tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62504996616668093252024-03-13T13:01:05.155-04:00DJ's thoughtsdjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358259075165671565noreply@blogger.comBlogger158125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250499661666809325.post-13403152507562208142017-10-09T14:56:00.002-04:002017-10-09T14:56:53.434-04:0013 Ways to Help Your Author Friends<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9nBrouuR8mo/WdvF0AlP3cI/AAAAAAAAAeg/eNxzLsthdkMCp93T1Fd4TmN4Lcjoodr3gCEwYBhgL/s1600/friends%2Bread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="389" data-original-width="512" height="241" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9nBrouuR8mo/WdvF0AlP3cI/AAAAAAAAAeg/eNxzLsthdkMCp93T1Fd4TmN4Lcjoodr3gCEwYBhgL/s320/friends%2Bread.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Your author friends can really use your support! Here's how you can help:<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">1. Review/rate their books on Amazon and Goodreads.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">2. Like and share their Facebook posts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">3. Follow their blogs and websites.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">4. Buy their books as gifts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">5. Buy and donate their books to your local school.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">6. Suggest their books to your local library.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">7. Retweet them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">8. Buy their books.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">9. Recommend their books to your friends and family.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">10. Post about them and their books on Facebook.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">11. Blog about them and their books.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">12. Share their blog posts on Facebook.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">13. Share their website on Facebook.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
djhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358259075165671565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250499661666809325.post-60566580952565383392017-07-03T12:05:00.000-04:002017-07-03T12:05:52.193-04:00Writing Wisdom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RWK3BkeokCA/UgE4yMcKbFI/AAAAAAAAAMs/615xwnRtU2Yc0bnoImPwwvzFLW1Mj9b_ACPcBGAYYCw/s1600/MH900446574.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="325" data-original-width="325" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RWK3BkeokCA/UgE4yMcKbFI/AAAAAAAAAMs/615xwnRtU2Yc0bnoImPwwvzFLW1Mj9b_ACPcBGAYYCw/s320/MH900446574.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When you catch an adjective, kill it. No, I don't mean utterly, but kill most of them -- </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">then the rest will be valuable. Mark Twain</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Writing is a way of talking without being interrupted. Jules Renard</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">to write. Saul Bellow</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">you must write it. Toni Morrison</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I love deadlines. I love the whooshing sound they make as they go by. Douglas Adams</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Easy reading is damn hard writing. Nathaniel Hawthorne</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Write what should not be forgotten. Isabel Allende</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">inside you. Maya Angelou</span><br />
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<br />djhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358259075165671565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250499661666809325.post-25670472349668247062017-03-23T12:49:00.000-04:002017-03-23T12:49:14.472-04:00Tolerance: How to Nurture It<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AdbiNY5n5mU/WNP7xn1eGXI/AAAAAAAAAeA/akMdtmD8gfQ4P_lAAR64s8emazv81LiogCEw/s1600/tolerance%2Bimage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AdbiNY5n5mU/WNP7xn1eGXI/AAAAAAAAAeA/akMdtmD8gfQ4P_lAAR64s8emazv81LiogCEw/s320/tolerance%2Bimage.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Facing the challenges of racism, sexism, and other prejudices in our society can be overwhelming for us adults. For kids, intolerance is even more confusing and frightening. How can teachers create an atmosphere of acceptance in their classrooms? Read <a href="http://jclub.pauline.org/Blog/ArticleID/3015/Tolerance-How-to-Nurture-It">my post on the JCLUB blog </a>for some suggestions.</span>djhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358259075165671565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250499661666809325.post-82141427093071405492016-12-19T15:24:00.000-05:002016-12-19T15:24:24.804-05:00The Last Real Christmas<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: .5in;">
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I was too old, I suppose ‑‑ especially by today's standards. Still, I believed. I ignored the other kids' claims about Santa Claus. I thought putting up the Christmas tree was a pleasure, not a chore. When I did have chores, I sang Christmas carols to pass the time. I refused to think of the holidays as anything less than magical.</div>
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On Christmas Eve, a sprinkling of snow dusted everything, proving me right. Snow for Christmas! Not so much that Grandma couldn't come over for Christmas dinner tomorrow ‑‑ just enough. Everything sparkled when the streetlights came on. Just before I went to bed, a flock of birds flew away north to give Santa one last report on good boys and girls.</div>
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That Christmas Eve, I wore my watch to bed, eager for it to read six o'clock, the earliest time we were allowed to get up. Long after my little sister fell asleep, I lay awake, dreaming. For a while, I knelt in my bed and looked out the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of reindeer in the sky. Then when it seemed it must be nearly morning, I pulled up my pajama sleeve and looked at my watch in the glow from the streetlights.</div>
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Nine o'clock!</div>
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It would be hours and hours till morning!</div>
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The watch was still ticking, so I decided it must be running slow. I set it ahead fifteen minutes to compensate, then tried to sleep again.</div>
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The next time I checked, it was only nine‑thirty! Obviously, something was seriously wrong with that watch. Again I set it ahead a bit to make up for its slowness.</div>
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I don't know how many times I reset my watch that night. Now and then, between my attempts to control time and make Christmas come faster, I nodded off. Once I woke to the sound of what I was sure had been prancing hooves. Another time, as I drifted out of sleep, I thought I caught a whiff of pipe smoke.</div>
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Finally, my watch read six o'clock. I slipped out of bed and into my robe and crept out to the living room to turn on the Christmas tree. The mounds of colorful packages, the sparkle of the tree, the quiet magic of the morning made the torture of waiting seem worthwhile.</div>
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My parents found me snuggled on the couch, just taking it all in. Of course, they shooed me back to bed since it was only three o'clock in the morning!</div>
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It didn't matter. I slept well till my sister pounced on my bed and shook me awake. She was right to be excited, I thought: something beautiful awaited her.</div>
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I think that was the last of the real Christmases: the Christmases where the tree was like something out of a fairy tale and the wrapping paper covered happiness and hints of magic were everywhere. Eventually, I could no longer deny the truths and practicalities of the holidays.</div>
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Still ‑‑ I love a Christmas tree, the secrets of packages, the gathering of family. There's still a bit of magic in every Christmas.</div>
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<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">And I don't have to turn back the clock to capture it.</span></div>
djhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358259075165671565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250499661666809325.post-54381857531156057792016-11-15T13:16:00.000-05:002016-11-15T13:16:28.017-05:00You can disagree with me...<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8OUrzXrHV6Y/Vbpzg6YgK2I/AAAAAAAAAXU/W23U8SYA32syU_bPL6kK-VKjc9F4qgnZQCPcB/s1600/argument.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8OUrzXrHV6Y/Vbpzg6YgK2I/AAAAAAAAAXU/W23U8SYA32syU_bPL6kK-VKjc9F4qgnZQCPcB/s320/argument.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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...but can't you do so thoughtfully and respectfully? <br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19.32px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 19.32px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm disturbed by the poorly reasoned and hateful way people "discuss" issues these days. I wrote about this problem last year in my (then) local newspaper, and I'm still concerned about the issue. So I'm re-sharing my <a href="https://issuu.com/cincinnati/docs/northeast-suburban-life-072915/1?e=1025128%2F14491617">opinion piece</a> here. (Go to Page 7.) What do you think? Can we disagree civilly?</span></span>djhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358259075165671565noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250499661666809325.post-14156594749571055962016-11-08T14:00:00.000-05:002016-11-08T14:00:34.420-05:00How Teachers Can Discourage Materialism<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k6h6O_fRK3Y/WCIgWqHzAbI/AAAAAAAAAdY/cZ-eXUwmU2oiT1eKbt-PgqU2lgBQ4hWjwCLcB/s1600/materialismphoto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k6h6O_fRK3Y/WCIgWqHzAbI/AAAAAAAAAdY/cZ-eXUwmU2oiT1eKbt-PgqU2lgBQ4hWjwCLcB/s320/materialismphoto.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Materialism may seem like a huge problem that's beyond your control. You can't change our whole society! But you can take action in your classroom to discourage materialism. For suggestions, read <a href="http://jclub.pauline.org/Blog/ArticleID/2827/Materialism-How-to-Discourage-It">my post on the JClub Blog</a>.<br />
djhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358259075165671565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250499661666809325.post-58909880758489584342016-08-03T14:42:00.000-04:002016-08-03T14:42:00.159-04:00Talking About Teens and Their Challenges<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="line-height: 20.8px;">I was interviewed on An Engaging Faith</span><span style="line-height: 20.8px;"> on <a href="http://bit.ly/200FUDN">Breadbox Media</a>. The wonderful host, </span><a href="https://theologyisaverb.com/" style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 20.8px;">Elizabeth Reardon</a><span style="line-height: 20.8px;">,</span><span style="line-height: 20.8px;"> and I talked about my book </span><i style="line-height: 20.8px;"><a href="http://bit.ly/1gPZcIG"><span style="color: #999999;">Tackling Tough Topics with Faith and Fiction</span> </a></i><span style="line-height: 20.8px;">(a faith-based resource for caring adults who want to encourage young teens to live their faith when facing moral challenges)</span><i style="line-height: 20.8px;"> </i><span style="line-height: 20.8px;">as well as a variety of other subjects! You can listen to the podcast of the interview <a href="http://bit.ly/1P4yu0u">here</a>.</span><span style="line-height: 20.8px;"> Tune into An Engaging Faith at 4:00 EST weekdays</span><a href="http://www.breadboxmedia.com/an-engaging-faith-with-elizabeth-reardon.html" style="color: #999999; line-height: 20.8px; text-decoration: none;"> here</a><span style="line-height: 20.8px;">. And check out the other great programs on Breadbox Media</span><span style="line-height: 20.8px;"> <a href="http://bit.ly/200FUDN">here</a>.</span><br />
djhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358259075165671565noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250499661666809325.post-31472557813339728212016-07-20T14:31:00.000-04:002016-07-20T14:31:00.178-04:00Saints Said It!<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-19vzqERWebY/V0NMLPysUYI/AAAAAAAAAc8/fMtjZsgLB1oLh7S8onv3ztU0QXk3RIGzQCLcB/s1600/john%2Bbosco%2Bphoto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-19vzqERWebY/V0NMLPysUYI/AAAAAAAAAc8/fMtjZsgLB1oLh7S8onv3ztU0QXk3RIGzQCLcB/s320/john%2Bbosco%2Bphoto.jpg" width="238" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 19.32px;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 19.32px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Saint John Bosco said: The music of the young should be listened to with the heart and not with the ears.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 19.32px;"><span style="font-size: large;">For more wisdom from the saints, check out my Facebook page, <a href="http://on.fb.me/1103UNM">Saints Said It!</a></span></span>djhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358259075165671565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250499661666809325.post-25855394147692323692016-07-01T14:27:00.000-04:002016-07-01T14:27:07.175-04:00More writing wisdom!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RWK3BkeokCA/UgE4yMcKbFI/AAAAAAAAAMs/bUzs9aQnLNgefby76fqFsI6FhPS4tzdOwCKgB/s1600/MH900446574.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RWK3BkeokCA/UgE4yMcKbFI/AAAAAAAAAMs/bUzs9aQnLNgefby76fqFsI6FhPS4tzdOwCKgB/s400/MH900446574.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A successful book is not made of what is in it, but what is left out of it. Mark Twain</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We write by the light of every story we have ever read. Richard Peck</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A writer's job is to imagine everything so personally that the fiction is as vivid as memories John Irving</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I became insane with long intervals of horrible sanity. Edgar Allan Poe</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">My books are water; those of great geniuses are wine. Everybody drinks water. Mark Twain</span>djhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358259075165671565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250499661666809325.post-31438187264529559342016-06-25T11:00:00.000-04:002016-06-25T11:00:00.169-04:00More writing wisdom!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RWK3BkeokCA/UgE4yMcKbFI/AAAAAAAAAMs/bUzs9aQnLNgefby76fqFsI6FhPS4tzdOwCKgB/s1600/MH900446574.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RWK3BkeokCA/UgE4yMcKbFI/AAAAAAAAAMs/bUzs9aQnLNgefby76fqFsI6FhPS4tzdOwCKgB/s400/MH900446574.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up whenever you felt like it. J.D. Salinger</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them. Ray Bradbury</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug. Mark Twain</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There is no agony like bearing an untold story inside you. Zora Neale Hurston</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Write without pay until someone offers pay. If nobody offers within three years, the candidate may look upon this as a sign that sawing wood is what he was intended for. Mark Twain</span>djhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358259075165671565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250499661666809325.post-74454301145097976412016-06-07T09:30:00.000-04:002016-06-07T09:30:53.007-04:00More Writing Wisdom!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RWK3BkeokCA/UgE4yMcKbFI/AAAAAAAAAMs/bUzs9aQnLNgefby76fqFsI6FhPS4tzdOwCKgB/s1600/MH900446574.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RWK3BkeokCA/UgE4yMcKbFI/AAAAAAAAAMs/bUzs9aQnLNgefby76fqFsI6FhPS4tzdOwCKgB/s400/MH900446574.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">All except the shallowest living involves tearing up one rough draft after another. Msgr. John Sullivan</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I have likened writing a novel to going on a journey with some notion of the destination I will arrive at, but not the whole picture -- which emerges gradually as a series of revelations, as the journey goes along. Rose Tremain</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">What a writer must enjoy, or at least tolerate, is the utterly solitary nature of the work. Lawrence Block</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Writers should be read but neither seen nor heard. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> Daphne DuMaurier</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master. Ernest Hemingway</span>djhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358259075165671565noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250499661666809325.post-89992881297377749242016-05-30T13:57:00.000-04:002016-05-30T13:57:09.943-04:00Saints I Need Now!<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 26px; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-L5sxdGWJ504/V0NEjNgVw7I/AAAAAAAAAcc/h2LiLUt2fZcUWaw7yD-5sINgMK3SVXRLACLcB/s1600/praying%2Bsil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-L5sxdGWJ504/V0NEjNgVw7I/AAAAAAAAAcc/h2LiLUt2fZcUWaw7yD-5sINgMK3SVXRLACLcB/s400/praying%2Bsil.jpg" width="298" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px;">Thanks to my first grade teacher, Sister Celeste, and her dramatic stories about holy people, I developed an early fascination with the saints. Once I could read well enough, I devoured every saint book in our school library and dreamed of growing up to be a martyr. Over the years, I looked to the saints for inspiration and turned to them for help.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px;">I still do.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 26px; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px; text-indent: 0.5in;">But sometimes I find myself wishing for new saints…special saints…saints who fit the life I'm living right now and the problems I wrestle with every day. I recently wrote about these saints-that-don't-exist-but-really-should on the Catholic365 site. If you missed it, you can still read about Saint Peter the Podiatrist, Saint Kitkat Goodbar of Hershey, St. Tardia the Venerable Procrastinator, and all my other imaginary saints<a href="http://bit.ly/1JqdxsK"> </a></span><a href="http://bit.ly/1JqdxsK">here<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px; text-indent: 0.5in;">. </span></a></div>
djhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358259075165671565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250499661666809325.post-85524940175808767762016-05-23T14:53:00.000-04:002016-05-23T14:53:01.144-04:00I get my kicks from Fridgerix!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3lqJwVVSIZw/V0NC8ub6K6I/AAAAAAAAAcQ/cYk264204_0YB0hEWtrR8qo19Yvm24z7ACLcB/s1600/fun2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3lqJwVVSIZw/V0NC8ub6K6I/AAAAAAAAAcQ/cYk264204_0YB0hEWtrR8qo19Yvm24z7ACLcB/s320/fun2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Magnetic poetry can be fun! Read and share at <a href="http://on.fb.me/1MxRgfB">Fridgerix!</a></span>djhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358259075165671565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250499661666809325.post-60553252215571182632016-03-02T16:24:00.001-05:002016-03-02T16:24:32.643-05:00Could we have a moment of silence? Please?<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--HFchvcvSfc/VtdZnjc7EkI/AAAAAAAAAb8/wacY5wZSmBA/s1600/tv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--HFchvcvSfc/VtdZnjc7EkI/AAAAAAAAAb8/wacY5wZSmBA/s320/tv.jpg" width="228" /></a>This was originally published in <em>The Indianapolis Star </em>several years ago, but lately I've been thinking again about the noise of our lives....<br />
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As soon as I start pumping my gas, it begins. A small television on the side of the pump comes to life, and a tiny talking head announces the latest news. Luckily, there’s a mute button. Unluckily, the mute button silences the little man for only ten seconds.<br />
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I never thought of pumping gas as a quiet moment, but now that I can’t escape a news report that I don’t want to hear, I’m suddenly appreciative of my previous gas station experiences. And I wonder: who decided that I couldn’t have that quiet moment?<br />
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Probably the same people who set up televisions in waiting rooms. Waiting around for hours was never great fun, but listening to too-loud cartoons hasn’t made things any better! I used to get this waiting-room zen thing going. It was practically meditation. Now I find myself getting more tense and impatient the longer I have to listen to that grating noise. Another quiet time bites the dust!<br />
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I can understand how someone might think it a good idea to install televisions wherever quiet raises its noiseless head. After all, many of us dislike silence so much that we listen to music every possible waking moment. Boom boxes, radios, IPOD systems fill the air with musical selections that one person has chosen to share with the rest of the world. The music in restaurants and bars drowns out not only the quiet, but also any chance of conversation. Oases like the gas station must have seemed disturbingly peaceful to whatever good Samaritan thought of using televisions to save us all from the sounds of silence.<br />
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Maybe the ever-present noise of televisions in waiting rooms and bars, music in restaurants, radios in passing cars, and cell phones everywhere annoys me because I still have some hearing left! I haven’t deafened myself with years of wearing headphones and listening to music so loud that the people around me can sing along. I don’t have to rattle the windows with my stereo in order to feel that I’m having a good time. And I don’t go to concerts any more, even for the relatively mild-mannered entertainers I like. My last concert required ear plugs just to be bearable!<br />
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I can still hear – and I’m tired of listening! Walking through a mall means being bombarded by constantly changing music as I pass different stores. If a ringing cell phone doesn’t interrupt a movie, somebody’s ongoing commentary will. Other people are always choosing the soundtrack for my life!<br />
<br />
Does silence scare everybody? Are we afraid that we might be forced to interact with a stranger in a TV-free waiting room? If we’re not instantly available by cell phone, do we cease to exist? Without music pounding at our brains, would we have to THINK? And who knows what we might have to do with our kids if we didn’t have computers and televisions and video games!<br />
<br />
I know we don’t have to listen to real birds since we have singing clocks. And we’re really involved with the lives of our television friends and family. And yes, it’s true that music hath charms to soothe every troubling thought out of our heads. But couldn’t we just try a quiet moment now and then?<br />
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Couldn’t we turn it all off?<br />
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And listen?djhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358259075165671565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250499661666809325.post-49834024017594309282016-02-19T10:25:00.000-05:002016-02-19T10:25:02.425-05:00Fridgerix Fun<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PffdzxYeYs0/VscyvpX5gyI/AAAAAAAAAbo/N9O_awXyw5A/s1600/fun3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PffdzxYeYs0/VscyvpX5gyI/AAAAAAAAAbo/N9O_awXyw5A/s400/fun3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Yes, poetry can be fun! Read and share refrigerator poetry on my Facebook page<a href="http://www.facebook.com/fridgerix"> Fridgerix. </a></span>djhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358259075165671565noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250499661666809325.post-28429880196373328632016-02-12T10:29:00.001-05:002016-02-12T10:29:40.122-05:00More Writing Wisdom!<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RWK3BkeokCA/UgE4yMcKbFI/AAAAAAAAAMs/DlF48RAQVNw/s1600/MH900446574.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RWK3BkeokCA/UgE4yMcKbFI/AAAAAAAAAMs/DlF48RAQVNw/s400/MH900446574.JPG" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Only the hand that erases can write the true thing. Meister Eckhart </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately no one knows what they are. Somerset Maugham</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Write your story as it needs to be written. Write it honestly, and tell it as best you can. I'm not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter. Neil Gaiman</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The ear is the only true writer. Robert Frost</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I didn't have time to write you a short letter so I wrote you a long one. Mark Twain</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The road to hell is paved with adverbs. Stephen King </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">All except the shallowest living involves tearing up one rough draft after another. Msgr. John Sullivan</span>djhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358259075165671565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250499661666809325.post-75224571355203670342016-01-25T11:06:00.001-05:002016-01-25T11:06:40.012-05:00Saints Said It!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m4USFv1e_KU/VqZHgmONRjI/AAAAAAAAAbU/BiBM0FDNtqM/s1600/BASIL%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m4USFv1e_KU/VqZHgmONRjI/AAAAAAAAAbU/BiBM0FDNtqM/s400/BASIL%255B1%255D.jpg" width="303" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 19.32px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Many a man curses the rain that falls upon his head, and knows not that it brings abundance to drive away the hunger.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20.8px;">Those words of wisdom come from Saint Basil the Great</span><span class="userContent" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20.8px;">. For more inspirational quotes from the saints, check out my Facebook page <a href="http://www.facebook.com/saintssaidit" style="color: #999999; text-decoration: none;">Saints Said It. </a></span>djhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358259075165671565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250499661666809325.post-11096217154578375272016-01-15T13:37:00.000-05:002016-01-15T13:37:34.498-05:00Talking Teens and Their Challenges<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9z2Q6dF4YAM/Vpk75fPCCeI/AAAAAAAAAbA/F3LRqsM_KXc/s1600/faith%2Band%2Bfiction%2Bcover%2Bsingle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9z2Q6dF4YAM/Vpk75fPCCeI/AAAAAAAAAbA/F3LRqsM_KXc/s320/faith%2Band%2Bfiction%2Bcover%2Bsingle.jpg" width="246" /></a></div>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y58vGobxXN8/Vpk7i8H_MsI/AAAAAAAAAa4/NMM5G3eRYnk/s1600/engaging%2Bfaith%2Blogo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
I was recently interviewed on <a href="http://www.breadboxmedia.com/an-engaging-faith-with-elizabeth-reardon.html">An Engaging Faith</a> on Breadbox Media. The wonderful host,<a href="http://theologyisaverb.com/"> Elizabeth Reardon</a>, and I talked about my book <i><a href="http://store.pauline.org/english/books/productid/4382/sortfield/productname?txtsearch=tackling+tough+topics#gsc.tab=0">Tackling Tough Topics with Faith and Fiction</a> </i>(a faith-based resource for caring adults who want to encourage young teens to live their faith when facing moral challenges)<i> </i>as well as a variety of other subjects! You can listen to the podcast of the interview <a href="http://breadboxmedia.podbean.com/e/an-engaging-faith-with-diana-jenkins/">here</a>. Tune into An Engaging Faith at 4:00 EST weekdays<a href="http://www.breadboxmedia.com/an-engaging-faith-with-elizabeth-reardon.html"> here</a>. And check out the other great programs on <a href="http://www.breadboxmedia.com/shows-of-breadox-media.html">Breadbox Media</a> here.</span>djhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358259075165671565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250499661666809325.post-51447543707616365892016-01-08T14:45:00.000-05:002016-01-08T14:45:11.724-05:00Writing Wisdom<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RWK3BkeokCA/UgE4yMcKbFI/AAAAAAAAAMs/DlF48RAQVNw/s1600/MH900446574.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RWK3BkeokCA/UgE4yMcKbFI/AAAAAAAAAMs/DlF48RAQVNw/s400/MH900446574.JPG" width="400" /></a>More quotes from my collection!<br />
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A writer is a person for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people. Thomas Mann<br />
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The best thing that can happen in life is when you start work at eight o'clock and somebody says it's time for coffee break and you don't want to go. Stephen King<br />
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The writer's magic word is BIC -- butt in chair. Jane Yolen<br />
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A writer's job is to imagine everything so personally that the fiction is as vivid as memories. John Irving<br />
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Learn to love revision. Wally Lamb<br />
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Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words. Mark Twain<br />
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The universe is made of stories, not of atoms. <br />
Muriel Rukeyserdjhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358259075165671565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250499661666809325.post-82303563463545071912015-12-30T14:43:00.002-05:002015-12-30T14:43:18.642-05:00Resolutions I'm Going to Keep This Year (I mean it this time! Really!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Bn0BlmdYfoM/TwS8Xeli1bI/AAAAAAAAAHA/2-7MXkCzVQo/s1600/new%2Byear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Bn0BlmdYfoM/TwS8Xeli1bI/AAAAAAAAAHA/2-7MXkCzVQo/s320/new%2Byear.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">1.) Behave like a paragon of virtue.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">2.) Keep my home spotless.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">3.) Cook gourmet meals.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">4.) Lose lots of weight anyway.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">5.) Write a bestselling series of kids' books that appeal to children and adults alike and leave Harry Potter in the dust.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">6.) Stick to projects until they are</span>djhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358259075165671565noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250499661666809325.post-43252182371356102262015-12-22T13:44:00.001-05:002015-12-22T13:45:39.564-05:00Saints I Need -- Now!<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 26px; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yXJR731P5D8/VcjH7sCtxQI/AAAAAAAAAX4/jM1-QLqcd4s/s1600/praying%2Bsil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yXJR731P5D8/VcjH7sCtxQI/AAAAAAAAAX4/jM1-QLqcd4s/s400/praying%2Bsil.jpg" width="298" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px;">Thanks to my first grade teacher, Sister Celeste, and her dramatic stories about holy people, I developed an early fascination with the saints. Once I could read well enough, I devoured every saint book in our school library and dreamed of growing up to be a martyr. Over the years, I looked to the saints for inspiration and turned to them for help.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px;">I still do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px; text-indent: 0.5in;">But sometimes I find myself wishing for new saints…special saints…saints who fit the life I'm living right now and the problems I wrestle with every day. I recently wrote about these saints-that-don't-exist-but-really-should on the Catholic365 site. If you missed it, you can still read about Saint Peter the Podiatrist, Saint Kitkat Goodbar of Hershey, St. Tardia the Venerable Procrastinator, and all my other imaginary saints </span><a href="http://www.catholic365.com/article/1990/saints-i-need-now.html">here<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 32px; text-indent: 0.5in;">. </span></a></div>
djhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358259075165671565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250499661666809325.post-17192491351570408682015-11-18T12:14:00.001-05:002015-11-19T14:01:47.202-05:00Celebrate the Season!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lafMIJn0pBM/TM75biOPxgI/AAAAAAAAAEw/-Qfenrv_YpI/s1600/celebrateseasoncover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lafMIJn0pBM/TM75biOPxgI/AAAAAAAAAEw/-Qfenrv_YpI/s400/celebrateseasoncover.jpg" width="282" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you're looking for a kids' book about this special time of year, consider </span><em style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Celebrate the Season! Twelve Short Stories for Advent and Christmas </em><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">available at </span><a href="http://bit.ly/1wDI7Yt">Pauline Books</a>.<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> This collection (which includes some of my stories) evokes the joy and meaning of the season. Kids 8-12 years old enjoy the stories, and teachers and parents find the book useful since each story is follow by "Questions to Think and Talk About." Would it make a nice gift for someone on your Christmas list?</span>djhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358259075165671565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250499661666809325.post-24026773987295971842015-11-16T10:16:00.002-05:002015-11-16T10:16:23.659-05:00Cats in Trouble!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uhW7Gk2-y48/VknyqACDh_I/AAAAAAAAAag/1ZURsueZLjs/s1600/catsneakcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uhW7Gk2-y48/VknyqACDh_I/AAAAAAAAAag/1ZURsueZLjs/s320/catsneakcover.jpg" width="197" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">I've enjoyed all of this mystery series by my talented friend <a href="http://www.leannsweeney.com/">Leann Sweeney</a>, and I'm always looking forward to the next book! The characters are wonderful – both human and animal – and the mysteries are intriguing. (And, no, the stuff about the animals is not cutesy! The cats are always important to the mystery and skillfully woven into the story.) Leann throws in a little romance, a little sadness, and a little humor to create wonderful books that are hard to put down. The Cat, the Sneak, and the Secret is a great addition to the series. Poor Jillian Hart has to deal with planning a wedding and solving a mystery at the same time! Get the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Cat-Sneak-Secret-Trouble/dp/0451415434/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8">here</a>!</span>djhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358259075165671565noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250499661666809325.post-87357223656106986032015-11-12T13:19:00.000-05:002015-11-12T13:19:42.285-05:00Fantastic New Book for Middle Graders!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hIH9dug6xmA/VkTXb7pgl7I/AAAAAAAAAaM/6Q6oyhpK9Kc/s1600/biospherecover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="326" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hIH9dug6xmA/VkTXb7pgl7I/AAAAAAAAAaM/6Q6oyhpK9Kc/s400/biospherecover.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a class="a-link-normal go-to-top" href="http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Biosphere-Earth-Science-Scientists/dp/0544416643/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447351789&sr=8-1&keywords=inside+biosphere+2+earth+science+under+glass#" id="miniATF_titleLink" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;">Inside Biosphere 2: Earth Science Under Glass </a><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; line-height: 19px;">tells the story of the original Biosphere experiment, but it doesn’t stop there. With well-written text by Mary Kay Carson and remarkable photographs by Tom Uhlman,this amazing book takes us inside this unique research facility and lets us follow the scientists who work there. While readers learn about the researchers and their experiments, they'll also pick up information about photosynthesis, soil erosion, solar energy, animal survival, and other topics related to environmental science. This book paints a fascinating picture of scientists at work and brings scientific method to life. Highly recommended! Get it <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Biosphere-Earth-Science-Scientists/dp/0544416643/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447351789&sr=8-1&keywords=inside+biosphere+2+earth+science+under+glass">here</a>!</span></span>djhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358259075165671565noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6250499661666809325.post-51705853885095067552015-11-10T16:00:00.003-05:002015-11-10T16:00:39.979-05:00Another great character...another great book for young teens!<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oufEqXJCLfo/VkJaAbZR2oI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/Byh-DKiF_Jg/s1600/nextdoorcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oufEqXJCLfo/VkJaAbZR2oI/AAAAAAAAAZ4/Byh-DKiF_Jg/s320/nextdoorcover.jpg" width="198" /></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-size: large;">In <i>Next Door to a Star, </i>Krysten Lindsay Hager has created another great character who is believable, relevant, and relatable for young teens. Hadley Daniels is spending the summer with her grandparents who live next door to a teenage television star. Hadley has never had much of a social life, but she meets her celebrity neighbor and tries to become friends with her and her group. It's not easy! Over the summer – and even afterwards – Hadley struggles with the ins and outs, ups and downs, joys and sorrows of relationships. Young readers will identify with her and enjoy sharing her journey. Hager nails Hadley's first-person voice as well as her dialogue with friends and family. Hoping for a sequel!</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-size: large;">(Isn't this a great cover?)</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #111111; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Get the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Next-Door-To-A-Star-ebook/dp/B0149HTAK0/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8">here</a>!</span></span>djhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358259075165671565noreply@blogger.com0