tag: SuperDylan

Visiting Author Day at Mercersburg Elementary

Two Exciting Opportunities Resulting from Self-Publishing

The Collaborative Process of Creating a Children’s Book — from inspiration, through drafting and sketching, to final text files and computerized illustrations