More About Dreams

I don't intend to post something new here every day, but I just read a picture book that ties in so well with yesterday's post that I couldn't wait to tell you about it. It's called Jamie's Dream and tells about a little boy who wants to get a dream for his mother. The book is a cute fantasy involving a dragon and a unicorn written by Susan Berger and Christopher Corbin. The authors are a mother and son and Christopher helped Susan write the book when he was only nine years old. Getting it published must have been a dream come true for both of them even though it didn't happen until many years later. The words "believing is seeing" are repeated several times in the story and the book itself shows that at least sometimes that's true. So please keep believing in your dream, whatever it may be.  

Don't Drop the Dream

From early childhood I wanted to be an author when I grew up and majored in English in college. My first semester at UC Berkeley a professor asked me what I wanted to do after graduation. When I replied, "Be a writer," he told me, "You'll never make it. You have no creativity."

Since he was a brilliant university professor I believed him and gave up the idea of ever getting published though, of course, I continued to write. About twenty-five years later I remembered that conversation and realized I'd been trying to write everything in his class according to the thesis sentence outline required to pass the college entrance exam. I'd been trying to be as uncreative as possible. I wrote down a story I'd been telling my kids, sent it off, and it was accepted right away. I even got paid for it. And that was just the beginning of my writing career.

So if you have a dream of becoming a writer, don't give up. If it's what you're called to do and you keep on trying, your dream may come true. 

New and Different

First I must apologize for not posting much recently. I've been overwhelmed with other things, but promise to do better from now on. One of those things is signing a contract for a picture book. My work has been published in periodicals for years, but this is my first book, and in today's world authors are responsible to do a lot of the marketing and publicity. The amount of information about how to do that is amazing. It's about what you'd expect from a whole semester class in college. 

Although blogging is one marketing tool mentioned in the material, I won't turn this blog into just a way to advertise my book. There will still be posts about compassionate communication and I'll probably review other people's books from time to time, but I'll also share information about how I became a writer and the steps it takes to get a book published and made available to people who would want to buy it. I hope you'll come back and join me on the journey.

The Shack

Although I seldom read books because they're best sellers I just finished reading The Shack. If not for the foreword I might not have kept reading through the next 15 pages describing an idyllic family life and beautiful scenery, but when the action finally started it was gripping. The book is an excellent example of compassionate communication and the author (or authors?) manage to include deep theological information naturally through the action and dialogue. I found the book inspiring and can certainly understand why it's selling so well. If you haven't read it yet and would like to learn more, try this URL:  www.theshackbook.com.

Bullies

The other day I read an article in a magazine at a doctor's office about how to keep from being a victim of bullies. The article was in the September edition of Wondertime and can be found at their website, http://wondertime.go.com. It refers to a book called Bullies to Buddies by Izzy Kalman.

Basically the information says bullying is a game that's won by getting the target person upset, and the best way to avoid being bullied is by not getting angry or scared. 

I know the method works because of some personal experiences, including one in my childhood. I was the class victim and a total coward, but one day I did something brave. A neighborhood bully had knocked me down on the sidewalk and was sitting on my chest, ready to punch me in the face. Nobody else was around, so I had no hope, but for some reason I calmly explained that she was unpopular because she was a bully and kids would like her better if she stopped hurting them. She got up, left me alone, and never bothered me again. She moved away soon afterwards so I don't know if she ever took my advice.

I suggest that anyone who works with kids, has kids, or is victimized by bullies check out the article mentioned above or go to Kalman's website, www.bullies2buddies.com.

Turning the other cheek really does work.

Mistmantle

I've recently read a fantasy series for kids called The Mistmantle Chronicles. Written by a British author, these books are similar to many because they're about talking animals living in a medieval-like setting. But there have been lots of books like that published because kids enjoy them. This series has some unique plotlines, well-drawn characters and the magic is not the standard sort. People who don't read the series in order and some younger readers might find the multiple characters a bit confusing, but escaping to a world where life is exciting and dangerous but good always triumphs makes the series well worth reading. 

Tough Compassion

Compassion means to "feel with" someone else. Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller, written by Sarah Miller, is a wonderful example of that. This book is officially fiction, but Miller did so much historical research and writes so well it's almost like the reader is actually watching through a window as Annie Sullivan struggles to reach the blind, deaf, and extremely spoiled young Helen. Readers will gain a new appreciation of their senses while experiencing this page-turner and realize the appropriateness of the beautiful cover art. I highly recommend this book.