  An Interview with Stacey Corrigan Meet Stacey Corrigan! She’s pure Michigan! She grew up in Elkton, went to Michigan State for her bachelor’s degree, and to Saginaw Valley State for her masters. Now she lives in Elkton with her husband, two boys, and a Beagle. When she’s not home, she’s teaching second-grade. I’m pure Ohio, but I’m happy to meet a second-grade colleague from up north. I can even say, except for one Saturday during football season, “Go Spartans!”  This is Stacey’s cover. Meet the Pencil Eater! He’s on the scene and hunting for some tasty treats. He tries his local elementary school, but he only runs into more problems. Poor Pencil Eater! I hope he finally gets his snack! Would you believe this story came from Stacey’s second grade classroom? Read her interview to find out where she got her debut idea! Stacey’s Interview Link: http://onthescenein19.weebly.com/blog/an-interview-with-author-stacey-corrigan
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Did you know books have birthdays just like people do? Neil was supposed to have his book birthday, or his book launch on May 1st. Then I pushed it back to May 7th. That’s my birthday, but that didn’t work out either so I set it up for today, May 17th. This time IT WORKED!  This is the full cover PDF for my hardback book. I have another one for the paperback. I took a picture of it because I couldn’t upload a PDF into Weebly or Word. Cole did both covers. Do you see sets of lines around it. These are Cole’s guide lines for Ingram. They help them print the cover. I didn’t know about any of this till I decided to self-publish this book, and Cole showed me how all this worked, BEAUTIFULLY! I’m a fan of his work!  This is the back cover. I wanted you to be able to read it. The top lines in black are a summary of the story. In aqua there’s a quote from Mr. Robert G. Bryant, PhD, Eagle Scout, NASA Senior Research Engineer, and in the Space Hall of Fame. WOW! I asked Rob to do a quote for my book because I know him. How? I’m a 2nd grade teacher, remember? His son is marrying my daughter. I asked him, but with the condition he didn’t have to do it, especially if he didn’t like the book. I was so relieved that he did! My guess is that his favorite part is the back matter. That’s where I have directions for making your own wind tunnel. REALLY! The last quote in aqua is from Patricia A Johnson. She wasn’t a rocket scientist, but, she was my middle school English teacher. Would you believe when she read it, she found 3 mistakes? I corrected 2. I didn’t on the 3rd because it made me add words that didn’t move the story, so I kept it as is.  This is Amazon’s link for the paperback book. I couldn’t believe when I went in today and found it. Wow! What a feeling! Amazon has it in both hardback and paperback form. It says it ships in a few days. Why? My printer is IngramSparks, and they print on demand. https://www.amazon.com/dp/173358921X/ref=sr_1_2qid=1558140550&refinements=p_27%3ARinda+Beach&s=books&sr=1-2&text=Rinda+Beach Here’s the link for Barnes and Noble. They have the hardback and paperback books too. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/neil-armstrongs-wind-tunnel-dream-rinda-beach/1131285260?ean=9781733589215 Both Amazon and Barnes will have an eBook available soon. It’s cheaper if you want to wait. Ingram is adding in a Trademark to the copyright page. That’s the reason I had to hold off on Neil’s book birthday since May 1st. The Foundation at Purdue was given Trademark authority in 2015 by Neil Armstrong’s family, and yesterday I got my permission agreement. HOORAY! I put in the change for the copyright on the paper and hardback copies. They came through last night so I put them into sell. Now the only other thing missing is my bio information. That will be one of my next projects! If you would like an autographed plate, just email me, and I’ll be glad to snail mail it to you. If you live near Wapak, you can get a copy from me directly, autographed of course! They’ll also be on sale locally at Casa Chic and at Riverside Art Center. I can work with them to get you an autographed copy. I am SO thrilled to celebrate Neil Armstrong’s Wind Tunnel Dream’s book birthday with all of you!   An Interview with Annette Schottenfeld Meet Annette Schottenfeld! She’s On the Scene with a book . . . and a couple recipes! Annette isn’t just an expert baker, she’s a registered dietician! She writes for kids, and she also writes about food, nutrition, and fitness. She’s known for her secret recipe for Uglie Muffin. I don’t care if it’s ugly, as long as it’s YUMMY! Check out her interview, and her recipe for Rock ‘n Geode Cookies too! When she’s not cooking or writing about food, Annette is into hip-hop dance and environmental issues. That’s how she found her first book idea, from an actual event that happened in Africa. Annette isn’t from Africa. She lives in New York with her husband, two kids, and dog Rupert. He thinks he’s a little rhino, sometimes, and he was glad to help her write her debut book.  This is Annette’s cover, for now! I can’t wait to see the real one! I’m imagining it from her book description – Obi is a little rhino, and drought-stricken Zimbabwe is just too hot for him. He tries to beat the heat with a mud bath, but he gets his snout stuck in one mess after another. You’ll have to read the book sometime later in 2019 to find out if Obi finally beats the heat. Not only is Obi’s Mud Bath based on a real story, it has STEM connections and will be giving back to communities who have water issues like Obi’s home in Zimbabwe. Annette’s Interview Link: http://onthescenein19.weebly.com/blog/an-interview-with-author-annette-schottenfeld  Need a few great books? These are free if you enter the Springtime Surprise Book Giveaway and WIN! You can enter each day for 10 more days to get them – FREE! But you MUST enter to win. Click on this link! Cross your fingers! I hope the odds are ever in your favor!
Link: https://www.kingsumo.com/g/g4y8mq/springtime-surprise-book-giveaway?fbclid=IwAR3nGb54Us7kKEkj27YMH4rvUszt5wYfx35JeMwKMxC4wEaAzj0FWdsA0yU  What five-finger exercise is a piece of music written for the purpose of practicing on what instrument? Sax Trombone Violin Piano The Answer: The Piano
I didn’t know Chopin’s etudes are also designed to train the fingers. Etude opus 10 is his best set of exercises, according to my source. They also suggested that Fur Elise by Beethoven may have been written to promote piano dexterity. I played it, loved it, but never guessed it was about fingering, not Elise. Would you believe science has studied piano exercises? George A. Kochevitsky wrote a book about it, and it even includes his thoughts about Chopin and his etudes. Sources: en.wikipedia.org https://quizzclub.com/games/bonus/a-five-finger-exercise-is-a-piece-of-music-written-for-the-purpose-of-practicing-on-what-instrument/answer/180365/
I started lessons in 3rd grade with Mrs. Cliffwell. I took lessons for 2 years until she retired. I don’t remember my 2nd teacher. I think it’s because I developed some bad habits like the girl in the picture. Her hands are flat, and her arms are slumped down. Mrs. Frazier whipped me back into shape. She taught me to hold my fingers like claws, using my hand and arm like 1 long lever to control those fingers. You can’t play fast or complicated pieces with slumping hands. I blossomed under her teaching. I did district solo contests where judges rated my performances. I always got 1’s or 2’s. I also accompanied the middle school choir. That led to playing for a few vocal contest soloists. I loved Mrs. Frazier! Then she retired too!  Did you guess which 2 instruments I played in concert and in marching band? I played the clarinet and the alto saxophone. They’re the 2 instruments to the left of the trombone. I started playing the clarinet in 4th grade, a year after I started piano lessons. A lot of kids struggled to learn their instrument and the notes. I had it easy. I only had to learn the clarinet.
 It made clarinet easy and helped me to win 1st chair when we started competing for seats. I still remember my band teacher from elementary school. Mr. Trunk directed our first concert with all the instruments put together. It was a horrible version of something like MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB. In middle school my band teacher was Miss Souder. She scared the bejesus out of me till the candy run-in. You fund band by doing things like selling candy bars. My dad wouldn’t let me sell so I had to go in and tell Miss Souder. OH MY! She was furious, and I burst into tears. She reined in her temper, and she soon became one of my all-time favorite teachers. Miss Souder gave private lessons, and she was strict, but she always pushed you to do your best. She pushed me to go to district solo contests. I was first-chair through middle school because of piano training, my drive, and Miss Souder’s lessons. She pushed me to do an all-district band. I wasn’t first chair, but I was still in the first section. Each spring Miss Souder gave away scholarships for Ball State’s music summer camp to one 8th grader, one 9th. I won in 9th grade, and it gave me a musical peek outside Northwest Ohio. I discovered I was good, but everyone else was better. I wasn’t 1st chair or even 1st section. I was third. It was a humbling experience, but I learned a lot, and I was determined to get better.  This is me in marching band. I picked up the alto saxophone because clarinets weren’t brass instruments. Mr. Trunk from elementary school was my band teacher again, and he wanted an all brass band like the Ohio State Marching Band. I played saxophone during marching season, from June till November. Then I switched back to clarinet for concert band. In high school I found my last piano teacher, Mrs. Skinner, but I called her Anita. She played violin and piano. She was younger than all my other teachers. She had two little kids, and I wanted to be like her. I kept doing contest with piano and clarinet, but never with saxophone, and I continued to do well with 1’s and 2’s, till my senior year. That’s when I met a boy.  Everything changed after that, I spent less time with my music and more time with the boy. That year I went to a piano solo contest. For the first time I wasn’t ready. I had to memorize the piece, and I didn’t spend enough time on it. I fell apart and forgot where I was. Somehow, I managed to finish.
The judge was a music professor from Bowling Green University. He gave me a 3, my worst score ever, but he gave me the kindest comment. He told me I had potential, but I needed to invest the time, 1-2 hours per instrument, per day. I thought about what he said, and I left music behind. I didn’t want to invest the time to become a musician or a music teacher. After high school I quit the piano and clarinet, but I never stopped loving music. It’s the gift that keeps giving whenever I turn on the radio. I became an elementary teacher and taught 2nd grade. One of the gifts I gave my students was the gift of music. I never played for them, but I was known for occasionally singing and dancing around the room, with whatever song crossed my mind. Tonight, in the words of Kiki Dee, I still have the music in me. Here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLQRW7J_D0U My birthday was yesterday, May 7th, but this is me and my birthday suit on May 3rd. My mother gave me shopping money as a birthday present . . . she does know me well! There’s nothing better than shopping, the hunt for a deal, for something that makes me feel 40, no LOL! I shopped till I had $12 left, just enough money to buy a book at the Marvelous Midwest SCBWI conference.  I took the first picture on Friday. I can’t do selfies so I took a picture using the mirror. Did you notice there’s no smile? I have to concentrate so hard that there’s no room for my brain to smile, really! The other 3 pictures were taken by friends. I can smile when someone else takes the picture. So what did I buy with my mother’s gift money? I went to Casa Chic, one of my favorite Wapak stores. There was a poncho I looked at two weeks ago, but I couldn’t spend the money for it. Now thanks to my mom, I did! I love it! I feel like I’m wearing a Tiffany lamp, poncho-style.  My book is a library book, and it’s my mentor text for the middle grade manuscript I’ve worked on for 8 years. Thanks to ESCAPE FROM BAXTER’S BARN, I wrote the first chapter well enough that my Writing Magic Critique Group told me I’d finally achieved middle grade quality. YES! Now I’m buying the book so I can mark it up to help me write the rest of my manuscript. I hope with the help of this great mentor text, that my story will finally be good enough to tempt an agent or editor, but first, I have lots of hard work to do.  This is the rest of my birthday suit. The jewelry and dress are more treasures from Casa Chic. I’ve been looking for a necklace that reminds me of the earth. This one swirled with blue and aqua, plus two sets of earrings matched it. I bought them all! And the dress, WOW! I loved it at first sight. Then I put it on. I felt cute! Like I was young again, and that’s a great thing! Plus look at the sleeves and that 60’s pattern. I couldn’t resist!  These pictures were from the Marvelous Midwest SCBWI conference. It was carnival night, and Merrill Rainey drew caricatures. He’s a talented illustrator who donated his services FREE for the carnival. I think he got me, but I had to edit the text . . . Merrill wrote, “It’s THE POOP DECK! NOT! I have a dock at the lake, and the ducks think it’s their personal poop deck. Merrill remembered that part, but forgot the ‘NOT!’ Don’t worry! I added it later, in RED!   An Interview with Vanessa Keel Meet Vanessa Keel! She left a successful career in Advertising with clients like Walt Disney to stay home with a new baby boy. He is such a cutie! Now she also has time to write children’s stories. In October she’ll publish her first book thanks to SCBWI and the Children’s Book Academy. Congratulations, Vanessa! When Vanessa’s not writing, she’s a busy mom and dog-lover. It’s no wonder her first book is about raising awareness for service dogs, especially for Merlin’s Kids. That’s an incredible group that rescues shelter dogs and prepares them for a forever home with a special-needs child. What a great group, and what a great story to tell!  This is Vanessa’s cover! Boomer is a service dog without a home or a job. When an unexpected guest disrupts the Pupperdine Academy graduation, Boomer decides to go on a quest to find a family of his own. He runs into a few obstacles, but a furry feline changes his life forever, and Boomer finds his special home, his special job. Vanessa says we’ll never guess what it is . . . that we’ll have to wait to read about it when Boomer makes his October debut. I can’t wait!
Vanessa’s Interview Link: http://onthescenein19.weebly.com/blog/an-interview-with-author-vanessa-keel   An Interview with Sarah Glenn Fortson Meet Sarah Glenn Fortson! I think she had the best writing start ever! Her teacher, Sister Mary Angeline, pulled her aside, shook her finger in her face and said, “Sarah Glenn Fortson, if you don’t do something with your writing it will be a sin.” Wow! That is a HUGE compliment from an English teacher. Sarah took her advice and went into journalism for her undergraduate major. Sarah went on to get 2 degrees in education, and she also went to work. She’s been a teacher, a consultant, a coordinator, an administrator, but she never lost sight of her writing or Sister Mary Angeline’s advice. Sarah also has a life beyond education and writing. She lives in two cities, Chicago and Atlanta, so she’s always traveling, either between them or to someplace special. Her favorite thing about traveling is finding unusual stories along the way, but I don’t think Sarah ever leaves stories completely behind. Even when she’s escaping into hiking and painting, she’s still listening to stories on Audible. She’s my kind of person!  This is Sarah’s temporary cover. The real one is in the works. Sarah’s not worried because her book releases this October.
Sarah’s story is SO cute! With her ten-gallon hat and two-quart diaper, Cowgirl A.K. has no time for the potty. REALLY! She’s got horses to harness, fences to varnish, and spurs that tarnish. I can’t WAIT to see how A.K is convinced to go potty, but I’ll bet it’s a rootin’, tootin’ story! Sarah Glenn Fortson's Interview Link: http://onthescenein19.weebly.com/blog/an-interview-with-author-sarah-glenn-fortson  Earth Day 2019 was April 22, but every day should be Earth Day. Do you know which country puts out the most carbon? Your choices: USA China India Japan Russia The answer: China Tomorrow: Details about each country and tips to be a good Earth citizen every day. Can you find the countries below? Start on the western side of the Earth. Find a light green country. That’s the United States. Now go east across the ocean to a huge yellow country at the top of the world. That’s Russia. Go south to an orange country. That’s China.  Next go east of China and Russia into the ocean. Find a chain of islands that’s half pink, half purple. That’s Japan. Finally go back to China. Travel south to a large green peninsula. That’s India. These are the world’s 5 top polluters. I don’t think any of them want to be on this list. Here are 2 charts that show 2 different ways to wrap your head around the numbers. 2015 Total Emissions Country Rank Carbon dioxide emissions from fuel combustion (million metric tons)
Sources: - https://www.traveltrivia.com/answer-which-country-has-the-most-carbon-emissions/ - Union of Concerned Scientists Last Updated: April 19, 2019  So what does all this mean? Is the USA alright? Do we need to do better? How? What do you think? There’s always room for improvement, for me as a person. For the US as a country. We span across a continent with miles of highway to connect us. We don’t have mass transit, except in our large cities or on the east coast. If you look at this link: Union of Concerned Scientists, there are 2 other countries in the 15 metric ton per capita range. Canada is at 15.32, and Australia’s at 15. 83. They’re like us, continent-wide with miles of highway to cross. The biggest surprise on this page, Saudia Arabia’s at 16.85 and tops the per capita list. One of the nice things about aging is watching things get better. When I grew up in the 60’s, people were becoming aware of pollution. As a country we stopped using DDT. We put animals on the endangered list and worked to protect them. Back then there was no recycling, and now I see it around my little town. Yay! We’ve gotten better at taking care of our planet since the 60’s. But, we still have room to grow.  Now, how can YOU help the Earth? My friends at Traveltrivia.com had a couple suggestions. 1) Ride your bike whenever it’s possible. I have to confess I’m not a bike rider, but I try to watch my car trips so that I accomplish as much as possible in 1 trip. I used to carpool to work. We drove 1 car, not 2. These are simple things, but if everyone does the simple things, we can have a big effect. 2) Turn off the water. Don’t let it drip! Water is a natural resource. Don’t waste it. I also try to watch what I throw out into my yard. Whatever goes into the ground can go into our water system, and it can pollute your water.  3) Turn off the lights when you leave the room. The same is true for anything that uses electricity. Turning it off saves the natural resources that make your electricity. Saving water and electricity also saves money, and that’s a great thing! Money saved is money you can spend on something else that YOU want or need. 4) Reuse something instead of throwing it away. If it’s broken, can you fix it? Turn it into something else? I saved a card from my father’s funeral. I cut it into pieces, glued it onto a frame, and now it’s a treasured possession. Another great thing! 5) If you can’t use it, recycle it! I don’t throw out my newspapers – I recycle them. Did you know paper is one of the biggest things going into the garbage dumps? I can’t recycle old clothes, but I give them to places like Goodwill. You can get things there free or at a great price. Sometimes you even find treasures! Happy Hunting! If you have other suggestions, please comment or email me. I’d love to share them so we can all make Earth Day every day.! Sources: - https://www.traveltrivia.com/answer-which-country-has-the-most-carbon-emissions/ - Union of Concerned Scientists Last Updated: April 19, 2019  Usually I don’t get comments, but I thought I’d share this one with you, along with my answer. Daniel: It is interesting to see the “emissions from fuel combustion per capita”. Regarding greenhouse emissions and global warming: This is the possibility that each of every American has an impact on carbon pollution. Instead of working against this outrageous number, people get more, bigger pick-ups, companies discontinue fuel saving vehicles like Ford Focus...Strange new world, and I’m disappointed about Americans who seem to not care.  Rinda: Daniel, I agree that every American has an impact on carbon pollution. I understand your concern about the big pick-ups versus the economy cars. I drive a Honda Crosstour. I’m not sure what my mileage is, but it’s better than our Honda Pilot (my husband worked at Honda, and they’re great cars).
I think Americans do care about the environment, but it’s one choice among a million you might make in a day. I was a soccer mom. Having a car big enough to haul my 3 kids around, plus any of their friends, was huge back in the day. Our next car will probably be a truck, sorry! It’s not because we don’t care about the environment, but because we have a boat to move around. We also have a trailer that helps us move anything from tree limbs to furniture. In America, we don’t have the luxury of taking a train so we want a car that’s comfortable. I spent an hour in my car, round trip 5 days a week for 33 years. Now I substitute teach. I sub in Wapak, not my old district because it saves time, energy, and money, all things valued by Americans. I hope my response will redeem truck-driving Americans in your eyes. At least in my family, we have a good reason for our choices. And Daniel, if you need a car, take a look at the Hondas! They’re fuel efficient, and last forever. Our Pilot has almost 300,000 miles. It’s a gem!   An Interview with Kat Harrison Meet Kat Harrison! She’s from Michigan, that state up north if you’re an OSU Buckeye like me. She’s a member of SCBWI, and loves hanging out with her two favorite guys. One’s human, and one’s a canine, and that sounds about right to me! Kat’s favorite things are headbands, warm mugs, and Shel Silverstein’s poetry. Kat started her writing career as a magazine editor. Her work has appeared in lifestyle publications like Real Simple and New York Family, and on digital outlets like Yahoo and MSN. She frequently contributes to The Mighty, an online health community. They named her one of 2018’s top chronic illness advocates. All of this, plus 14 surgeries, daily migraines, and a disability named oscillopsia have given Kat the most inspiring path to publication. She’s the perfect person to write about hospitals for children, and that’s the subject of her debut book.  This is Kat’s cover! Sunday is scared about her first surgery. The doctor will operate to repair a hole in her eardrum. Her stomach’s twisted like a triple-knotted shoelace. She tries to relax with the help of her parents, a stuffed octopus, and the hospital staff, but Sunday learns pre-surgery that she had the secret power to face it all along. I’m dying to read and find out what it is!
If you know someone aged 4 – 8 who’s facing their first surgery, this is the book for them and their family! Kat’s Interview Link: http://onthescenein19.weebly.com/blog/an-interview-with-kat-harrison  It’s almost Easter, time for chocolate bunnies and jelly beans. The Jelly Belly Company is known for their best-selling flavors. How many do you think they make? 20 30 40 50 The answer . . . 50 flavors. Jelly Belly’s traditionals include orange, lemon, lime, and cherry. The exotics include cinnamon, pomegranate, cappuccino, buttered popcorn, and chili-mango. They also do specialty jellybeans with licenced ingredients like Tabasco sauce, hot-cha-cha! The unusual ones like egg nog or pancakes and maple syrup are more my speed. Jelly Belly even has some nonalcoholic versions of mai tais, strawberry daiquiris, margueritas, and draft beer. If you want flavors like lychee or green tea, you’ll have to go outside the US. Jelly Belly also makes Berti Bott’s Every Flavour Beans, the ones from Harry Potter, and yes you can try vomit, earwax, skunk spray, and even rotten egg. Really!  The Jelly Belly Company’s base and manufacturing plant is in Fairfield, California. It’s 40 miles southwest of Sacramento, the capital of California. In 2014 Family Fun Magazine picked their self-guided tour as one of the best around. Jelly Belly has another plant in North Chicago, Illinois. Follow its eastern border north. North Chicago is on Lake Michigan, about 10 miles south of Wisconsin. Drive 3 miles north into Wisconsin, and you’ll be in Pleasant Prairie and at the Jelly Belly distribution center. They ship beans all over the country, and they offer a train tour of their warehouse.  Would you believe Jelly Belly has a factory in Rayong, Thailand? If you fly southeast of Chon Buri, you’ll be in Rayong, and that’s where they make lychee, green tea, and the other international flavors. Sources: * https://quizzclub.com/games/bonus/the-jelly-belly-company-has-how-many-official-jelly-bean-flavors/answer/65750/ * en.wikipedia.org * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jelly_Belly |
AuthorWhen I write, I can only have one voice in my head, mine. A little noise is fine. But too much, or worse yet, WORDS, and I must change rooms or pull out headphones. Then I can write on! Archives
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