Did you watch The Masters? It was the golf tournament on last weekend. Sunday’s round was full of moments with the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, especially for Rory McIlroy. He was playing to win Golf’s Grand Slam. He almost lost—he bogeyed the last hole, lost his lead, and had to play a sudden-death playoff. Thank goodness he won!

Part 1 – The Commercial Hooks:  But that’s not why I’m writing about the Masters. It was all because of a commercial that hooked me three ways on Sunday. The first hook, the song, The Halls of Shambala. I remembered it from 1973. I was a freshman in junior high, middle school today.

The second hook, kids! Kids playing golf, putting the ball in the hole, or rolling it by. The third, the reason for the ad from Bank of America, they’re sponsoring a year of golf for kids across the country. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if someone who learns golf thanks to them, becomes the Master’s Champion in another ten to twenty years? This was the perfect commercial!
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​Sorry, I googled, but I couldn’t find a screenshot that lets you click on the commercial. Bank of America already pulled it down. But I can share this link: bank of america commercial for halls of shambala - Search Results | Facebook

It takes you to the screenshot above, and it plays Halls of Shambala by Three Dog Night. If you scroll down, the comments are more about the song than the tournament. I guess their fans were thrilled to hear it on national TV again. 
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As for this screenshot, I looked for young golfers who were as cute as the kids in the commercial. I went through like ten pages on Pixabay, and these were the best images I could find. Sorry ☹

  

                                                                                    Part 2 – A Song Is Born: ​​

​Halls of Shambala was written by musician, singer, and songwriter Daniel Moore. Two different artists recorded and released their own version of Moore’s song within a week of each other.
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The lyrics were written about Shambhala, a kingdom that existed only in myth, but it was written about in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism. The kingdom is supposed to be hidden somewhere near the Himalayas, either within its peaks or just beyond them.
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But Daniel Moore’s song version was about a mystic temple in Peru. Its name, the temple of the White Lodge. Daniel found it in Alice Bailey’s 1934 book, A Treatise on White Magic.
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                                                         Resource Link: Shambala (song) - Wikipedia
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Part 3 – First Out; Reached #31: B.W. Stevenson released his version first, probably at the end of May or beginning of June. It was a minute shorter and had a country pop rock sound to it. Stevenson’s version reached #66 on the US Pop Singles chart and #31 on the Adult Contemporary chart. Sorry, I couldn’t find a photo of B.W.

                                                         Resource Link: Shambala (song) - Wikipedia
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Part 4 – Last Out, But Hit #3: The version you heard from the golf commercial, that was Three Dog Night. They released Shambala early in June, and it stayed on the American top 40 chart from June until the end of August. AND, it hit #3 on both the Pop Singles and Adult Contemporary charts. Where does Second ever beat First?! In the Halls of Shambala.

Fun fact, this is the first song Three Dog Night released as a single. They added it later to their ninth album, Cyan. You’ll also find it on their anthology and compilation records.

Meet the boys in the band from 1972. Back row, from left to right: Joe Schermie, Floyd Sneed, Michael Allsup, and Jimmy Greenspan.

The front row, left to right are the founding members: Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, and Chuck Negron. Between 1969 and 1975, Three Dog Night scored 21 Billboard Top 30 hits. Three of them – #1s.

                Resource Links:  - Shambala (song) - Wikipedia    and - Three Dog Night - Wikipedia

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Part 5 – Welcome to Shambala:​ This was the only screenshot I could find. It’s from the story of Kalki’s birth place. Kalki is the final incarnation of the god  Vishnu. His arrival signals the beginning of a new Golden Age. If you’d like to check it out, click here: Shambhala - The Birth Place of Kalki

My link said Shambhala comes from a Sanskrit word. It means ‘place of peace or place of silence.’ Legends say only people with pure hearts live there. That it’s a place where love and wisdom reign. Where there’s no suffering, want, or old age. It sounds like Heaven to me.
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Some say Shambhala has a thousand names. Hindus call it Aryavartha, the Land of the Worthy Ones. The Chinese name is Hsi Tien, the Western Paradise of Hsi Wang Mu. Russian Old Believers call it Belovoyde, and across Asia it’s known by its Sanskrit name – Shambhala, Shamballa, or Shangri-la. Whatever its name, it’s where I want to go. 

​In August of 2024, I decided to break my novel of 57 chapters into a series. The first book will go from chapters 1-10, from the Declaration of Independence to the end of the Revolution.

I went from writing a chapter a week to endless editing and revision. Would you believe chapters 1 and 2 have gone through over 20 revisions since June? I’m working to polish the first 3 chapters to send out on submission. Each chapter is about 13 pages, with 5-10 comments a page to work through. That’s a lot of revision!


​                                               I used to paste them in, then revise. Here’s my new shortcut . . . 
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Part 1 - A Simple Revision: This is my download from Google Docs. It’s in Microsoft Word. That’s where I do my work.
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The screenshot below came from Chapter 1. Ben Franklin and John Hancock are on their way to sign the Declaration of Independence. Heather’s comment is to the right. She asked about the tea thrown overboard.  BTW, the real Boston Tea Party happened on December 16, 1773. 
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Here’s what I did . . . I left the paragraph and the  comment where it was. Then I copied another set below the original one. (See? They both start with ‘Ben chortled.’)

Then I copied and pasted Heather’s comment between the two paragraphs. I bolded it for you. She suggested I replace good English tea with fresh English tea.

It seems like an easy switch, until you do the research. The East India Tea Company got their tea from China. Fresh tea leaves wouldn’t have made it to England, or the colonies. They were dried for the journey. 
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I could have replaced good with dried English tea, but I didn’t. This is a story about the founders, the men who signed the Declaration. Not tea, so I left it the way it was, for now. The current version is in the screenshot below, but it could still change. If Heather suggests something better, I’ll take a look.
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Part 2 - A Complicated Revision: This screenshot came from Chapter 2. It’s a conversation I imagined between Charley and John Dickinson. Both men served in the Continental Congress.

John was the chairman of the Committee for the Articles of Confederation. He represents most delegates. They wanted our first constitution to give more power to the states than the national government. Charley took the opposite side now, and in the distant future when the Articles fail, as he predicted. 

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Here’s how I edited the first paragraph. I only copied the comment from ‘pursed his lips.’ It’s bolded, and it’s 7 paragraphs long. Heather had 3 more comments in the rest of that original paragraph, plus  4 more comments in the next 2.

This was THE most complicated revision in all of chapter 2. That’s why I picked it to share with you. Would you believe this page took 2 days to revise. YIKES!

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​After 2 days of revision, this is what I sent to my critique group. Heather will see it next. The original lines started with pursed his lips. I added 6 new lines and the revision ended with supported his concerns.

Basically I stretched the conversation between Charley and John Dickinson. I showed their emotions through actions. Then I named that emotion in words. I also added the details Heather thought a reader would want to know. She reminded me that the reason I write/revise is for you, my reader. 

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Part 3 – Two Files That Get Me Unstuck: Look below and you’ll see three Word files that I keep on my desktop. Two of them have similar names; they both begin with Chapters 1 and 2.
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The bottom one from December is my working copy. I edit and revise on it. I used it to screenshot all the examples you found in this post.

Above it, my original copy from Google Docs. It has the original words from my last revision. It also has all of Heather’s comments. This is the first time I’ve ever put it on my desktop.

When all the revisions are done, I pull up my working copy, listen to it on narrator, and look for places that don’t work. Sometimes I change a word or two; sometimes more.

When I get stuck and can’t decide what to do, I pull up that original copy. I look at what was, Heather’s comment, and what’s on the new page. And, PRESTO!

OK, it’s usually not that fast, but I get an idea to try. Whatever I decide, I edit, listen, and repeat until the paragraph sounds just right…until Heather looks at it again. 

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The document on top, Pray first, I’ve had it on my desktop for a year or two. Would you believe I used it today? I’m working on Heather’s comments from the beginning of chapter 3. She asked me to describe the outside of Old St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Philadelphia. I don’t know if Charley ever attended St. Joseph’s, but he was Catholic…so it’s highly likely. 
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I worked three days on the first page of Chapter 3, and I was still stuck. Still unhappy. So I pulled up my file, this screenshot, and I read it once again. Turning to God and putting my faith in Him always puts things in perspective. It helps me decide what to try next.

Reading through Pray first made me finally realize I don’t know enough about what St. Joseph looks like. That information doesn’t exist online, so I emailed the librarian at St. Joseph’s University and asked for help. Then I put a plug in page 1. I can’t move on until she answers my questions.
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So tomorrow…I’ll try my luck on page 2.

I love Mrs. Frizzle! Her outfits are so much fun! They focus attention on whatever she’s teaching, from her earrings down to her shoes.
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I can never match her style, but it’s fun to try! Take a look at how I dress for my weekend videos. Can you match them together? Good luck!
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Part 1; Matching People: Here are three screenshots from three videos. Two are about famous people. Match my outfit in screenshot 1, 2, and 3 to the people I was talking about.
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One is about how we can all follow our dreams, like Dr. King did. A second is about Vice President, J.D. Vance. And the third is about Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. himself. Can you match the people I talked about to my outfit? Look closely for clues! 
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Following dreams, that’s Photo #2. White clouds on a navy shirt made me think dreams, and clouds are in the video too.

​The Title: Following Your Dreams.                               
The Link: (1) Facebook    

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​Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is Photo #3. My black turtleneck, sweater vest, and cross necklace helped me read his most famous speech. 

Book Title– I Have a Dream.
​The Link: (1) Facebook​
 
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​Part 2; Matching Holidays: Here are two screenshots from two holiday read-aloud videos. One is the scary holiday children love to celebrate. The second is all about hearts and love. It’s another childhood favorite. Can you match the holiday to my outfit? Look closely, and you’ll find a few clues! 
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The first holiday photo, Halloween. That’s when children dress up in costumes. Some, are scary! Usually I wear orange and black, but this sweater features a few webs and spiders too. SCARY!
                        The Book Title- Dino-Halloween.                                    The Link: Facebook 

And the second, Valentine’s Day. Did you notice my heart necklace and the rose-colored sweater?
                        The Book Title- Valensteins.                                               The Link: Facebook   

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​These two screenshots are from the same holiday. Christmas, of course! But the read-alouds are different. One’s about Santa. The other’s about Baby Jesus. Which outfit matches their read-aloud?

The first screenshot, Baby Jesus. Did you see the star and the wise man? This is my Christmas Day read-aloud.                 The Book Title- The Christmas Story.                                                           The Link: Facebook 

And the second, Santa! Did you see him in his sleigh with the reindeer? It’s my Christmas Eve read-aloud.                             The Book Title- A World of Cookies for Santa.                                        The Link: Facebook  


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Part 3: Matching Places: Here are three screenshots from three places I wrote about . . . the royals of ancient Egypt, estuaries in New Zealand, and tales from Wapakoneta. Can you match my outfit to the place I wrote about? Check the color and jewelry in each screenshot for clues!
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Estuaries in New Zealand, that’s Photo #1. I picked the tan color in my sweater with hints of brown and black because it reminded me of the estuary photos.
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The Title: Take a Trip to New Zealand.
The Link: Facebook

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And Wapakoneta, that’s Photo #3. Wapak was home to the first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong. I picked a blue/black paislley print. It reminds me of space. The necklace, it’s made of medallions with Neil’s footprint, the one he left on the moon in 1969. Over fifty years later, it’s still there, just the way Neil left it.

The Title: Tales from Wapakoneta.
The Link: Facebook      

​As I grow older, my faith grounds me in a way it didn’t when I was younger. It helps me take adversity in stride. It helps me navigate the highs and lows of life, but most of all, I have a sense of peace I didn’t have when I was younger.

​Part1 – The Faith of a Few Buckeyes: I was surprised to find this link a few days after  the Cotton Bowl. Ohio State players kneel in prayer on field before Cotton Bowl victory

Faith is a private thing for me. I usually don’t talk about mine, but I’m happy when people share theirs on TV. This article had links for three videos of OSU football players demonstrating their faith. I picked two of them to share.

1 – This image came from the first link in the article (second paragraph). I stopped the video and did a screen shot. It’s the moment when nearly every Ohio State player was on the field. They knelt and prayed before the Cotton Bowl pregame started.
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I love my Buckeyes, and I think this is one of their finest moments. Win or lose, to focus your head and heart in prayer before the first play of a big game, that’s a very good thing.
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#2 – This is the second link (paragraph six). I didn’t see this video until I read the article. This is another screen shot, but it was taken after THE game, the one with that team up north. Yes, Michigan won, and some Wolverines tried to plant their flag in the middle of the stadium, the Shoe.

This shot took place during the middle of that post-game chaos. Would you believe two Buckeyes and one Wolverine knelt in prayer? It’s one of the loveliest examples of faith I’ve ever seen.

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​ Part 2 – A Prayer Change : It all started for me when Olivia Newton John died. That was back in August of 2022. I read that she started saying the Lord’s Prayer each night during her final bout with cancer. She hoped it’d bring her closer to her daughter, and I read it worked.

​I thought if Olivia could pray the Lord’s Prayer, I could too. Now I pray it every night before I go to sleep. Three years later, it’s changed the way I pray. 

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#1 – I began to start with gratitude; then I’d end with the Lord’s Prayer. I never planned it. Gratitude just bubbled up in me each night, and I started thanking God for the blessings He sent my way. Big things, little ones. It didn’t matter. What did – expressing my attitude of gratitude to Him.

#2 – Over the years I stopped asking God for the things I need or want. They haven’t changed in years so I trusted God knew about them. That He’d grant them if/when it was time. Then a year ago, I read that we need to keep asking for those things. It gives me peace to know they’ll be granted in His time.

So now as I lay in bed, I begin my nightly prayers with gratitude, then my wish list. I end them with the Lord’s Prayer. Most nights I’m asleep in 10-15 minutes, and that’s a wonderful thing for someone who’s struggled with sleep issues.

  
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When you query an agent or publisher, you pitch your manuscript to them. Comp titles are part of that letter. Comps are books published in the last three years. They’re similar to your manuscript, and they give the agent/publisher an idea where your story could fit into the marketplace.

Part 1 - Why This Title? My middle grade novel is about the men who signed the Declaration of Independence. The first ten chapters follow them to the end of the American Revolution. One Dead Spy is a graphic novel about Nathan Hale. It starts when he joins the Continental Army, and it ends with his death, September 22, 1776.
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My manuscript and this spy novel are both works of middle grade historical fiction. They’re both set during the Revolution. Charles Carroll of Carrollton is my main character, and you’ll meet the first nine dead signers through his eyes. Nathan Hale, the spy, tells his story to a British officer, and the hangman.
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Part 2 - The Real Nathan Hale: No, not the author/illustrator of this book. I’m talking the REAL dead spy. The one who died almost two months after the founders signed the Declaration on August 2, 1776. And no, only John Hancock and Congress’s secretary signed on the Fourth of July.

I couldn’t find a painting of the real Nathan Hale, but I found his statue from City Hall Park in New York City. I also found a sketch from the day the British hung him. That’s where my comp title begins, with the hanging. Now, the facts from a link attributed to the CIA . . .
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Nathan came from a prominent Connecticut family. He attended and graduated with honors from Yale in 1773. He got a job right away teaching in New London, Connecticut. When the War began in 1775, pre-Declaration, he immediately joined the militia. Within five months he was promoted to First Lieutenant. That’s how far Nathan goes to tell his real back story. It goes into his bad luck, which I didn’t find, but remember, my source was a CIA file. Maybe it’s still top secret, LOL!
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Part 3: Who Was Henry Knox? I’ve heard of Fort Knox in Kentucky and Knoxville in Tennessee, but lately I’ve wondered how they got their names. Then I read One Dead Spy, and they were named after Henry Knox.

So who was he? One Dead Spy said he owned a bookstore, and that he was in charge of artillery during the American Revolution. Bookstore and artillery, they just don’t match, so I looked him up. His story is fascinating!

Henry’s dad died when he was nine, so he worked as a clerk in a bookstore to support the family. The owner inspired his love of books and learning. Between shifts, Henry taught himself French, philosophy, and math. Would you believe he even studied the wars of ancient Greece and Rome? 
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Knox didn’t just read about war. He joined a Boston street gang and learned to fight. Then a local artillery company. He turned his knowledge and experience against the British.

By 1771 Knox owned his own shop. Its titles included books about military history and strategy. He loved chatting with the soldiers who stopped by. A year later he started the Boston Grenadier Corps and joined the local Sons of Liberty. He was on guard duty for the Boston Tea Party and joined the militia in time for the Battle of Bunker Hill. He set up the fortifications and directed his cannons at the British.

The battle turned into a siege. That’s when Knox got a brilliant, but crazy idea. He’d make the 300-mile trek to Fort Ticonderoga, New York, then return with the cannons and supplies the Americans captured. The crazy part – Knox reached the Fort on December 5 and returned with 60 tons of cannon, plus other munitions. For bonus points, he hauled them through the icy Berkshire Mountains and across a frozen lake. Knox delivered them on January 27, 1776. After his cannons started firing, the British army and navy decided to retreat to Halifax, Nova Scotia. 

Knox continued on as the artillery chief for the New York and New Jersey campaigns. By the winter of 1778-79, he had a new job, head of the first artillery and officer training school. He drilled over 1000 soldiers during that horrible winter. His school inspired the military academy at West Point.

In 1780 he served on the military tribunal that sentenced John Andre to death by hanging. Andre was the spy who got Benedict Arnold to turn traitor. A year later Knox and his French counterpart helped end the war. They positioned the cannons at Yorktown. BTW, this is a portrait of Henry painted in 1806, long after the American Revolution ended.

​                                                     Source: National Museum of the United States Army
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                              PS – Nathan Hale, the real dead spy, made the trip to Fort Ticonderoga
                                                  and back with 60 tons of artillery, in the dead of winter 
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Part 4: Meet The Ohio Digital Library: It’s where I find the books for Saturday Reads. But I picked it for One Dead Spy because I can read it online, on my computer screen. That means I can make the page bigger. Much, Much BIGGER than my kindle screen. And that’s an amazing tool when you’re trying to read the cartoons in a graphic novel!
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​                                                                           The Ohio Library’s Description:

​Experience the New York Times bestselling graphic novel—now as a deluxe, oversized edition featuring 15 brand-new pages of mini-comics

The Bigger & Badder editions of Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales continues! Nathan Hale (the author's namesake) was America's first spy, a Revolutionary War hero who famously said "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country" before being hanged by the British. In Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales, author Hale channels his historical döppelganger to present history's roughest, toughest, strangest stories. This book tackles the story of Nathan Hale himself, who was an officer for the American rebels in the Revolutionary War and was eventually hanged for spying. This special edition of One Dead Spy features a larger trim size, a deluxe package, and 16 pages of bonus material, including research photos, sketches, and mini-comics from the author.

Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales are graphic novels that tell the thrilling, shocking, gruesome, and TRUE stories of American history. Read them all—if you dare!

Hello from the Findlay Hancock County Library! That was me back on November 1, when I was there for Author Fest night.
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If you didn’t make it and would like to meet some of the local and not-so-local authors who were, click on this link:  Newsletter - Findlay-Hancock County Public Library
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​Part 1 – Meeting People: One of the best things about an author event – meeting people – like readers and other authors. There’s nothing like it, and if you know me . . . I love to talk!

When I talk to readers, we talk books. My favorites. Theirs. I also love to talk about what makes my books special; then show them. With Neil, it’s obviously him. I’m blessed that I met him, by writing about him. When I finished my last edit, I felt like I was saying goodbye to a best friend, and it turns out I was. I don’t see another Neil book in my future. Except . . . I do have an idea, but I haven’t pursued it yet. Maybe . . .

With other writers, I love to talk to them. To find out what makes them tick, where they find their ideas, or writing/marketing tricks they can teach me. Nothing’s better than finding a new/better way to do something. But most of all . . . I love hearing their stories!
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​Part 2 – Meeting the Authors Next-Door: Hello to my neighbors, from the tables beside me. They’re the writers I talked to the most. When there was a lull in the action, we had fun chatting and  talking books.

​At the table to my left was Theresa Konwinski. She’s written poetry since childhood. Now she writes stories about life. She finds her words in her experiences as a nurse, wife, mother, and now in retirement. You can find her three published novels and five short stories on her website.

At Author Fest she was excited about meeting people who want to write. People who are just beginning. Theresa loved talking to them, encouraging them to keep going, to keep writing. Listening to her reminded me how much joy I feel when the right words find their way into a story😊

                        If you’d like to meet Theresa Konwinski and her stories, check out her website:
                                                              theresakonwinski.online – Stories about life…
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Meet Jean Mueller and Audrea Mancinotti at the table to my right. They’re a team in lots of ways. Jean does the writing, and Audrea does the illustrations. They’re also related. Jean is the aunt, and Audrea is her niece. They’re both educators. Jean is a school librarian, and Audrea teaches sixth grade. Best of all they work together creating children’s books.

Their adventure started when Jean dreamed of writing a picture book about her father’s woods. It came true when she asked Audrea to do the illustrations. That first book came out last June, and their second one is brand-new.

             To read more about them and their books, check out their website: AudreaJean Books



Part 3 – Meeting New Books: There’s nothing better than meeting a new book, except . . . discovering someone has a copy of your old one.

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And that was Jean! She stopped over when I was setting up my table. Picked up my old copy of Neil Armstrong’s Wind Tunnel Dream. Then told me she had a copy in her school library. She’d even read it to her students. Jean’s story made my week, and I’m glad I have a photo to remember it.

Snow Day, their second book, is brand new! If you ask teachers and kids across Ohio about their favorite kind of day, they’ll tell you it’s got to have snow. Who doesn’t like a day off?!
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​If you’re looking for a snowy adventure, and there’s not a flake in sight, cuddle up with this book. Want to peek inside the cover? Click on their Facebook link and scan down the page.   (2) Facebook. ​

Does your map of the United States look like this? Mine too! That’s why when I found some really eye-opening ones, I had to share a few of them with you.

To see a few more, click this link:
​                                            19 Eye-Opening Maps Of America That May Surprise You (onlyinyourstate.com)
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Map #1 – The Fifty States of Television: I’m from Ohio. Can you find it on the map? It’s labeled Family Ties, the most popular TV show ever set in the Buckeye state. It ran on NBC from 1982-1989. I watched it at the height of its popularity but never knew it was about an Ohio family who lived in Columbus, the state capital.
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Can you find your state on the map? If not, look up at the regular one, then scan back down and find it on this one. Good luck!


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Map #2 – The Most Popular NFL Teams Across the USA: Can you find Ohio on this map? It has four colors and four favorite teams. That’s because popularity is broken down by county.

Can you name all four teams? A yellow one’s on the eastern edge of the state. They’re the Pittsburgh Steelers from Pennsylvania. There’s a brown one whose fans are found only in northern Ohio. Its name, its perfect! The Cleveland Browns!

The Cincinnati Bengals own the southern part of the state, but they also have fans in Indiana and Kentucky. You’ll have to look for  the fourth team on Ohio’s western border. It’s a teeny tiny bit of blue that’s surrounded by three other colors. It stands for the Indianapolis Colts from Indiana, of course!

What about your state? Does it have one favorite team, or does it have to share? Here’s to fall football, the NFL, and yours!
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Map #3 – The Most Popular Boy’s Names of 2013: Can you tell from a glance what name Americans picked for their baby boys in 2013? If you guessed Liam, you’re right! Ohio picked it too.

Did your state pick Liam, or did they pick one of the other favorites? There are eight other names that were popular in 2013. Can you find all of them too?

PS – Are you curious what the Top Ten names for 2024could be? Or do you wonder if any of the names are the same? I hope so. . .  because I’m always curious, and I looked them up!

 
                 1. Liam                   2. Noah                     3. Oliver                      4. James                      5. Elijah
 
                6. Mateo               7. Theodore            8. Henry                      9. Lucas                      10, William
 
                                                 Source: Top 1,000 Baby Boy Names in the U.S. 2024


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Map #4 – The Most Popular Girl’s Names of 2013: How about baby girl names? What was America’s favorite? If you guessed Emma, you’re right, and Ohio picked it too! Woohoo!
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Did your state pick Emma, or one of the other names? This time there were only five. Can you find all of them too?
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​PS – Are you curious about the Top Ten names for 2024, or  if some of the names stayed the same? I was too!
 
                   1. Olivia                  2. Emma                   3. Charlotte                   4. Amelia                   5. Sophia
    
                   6. Mia                       7. Isabella               8. Ava                                 9. Evelyn                   10, Luna
 
                                                         Source: Top 1,000 Baby Girl Names in the U.S. 2024


                                                              
Map #5 – Dogs vs Cats: Did the data bar throw you off? I love how it makes it easy to see where dog lovers and cat lovers live, but I wish I knew what the > 1.25x meant.

But, if I understand the key correctly, Ohio is a deep green state, so we have more cats per household than dogs. How many more, I have no idea.
​

Did you catch that cat lovers live in the north and dog lovers in the south? Except for Florida. There’s always an exception to every rule! What about your state, who rules? Cats, or dogs?


​
Map #6 – Your State’s Most Iconic Fast Food Chain: Look at all those great places! Each one represents something special about each state. I’m glad I can find so many of them in Ohio . . .  It is the heart of it all!

Speaking of Ohio, did you find our iconic food chain, Wendy’s? Dave Thomas founded the first one in 1969 in Columbus, and he named it after his daughter, Wendy. Almost sixty years later, it still has the freshest burgers in the country! That’s because they never use frozen meat. Ever!
Can you find your state’s iconic fast-food chain on the map? Here’s hoping I can check it out in Ohio too!

                                                                     Next up – one last eye-opening map!
​

Map #7 – A Distorted Look at the USA: What? How? Why? This is what the US would look like, if the country was divided up according to each state’s population.

Look at New Jersey/NJ – It’s HUGE! It grew, and it grew, and it pushed New York off to the side. But don’t worry! New York/NY pushed Pennsylvania/PA, Ohio/OH, and Michigan/MI out of the way too. 

​I found the Pomodoro Technique in an email from Better Report. They send me practical advice/suggestions. This one was all about time management, whether it’s a task you’ve been putting off, or one you’re struggling to complete. All you need – a task and a timer.

​Mine – 2 chapters worth of revisions, 22 pages of text, with comments added along the side – altogether 25 pages to get through. Talk about intimidating!
​
So I pulled out the Pomodoro Technique and tried it. I figured I didn’t have anything to lose. It worked, revision by revision, page by page. 

​Part 1:   Here are the steps I used from Better Reports.

1. Choose a task.
2. Set a timer for 25 minutes and only work on that task.
3. When the timer goes off, take a five-minute break.
4. Repeat the previous steps four times.
5. At the end of the fifth interval, take a longer 15-to-30-minute break.
​
Source: What Is the Pomodoro Technique and How Does It Increase Productivity? - Better Report
 

​Part 2: Here are a few rules that Better Report said to use.

1. If you start a pomodoro, let the timer ring.” Don’t stop early.
Use your time to review, reflect, or plan for the next one.

2. Stop when the timer goes off. Don’t go over time.
3. Set your timer for those 5-minute breaks after the first 4 Pomodoro's.

4. Do something different during those 5-minute breaks. If you’re on the computer, get up and get moving. If you’re cleaning, put your feet up and relax, but don’t get lost in your break.
Return to your task when the timer goes off.
​

​  ​

​Part 3: Here’s how I tailor those Pomodoros to fit me.

1. Sometimes I stop early before the 25-minute timer goes off,
but only if there’s not enough time to start the next one. I’d rather start my break early and the next Pomodoro early too.

2. If the timer goes off and I need to finish a sentence or paragraph,
I do that too.

3. I skip the timer if I’m reviewing something like a whole chapter.
I don’t want to stop and start. I don’t worry about the time.
This is about me and how I can best use MY time.

4. With my 5-minute breaks, usually I get up and walk. It makes it easier for
me to reach my step goals. Sometimes I clean. I HATE cleaning,
but I can do it for 5 minutes.

5. Sometimes I take my long break early. If I’m hungry, I stop and eat, even if I need to cook.
​I take the time I need. Balance is important, and so is taking care of myself.

Source: What Is the Pomodoro Technique and How Does It Increase Productivity? - Better Report


​

Part 4: Meet the Inventor of the Pomodoro Technique. His name, Francesco Grillo.

​Who has Francesco worked with?
- Managers
- Entrepreneurs
- Researchers
- Writers, designers, product developers, and other creative professionals
- And, Teams of people 

Why does he think you should try the Pomodoro Technique?
- Enhanced Focus and Concentration
- Improved Time Management
- Reduced Stress at Work
- Enhanced Team Communication and Flexibility
-Adaptable to You and Your Task Requirements

How can the Pomodoro Technique help you?
- “Learn to be gentle with yourself and develop a conscious relationship with time.”
- “Turn time into an ally and use it to improve individual and team productivity.”

​

To learn more about Francesco: About Francesco Cirillo
To read more about the technique:
Pomodoro® Technique - Time Management Method (pomodorotechnique.com)

I found two ideas I wanted to share, but I ran out of time. The good news – you can find them in this book. The first is in Chapter 6. Ben Thompson broke the Declaration into three parts. Look for the real words in italics and read what Ben said about each one.

Then skip to Pick Your Poison, it’s near the end of chapter 7. Did you know there were four different kinds of cannon balls? Solid shot, Grapeshot, Shells, and the red-hot kind you picked up with tongs. Check them out and learn more about ammunition.

Here is my third idea, and I enjoyed every minute of putting it together. Each chapter had a two-page bio. With twenty chapters, I got to write brief biographies about twenty patriots - from Ben Franklin to George Washington: from the Marquis de Lafayette to the real Molly Pitcher. The best part – finding surprising stories about each one, and hoping you find inspiration in them too!
​
​

#1. Today if you say Sam Adams, people think beer. But he was actually terrible at it and lost all of his money in his family’s malthouse business
​
The real Sam Adams was a much better patriot. He was red-hot about independence, from 1764 with the Stamp Act until tea was taxed in 1773. That’s when Sam Adams came up with a great idea. Perhaps you’ve heard of it . . .  the Boston Tea Party.




​

#2. John Hancock was a Boston businessman before he got into the patriot business. In April 1775 the redcoats put a target on his back. Sam Adams too. Luckily, a few spies were watching and sent word to Hancock, Adams, and the minutemen in Lexington and Concord.

Most people know John was President of the Continental Congress, but they don’t know he was adopted by an aunt and uncle after his parents died. He inherited their business.
PS – Have you ever had your signature called a John Hancock? That’s because when John signed the Declaration, he wrote SUPERSIZE, so that King George could see it without his glasses. 


​

​#3. Have you ever heard of William Prescott? I hadn’t. His claim to fame – he commanded the army at the Battle of Bunker Hill, the first big battle of the Revolution.
​
It all started the night of June 16, 1775, when William sent his troops out to build a fort. The problem – they built it on Breed’s, not Bunker Hill. They did it so quietly that the British discovered it the next morning when they woke up. It took 3 tries for the Redcoats to win the hill. That’s because William kept his cool, his men too. They watched and waited until the British got close enough . . . THEN they fired, at the officers. The British won, but they lost 1,100 men, dead or wounded. Half the men they started with. 


​

#4. Everyone knows George Washington. The general who beat King George and the British Empire. The first president who was wise enough to serve two terms, not three.

But did you know he’s the only president who led an army during his term? It started with another tax. Farmers in western Pennsylvania rebelled over a whiskey tax. They took up arms. Washington led an army across the state, but he was able to end the rebellion peacefully without firing a shot. 



​

#5. Everyone knows John Adams too. Founding Father, member of the Continental Congress, the first Vice President, and second President. He only served one term thanks to his old buddy and Vice President, Thomas Jefferson. It’s funny how life works – Adams and Jefferson were good friends until Jefferson ran against him for the presidency. The former friends didn’t speak for years, but I’m glad they finally did.

Adams was always one of the loudest voices in the room, but no one listened to his suggestion that the president should be known as . . . “His Highness, the President of the United States, and Protector of the Rights of the Same.” I’m glad everyone disagreed with him.


​

#6. Everyone knows Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, but did you know he didn’t want to? Or that he thought John Adams should write it? I didn’t. According to the book, Adams said he was obnoxious, suspected, and unpopular. Jefferson was the opposite. He was also a Virginian AND a better writer. Thank goodness Adams got his way, and Jefferson did the writing!

You’ve probably heard of Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase, but did you know it doubled the size of the country? That it became the states of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana? What a bargain!


​​

#7. I’d never heard of Lord Stirling until I read this book. Would you believe William Alexander found research showing he was the senior male descendant of the First Earl of Stirling in the late 1750s?  The House of Lords never recognized him, but American soldiers did.
​
Lord Stirling is best known for the Battle of Brooklyn in 1776. He and his men held off the British until the remnants of the Continental Army could escape. There were already twelve hundred casualties, but it would have been so much worse without him. Stirling surrendered to the British later that day. He wouldn’t live to see the end of the war, but his friend George Washington walked his daughter down the aisle on her wedding day. 


​

#8. Before James Monroe became our 5th president, he was a lieutenant in the Virginia Militia during the days of the American Revolution. Look for him in the painting of Washington crossing the Delaware. Monroe’s the one holding the American flag.

When he landed on the other side, he was wounded by cannon fire at Trenton, New Jersey the day after Christmas. Later he’d fight in the Battles of New York, Brandywine, and Monmouth.

#9. You’ve probably heard of the Marquis de Lafayette. Do you recognize his other seven names? Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roche Gilbert du Motier.
​
The American Revolution followed Lafayette home to France. He named his only son George Washington. And when he died, his coffin was covered with dirt from Bunker Hill. That’s where the first major battle of the Revolution was fought near Boston, Massachusetts.


​

#10. Meet one of the toughest commanders of the American Revolution, Daniel Morgan. I’d never heard of him either.

Daniel commanded riflemen at the Battles of Quebec City, Saratoga, and Cowpens. He was taken prisoner at Quebec, but only after his men begged him to surrender. When he was released in 1777, he created Morgan’s Rangers, 500 men passed his test – hitting a life-size picture of a British officer from 100 yards. If you made the grade, you got a Pennsylvania long rifle. It was far more accurate than a British musket, but harder to load. Morgan and his Rangers made the victories at Saratoga and Cowpens possible.
​
Fun Fact: Today’s Army Rangers can trace their roots back to him. 


​

​#11. Meet Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin von Steuben – That’s a lot of names! He came from Prussia, in Germany. He claimed to be a baron, but he wasn’t. Ben Franklin misread his bio and thought he was a general. He wasn’t, and he didn’t speak English either.

So, Ben sent him to the Continental Congress, who sent him onto Valley Forge. During the worst winter of the war, Von Steuben whipped Washington’s army into shape with all the finesse of a drill sergeant. He was asked to, and he finally wrote down his drills, in French. Alexander Hamilton and Nathanael Green translated them. Would you believe the American army used his instruction manual until 1814?


​

#12. Everyone knows Benjamin Franklin – author, inventor, printer, scientist, postmaster, and politician. He signed the Declaration, the Peace Treaty that ended the war, and the Constitution, but did you know his son was a loyalist? That William was the royal governor of New Jersey?

The father and son fought so violently over the war; they never spoke to each other again. Not after William was put into an American prison, nor after he emigrated to England after the war was over. War is a sad thing.


​

​#13. This is the real Mary Ludwig Hays, also known as Molly Pitcher. Mary was an assistant on a cannon crew. Her job – to pass canteens to the men sweating and working over the cannons. Her husband John loaded them. Mary also poured buckets of water over the red-hot barrels to cool them down so it wouldn’t overheat and quit working.

Mary wouldn’t look this clean in battle. She’d be blackened by powder with bullets and cannon balls whizzing around. And if the men needed to rest, Mary loaded and fired the cannon herself. Would you believe she left the army in 1783 as a sergeant, with an army pension too?! She was a liberated woman before Women’s Liberation existed.


​

​#14. Only one Revolutionary general was called mad. Not angry-mad, but crazy-mad. His name – Mad Anthony Wayne. If there was an impossible battle to fight like Stony Point, New York, Washington sent Wayne, but he gave him the best trained, best supplied soldiers in the Continental Army.

This battle was so impossible – Wayne asked a friend to take care of his wife and two children if he died. So impossible he asked for volunteers to run into the fort. The first one earned $500. The next four men, $100 each. And would you believe – Mad Anthony Wayne and his troops recaptured Stony Point?


​

​#15. Have you watched Turn? Or heard of the Culper Spy Ring? Then you might know Benjamin Tallmadge. General Washington needed to get reliable, accurate information out of New York City, the headquarters for the British. He picked Tallmadge in late 1778 to create a secret spy ring. It stayed active, successful, and hidden until 1783 when the Revolution ended.

After the war, Tallmadge settled down and became a Connecticut postmaster and Congressman.
 

​

#16. George Rogers Clark – I knew his name, but not his BIG accomplishment. He captured the Northwest territory from the British, basically on his own. His victories and diplomatic skills doubled the size of the original 13 colonies. That land later became the states of Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. I was shocked to learn Clark died poor, after doubling the size of our country.

I bet you’ve heard of his brother and his friend, Lewis. They were the two men who traveled across the country with Sacajawea. She took them all the way to the Pacific Ocean.


​​

​#17. John Paul Jones started life as a poor Scottish sailor, and he wound up becoming the Father of the US Navy. If you’d like to visit his tomb, go to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
​
If he had a brother from another mother, it would be Mad Anthony Wayne. They both fought impossible battles, and won. Wayne on land, and Jones at sea. 

​

​#18. A woman, fought in the Revolution?! True! Deborah Sampson Gannett served as soldier Robert Shurtleff. She was wounded several times. She even dug out her own bullets to keep her identity secret. She’s one of the few women who earned a pension during the Revolutionary War.

​Her story is a tale of triumph. At age 5 her mother sent her off to live with friends. She bounced from house to house until she was 10. Then she was sold as an indentured servant. She spent the next 8 years working in the fields by day. At night she taught herself to read. Would you believe it was against the law for slaves and indentured servants to learn to read, and for someone to teach them? 

​
​

​#19. Nathanael Green was one of George Washington’s most trusted generals. He commanded troops from Boston to the Carolinas, but he’s best known as the Commander of the Southern Campaign. Think of the battles in Georgia and the Carolinas. They led onto Yorktown and the end of the war.

TWICE, he was asked to serve as Secretary of War, but he refused both times. He preferred to live a quiet life in retirement. No wonder, after all those years on the battlefield.


​​

#20. Alexander Hamilton is famous for his duel with Aaron Burr. It started when Hamilton wrote a few mean pieces in the newspaper. The big problem, Hamilton fired into the air like he was supposed to, but Burr didn’t. He shot Hamilton in the gut, killing him.
​
Hamilton was more than a man who died in a duel. He was General Washington’s aide, and he commanded troops at the Battles of Trenton and Yorktown. Later he played a key role in developing and writing the Constitution, and he was our first Secretary of the Treasury. Sad – he’s not known for any of those things.

 I’ve never done as much research as I’ve done for this middle grade novel on the founding fathers. Every chapter is an adventure . . . And I never know what I’m going to uncover. 
​

Part 1 – How I Do The Research: I learned within the first 10 chapters that I need 3 different kinds of research for each one. First and most importantly, I look up the man who died. It’s your only chance to meet him.
​
I need at least three sources of information about him. Then I cut and paste the sources together. If I find the same fact 3 times, I can use it. Less, I can’t. Even then I still need to decide which facts are important, and which ones to skip. 
​​

Next, I research the death year from the American Revolution. I copy and paste everything, until I know what’s important. Finally, I look up what my main character, Charles Carroll of Carrollton was doing. I save everything he did that year. The same rules still apply – I need to know which facts I can verify, and which ones fit in the chapter.

Note – I save all three kinds of research, after my first draft of the actual chapter. Then I paste the research in the order it fit in the chapter, with all the source links. The last and biggest part, that’s all the stuff that didn’t fit in, verified or not, with their source links too. It’s there, just in case.

The first draft of a chapter is 10 pages or less. The research I use is usually 5-8 pages, and the rest, it’s what didn’t fit. The whole document is usually 30-40 pages altogether.

​

Part 2 – Stuck on a Fire: The idea for this post came when I hit chapter 36. I was stuck for 2 days on the research, and I couldn’t move forward until I pieced it together.

When I looked up tobacco planting in the 1790s, I discovered they burned the seed beds before they planted them. I couldn’t imagine setting a fire on purpose – I grew up with Smokey the Bear. And today kids are still taught NOT to set fires, and I was writing about setting one. WHOA!

​                                                             
​                                                             The first thing I looked up – controlled burns.
                                             The link: Controlled Burns on the Farm | Beginning Farmers

I learned from Beginning Farmers that you wait for a calm day to start the burn. Go to the bottom of a hill with the wind blowing up the slope. Set your fire so the wind blows away from people and houses. Aim it towards things like creeks, dirt roads, or rock barriers. Those 4 ideas helped, but I still wasn’t ready to write.

​                                   I also looked up this link: 13869 (ncpedia.org)
​
It’s from North Carolina’s encyclopedia. The title – Tobacco Farming the Old Way. I copied the pages I needed, but I didn’t use them. Why? I already had that information, but it confirmed the facts I knew. 

I also copied two pictures from that link. I had to remember what they looked like. If I can’t picture them, you won’t when you read the words.
​
I couldn’t share my pictures. I wasn’t sure if they were copyrighted so I took a screenshot from the search engine. The second and fifth pictures are the ones that helped me start a fire of words for you. 

But I still couldn’t write, so I found a YouTube video. I watched it a few times and wrote down these notes:

                      - fire burns slowly                  
                      - hearing crackling                 
                      - left behind black ash
​                      - edge of flame licked edge of field
​

Then I could write my controlled fire scene in chapter 36. Charley sets the fire, watches it burn, and keeps it under control. I was thrilled! My critique partners said they could picture the fire, all from my words. As a writer, that’s as good as it gets!

                             And the link: VN 000355 L65 CB283 16x9 3m30s 230620M (youtube.com)
                 

                                                                      Part 3 – False Family Connections: ​

​Edward Rutledge died in January 23, 1800. Thomas Heyward was still alive, so I kept looking.

Thomas married twice. His first wife, Elizabeth Matthews. The second, Elizabeth Savage. No Shubrick’s there, and Rutledge wasn’t mentioned, AT ALL. Here’s one of the sources I checked:
​
Thomas Heyward, Jr. | Facts, Early Years, Life, Death & Politics (revolutionary-war.net)

Part 4 – A Shocking Discovery: This is a painting of the Declaration of Independence, but it’s not the signing. The five men standing in the middle are the Committee of Five. They drafted the Declaration.
​
I always thought the Continental Congress signed it on the Fourth of July. Nope! Only two men did – President John Hancock and Secretary Charles Thomson. But that wasn’t my shocking discovery.
​

Meet Matthew Thornton! In that first draft of Chapter 1, I knew he signed late. His name was last on the Declaration, not with the other 2 men from New Hampshire. Something happened, but I didn’t know the what – so I took my best guess. Simplest is always best – Matthew signed later in the week.

Then I hit Chapter 38, this summer on June 25. I think I went into shock. My mind probably raced, trying to figure out what to do.
​
Here’s what I saw that night. It stopped me cold!

​
​Although Thornton was not present during the debates on independence or when 50 of the delegates signed the Declaration on August 2, he became one of six signers who did so in the following months…”

“…was elected to the Continental Congress just in time to sign the Declaration of Independence…” 
​
​​

​Within 30 minutes I texted and asked a critique partner if we could zoom the next day. She said yes. So I did some searching, and here’s what I learned . . . 
​

Link #1: The Declaration of Independence: A History | National Archives   This one had 5.
​

Among the later signers were Elbridge Gerry, Oliver Wolcott, Lewis Morris, Thomas McKean, and Matthew Thornton, who found that he had no room to sign with the other New Hampshire delegates.
​

1.  ​Matthew Thornton from New Hampshire
                     Granted permission to sign. Arrived 3 months later. 

2.  Oliver Wolcott from Connecticut
                     Signed after he returned to Congress in October.

​Link #3: The Signing of the Declaration of Independen8*ce - The American Founding     This one had 7

And here are the men who signed late:

1.  Matthew Thornton - Arrived in Congress November 4. Probably signed in November. 
New Hampshire

2.  Elbridge Gerry -  Away on July 4; Returned to Congress September 2, 1776.
Probably signed September 3. -  Massachusetts

3. Oliver Wolcott - Returned October 1. Probably signed in October. 
Connecticut

4.  Lewis Morris - Returned to Congress after August 2, before September 8. 
Likely signed in September - New York

5.  George Wythe Returned to Congress after August 2, before September 14.
Probably signed in September - Virginia

6.  Richard Henry Lee Returned to Congress August 27, 1776. 
Probably signed in September - Virginia
 
7.  Thomas McKean - Returned to Congress briefly in September,1776. Returned in January 1777. Signature is missing from Goddard Broadside, printed January. No one knows when he signed.   
Delaware       
​