APRIL IS FOR AUTHORS 2012

I'm still recovering from the amazing author/book festival this past Saturday in Palm Beach Gardens. 

Sue Sloan and Helen Zientek, along with a hundred volunteers, knocked it out of the park with their 2nd annual APRIL IS FOR AUTHORS event!

Two dozen authors, from all over the country, came in for the event.  For a full list of authors, click here.

Group Photo of the Authors at the 2012 April is for Authors Event

In my first session, a mother told me her son enjoyed How to Survive Middle School and her daughter loved my new book, Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen, and they drove all the way from Ocala (3-1/2 hours away) for the event. 

Kaycee from Ocala

Tom Angleberger, Mary Monroe and I shared a panel discussion that was moderated by the Palm Beach Gardens mayor, David Levy.  We had a lot of fun with the crowd.

The next panel was comprised of Sharon Draper, Lisa Graff, Claudia Mills and me.  The standing room only crowd had great questions, and it felt like we spent the entire time laughing.  What a blast!  Emily Minor, from the Palm Beach Post, did an excellent job moderating the panel.

My favorite part, as always, was meeting the teachers, librarians, parents and wonderful kids.

Angela

 

 

Haley

 

 

Elizabeth and her dad, Chris

I had time to sneak in a delicious lunch in the author room.  (Yes, there were brownies.)  And I got to chat with some of MY favorite authors.  Also, snuck into Alex Flinn's talk, which I really enjoyed.

Alex Flinn, reading from one of her books

A big thank you to my author escort, Lisa Petroccia, whom I believe I owe a lunch.  (Lisa is such a wonderful media specialist and an ardent supporter that I made her a character in How to Survive Middle School.)  Hint:  Be nice to authors; you never know when we may put you in one of our novels.

I'm already looking forward to April 27, 2013, when the 3rd annual APRIL IS FOR AUTHORS will take place!

Fun at Independence Middle School and Barnes & Noble

Which response was given by 6th graders to the question:  "What might be a good place for a writer to begin her journey?"

A)  Your home
B)  School
C)  Anywhere
D)  A toaster
E)  All of the above

The answer is E) All of the above.  Middle school kids are so much fun!  The smart-aleck boy who said, "Um, a toaster" will definitely land in a novel someday.  My favorite answer, though, is C) Anywhere because thought and truth went into that answer.

Had a blast talking with 400 6th graders at Independence Middle School yesterday afternoon.

That was followed by a two-hour event at Barnes & Noble, where students played flute, wind instruments and sang.  Lots of proud parents snapping photos.

I LOVED meeting young readers and chatting with them and their parents.

Here I am with Hannah.

A big THANK YOU to Lisa Petroccia (who appears in my book How to Survive Middle School) for inviting me.  And thanks to Lauren Pfretzschner for hosting me at Barnes & Noble.

Lauren Pfretzschner, me and Lisa Petroccia

First School Visit . . . with a Twist

Yesterday, I had the great pleasure of speaking to the 6th grade students at Independence Middle School -- my first school visit of the year.

Go, Eagles!

This is what the cafetorium looked like before 400 students and teachers streamed in . . .

What a great group of kids! After listening to my talk, "6-1/2 Ways to Survive and Thrive in Middle School," they all turned to our son, Jake, who was sitting in the back row. And because it was his 16th birthday, 400 exuberant voices sang "Happy Birthday." It was a blast!

That evening, the amazing Lisa Petroccia, media specialist (and a character in my novel), arranged for me to sign books at Barnes and Noble in conjunction with the school's book fair.

It was wonderful. The choir sang, students played clarinet, teachers arrived as did the principal, Ms. Bonino (also a character in my novel). And lots of friends stopped by, too. (Hey, Deborah!)

The best part was having a chance to chat with the kids while I signed books. And they got to meet Hammy the Hamster and shake his paw. (Hammy is a stuffed toy.) It was a fabulous event!

Then my favorite guys in the whole world came to pick me up.

(Jake, pretending to be me, Dan and Andrew)

We took Jake out for a late celebratory dinner at the Melting Pot. I mean, you only turn 16 once. And what better way to celebrate than with 400 6th graders singing to you, um, I mean with a plate of desserts to dip into warm chocolate?

Love you, Bud!

And now, for the obligatory cute dog photo . . .

Benji (aka Butthead)

A Secret . . .

Yesterday, I had my last school visit until the fall.

I told the 400 6th graders at Independence Middle School that I'd tell them a secret at the end of my presentation.

After I introduced them to Hammy the Hamster, gave my "6-1/2 Ways to Survive Middle School" talk and read the fight scene in the cafeteria from HOW TO SURVIVE MIDDLE SCHOOL, I shared the secret.

My book is based on their school. Even though it says otherwise, the cafeteria is their cafeteria, the courtyard their courtyard and the studio where the news is created is theirs as well. I included their principal and media specialist as actual characters in the novel.

In fact, Lisa Petroccia, uber-amazing media specialist has been so wonderful and supportive that she appears as a character and is in the acknowledgements page as well.

Lisa made my visit a delightful and memorable one with her careful and thoughtful planning. The students remembered me from my visit earlier in the year and made me feel like a rock star.

What a fun way to end a whirlwind of school visits, book festival and bookstore appearances and conference talks.

(I'd have photos to share if my computer hadn't died this morning.)

So, for now, I'm going to take a break from this blog and focus on writing the next book and on enjoying time with family and friends.

Play nicely while I'm gone and have a happy, healthy summer!

Here Comes the Judge . . .

This afternoon, I had the pleasure of helping judge the delightful essays written by 6th and 7th grade students at Independence Middle School.

Some of the essays nearly had me in tears while others made me laugh out loud. I wish there were more than two prizes for each grade.

Winners won't be announced till Tuesday, so I can't say a word, but I want to congratulate all the students on writing such terrific essays!

And thanks to Lisa Petroccia, Media Specialist, who organized the event and provided a delicious lunch.

Here's a photo of Lisa and Frank Cerabino (one of the other judges), fabulously funny local news columnist for the Palm Beach Post.


I'm off to a (supposedly) haunted inn with Hubby this weekend. I'll let you know if we bump into any ghosts in the night.

Have a great weekend!
Donna