Lynda Pflueger has written nine biographies for children.  Her books have been favorably reviewed by Kirkus, School and Library Journal, and Booklist. Thomas Nast: Political Cartoonist is the fourth book in the Spotlight Biography Series.

One day, while researching an article on collecting, a book fell from the shelf above me and hit me on the head. I rubbed my head for a few seconds and then reached down and picked up the book.  It was about a man who collected political cartoons. His favorite cartoonist was Thomas Nast.

I’m a history buff, particular US history. I love visiting museums and libraries. Nothing pleases me more than to roam around dusty old archives and find newspaper articles or photographs I can use in my books. Sometimes my discoveries come from unusual places and surprise me.

I was intrigued by Nast’s story. After the Civil War, with only his pen as a weapon, he helped bring down a notoriously corrupt group of politicians called the Tweed Ring in New York City. Nast continually harassed the ring with his drawings and often focused his attention on William M. Tweed, the leader of the ring. In one drawing entitled “Brains” Nast drew Tweed dressed in a three-piece business suit and replaced his head with a money bag to signify the money he had stolen from the city.

I also fell in love with Nast’s drawings of Santa Claus inspired by Clement Moore’s poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” Nast portrayed Santa Claus as a jolly old fellow with a white beard and round belly.

Then I came across one of Nast’s drawings entitled Uncle Sam’s Thanksgiving Dinner and I knew I had to write about him. In the drawing Uncle Sam is carving a turkey, next to him is Columbia, and sitting around the table are Americans from around the world:  Germany, France, Britain, Africa, China, Italy, Spain, and Ireland. At the bottom of the drawing on the left side Nast wrote, “Come One Come All,” and on the right side, “Free and Equal.”

I started collecting all the books and magazine articles I could find about Thomas Nast. I traveled to Morristown, New Jersey, where he lived with his family. I spent days at the Morristown and Morris Township Library going through Nast’s scrapbooks, drawings, and other memorabilia. Afterward, I walked across the street to the Macculloch Hall Historical Museum and saw several of Nast’s paintings. I also discovered the Thomas Nast Society and purchased several copies of their journal. Finally, I was ready to sit down and write.

Queried Publishers

I completed my first draft and then sent out query letters to six educational publishers. Five months later an editor called. She was impressed with my query letter. Her publishing house was starting a new Historical American Biography Series. She wasn’t interested in a book about Nast at the time; but wondered if I would like to submit a proposal for a biography of someone on their list. She gave me a choice of five people. I chose Stonewall Jackson and within a week I submitted a proposal. Timing was important because they wanted the complete book in four months.

I met my deadline and a year later the first book in the Historical American Biography series, Stonewall Jackson:  Confederate General was published. A few weeks later my editor called with the news that Kirkus had favorably reviewed my book and commented it would find fans with Civil War enthusiasts.

Over the next few years, I wrote several other books for the series. Then one day my editor called and asked if I still wanted to write about Thomas Nast. I enthusiastically responded, “Yes!”

Thomas Nast: Political Cartoonist Published

The first edition of Thomas Nast: Political Cartoonist was published in 2000. This year, I updated the text, added hyperlinks, more photos and a new cover for an ebook version. For more information about Thomas Nast and upcoming writing projects visit my website at LyndaPflueger.com. The ebook is now available online.

Note:  The images used in this blog are from the Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, reproduction numbers: LC-USZ62-787, LC-USZ62-42027, and LC-USZ62-85882.

Please Share

Tell me about your publishing journey. I doubt it started with a book falling on your head, but would love to hear the details.

L.C. Scott is the founder of eFrog Press and an author. Her many years of teaching at the high school and university level and her freelance writing career have prepared her to lead a team of experts to guide both fledgling and experienced authors through the maze of indie publishing. Today on Take the Leap she announces an upcoming workshop for indie authors.

Publishing your book can be a DIY project—if you know how!  I will be sharing secrets for formatting ebooks and print-on-demand (POD) books at the September 13^th hands-on workshop, How to DIY for Ebooks and Print on Demand, in Carlsbad, California.

At this workshop, I will share tips that will save you time and prevent amateur errors when you prepare to indie publish your first titles. Creating an ebook or POD book is not rocket science, but there is a learning curve. Let me help you be successful.

Writing and publishing your book is just the first half of the equation. The second half is marketing! Many creative authors are uncomfortable with the marketing process. What’s an author to do?

Attend the afternoon workshop: How to Sell Books by the Truckload on Amazon.  Presenter Penny Sansievieri is an author; CEO, Author Marketing Experts, Inc.; and adjunct instructor at NYU. At this workshop, you will learn to:

• Optimize your Amazon page to start showing up in more searches
• Understand ebook and print categories and their differences
• Optimize your book title, subtitle and keywords on Amazon
• Make your Author Central page work for you
• Amazon hacks: Fun tricks you can to do spruce up your Amazon page
• Amazon reviews: Simple ways to find more reviewers for your book

 Participants will receive the following books by Penny Sansievieri:  Red Hot Internet Publicity and ebook, How to Sell Books by the Truckload.

Location: Hera Hub Carlsbad, 5205 Avenida Encinas, Suite A, Carlsbad, CA 92009

Time: 10 am to 2:30 pm with lunch included.

Our last workshop, on Aug. 16, focused on writing a book: craft, character-driven plot, and organizing nonfiction.  One attendee had this to say: “The time flew by during the workshop. I felt energized, encouraged, supported and inspired by the close of the workshop. The valuable information provided was worth hundreds of dollars. Please offer more Writers’ Craft workshops as I can’t wait to learn more.”
—Catherine Mowbray-Lorenz

Still time to register at the Early Bird discount of $120 (expires September 1). For more information visit http://bit.ly/wtrwksp

Seasoned journalist and food blogger Laura Grouch interviewed author Nancy Johnson about the release of her new YA Civil War novel. To mark the anniversary of the Battle of New Market, Shenandoah, Daughter of the Stars will be a free ebook on Amazon today and tomorrow, May 15 and 16.

Even though it took place more than 150 years ago, author Nancy Johnson believes Americans of all ages would benefit from knowing more about the Civil War.

They especially need to know that young people also gave their lives in the struggle, as shown in her third book, Shenandoah: Daughter of the Stars (ebook $3.99; paperback $9.95). The Battle of New Market, which took place on May 15, 1864, in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, was notable for the participation of nearly 250 military cadets—the youngest only age 15.

When Johnson was teaching grades four, five and six in California, she realized her students didn’t know much about the great War Between the States. “I wanted to spark an interest in a part of history that I believe is still influencing us today,” she said. “The divisions between North and South, conservative and liberal, black and white, are still an element of life in this country.”

Though she is a native Californian, her own roots reach back to Civil War days. Passed down in her family were letters from relatives, Union Army soldiers, who were in the midst of those battles and who described life during that time.

The Origins of Shenandoah

So when she was looking for a new project, her husband suggested, “Why don’t you go write a book?” Johnson decided to make use of her family history and do just that.

Her first young adult novel, My Brother’s Keeper, was set in the thick of the Civil War, from Northern Virginia to Gettysburg and back to Appomattox, drawing on a rich vein of family history and mementos.

She followed it up with A Sweet-Sounding Place, about Moses, a black youth from Massachusetts who encounters a runaway slave named Samantha.

Now comes the third in the trilogy, “Shenandoah: Daughter of the Stars,” which describes events from the viewpoint of Hannah, a Southern girl who nonetheless believes slavery is a great moral wrong.

Inspired by a visit to the Virginia Military Institute, Johnson weaves a battle fought by its young cadets alongside the Confederate Army into the story. The Battle of New Market was a victory for the Confederate Army. General John Breckinridge called on VMI’s cadets to fight Union soldiers. Forty-seven cadets were wounded, and 10 later died of their injuries. One of the characters in “Shenandoah,” Charlie, is a VMI cadet who is wounded in the battle.

“While doing research for the second book, we went to the Shenandoah Valley, and happened to be there on the day the Virginia Military Institute cadets did their re-enactment of the battle,” Johnson recalled. “Right then, I knew this would be the beginning of my third book.”

A Strong Heroine

Although most books about the Civil War have young male heroes, Johnson said, she wanted to tell this story from Hannah’s point of view.” She was just one of three characters at first. But girls need to know they had a part to play, too,” she said. (more…)

Judith Josephson loves to dig into the past and is fascinated by people’s lives. A former teacher, Judith Josephson has written stories, columns, and articles for children. Her award-winning biographies and history books include both nonfiction and fiction for children. Jesse Owens: Legendary Olympian is her most recent title.

In February, we celebrated African Americans. In addition, all eyes were trained on Sochi, Russia, where the Winter Olympics took place. Each day’s sports coverage featured athletes in blazingly colorful athletic outfits. Results of each competition were instantly photographed, tweeted, emailed, and recorded in real time on television. For more than a century, the Olympics, summer and winter, have represented the greatest athletic competition in the world, an event where months and years of training culminate in the best of the best, producing surprises, disappointments, and heroes.

1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin

At a very different Olympics seventy-seven years ago, the 1936 summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, African American track and field star Jesse Owens won four gold medals, surprising the world and infuriating Nazi dictator Adolph Hitler, who called Owens and other African American teammates America’s “black legions.” Hitler’s close associate declared Jesse and his teammates unfit to compete with “human” athletes, akin to allowing a gazelle or a deer on the team.

Today’s Olympics are different in many ways, but similar in others. Olympic athletes have always trained hard to reach this pinnacle of sports. Jesse Owens had grown up in poverty, but had been training for this day since junior high and high school days, when he started breaking records for his age.  In college at Ohio State University, at a 1935 meet in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the space of forty-five minutes, he broke four world records.

Politics isn’t supposed to have a role in the Olympics. But in 1936, the Olympics unfolded against Hitler’s evil intents, racism in the U.S. and the gathering storm of World War II.  Since then, issues like the “Cold War,” “Human Rights Violations,”  America’s “Civil Rights Movement,” and “South Africa’s apartheid policies” have caused boycotts and affected outcomes.

Fresh-faced young people have always inspired those who watch the Olympics.  When Jesse Owens won the gold medal in the 100-meter race, he graciously thanked his Olympic hosts, saying that Berlin was “a beautiful place, a beautiful city.  The competition was grand.  But I was very glad to come out on top.”  Proudly, he wore the winner’s laurel wreath and saluted his flag. Jesse Owens had class. Similarly, earlier this year, American luger Kate Hansen, danced for the crowd and in spite of her 10^th place finish, said, “I will be thankful for this moment the rest of my life.”

(more…)

Julia Larson is a freelance copywriter and copyeditor. When she’s not on a quadrilateral device, she’s on her yoga mat, a hike, or a cooking spree.

If you’re a book club enthusiast, then an ereader is (or has already proved to be) your new best friend. From instant access to your new novel, an ereader enhances your book club experience from start to finish. Although I’ve only recently become a book club attendee, I’ve found that my Kindle Paperwhite is an invaluable asset.

Here are five reasons an ereader is your best book club companion:

1. Start reading almost instantly.

No need to wait for a book to arrive in the mail or travel to your library’s shelves. You can easily download your ebook as soon as that month’s book is announced. And you’ll be extra thrilled when the book you want is downloadable for free from your library’s ebook collection.

Pro tip: If you know the lineup of your club’s reading, check out your library’s ebook collection early. That way you can put holds on any popular titles.

2. Highlight sections you want to discuss.

Sure, you can highlight in a traditional book, but with an ereader, your highlights are aggregated for easy access. Never again will you flip through your book with frustration, searching for that one page…

And don’t forget to take notes on those highlighted sections to share with your reading buddies!

3. Take copious notes.

An ereader’s ability to catalogue your notes is a huge boon to your reading experience—and even your vocabulary. Instead of flipping through all your pages or carrying along a notebook, you can seamlessly integrate your note-taking with your reading. For detailed instructions on how to highlight and take notes with a Kindle Touch, view this YouTube.

Later on, when you’re in your book club’s discussion, you can easily recall what excerpts & questions you want to bring up. (This is also awesome for the discussion leader of the group.)

4. Easily look up passages.

While a book club that relies on page numbers could lead to some frustration, the easy keyword lookup on an eReader counteracts it. If someone gives you a word or two that appears in the section, you can quickly see all the places it occurs in your novel. Additionally, there are certain ebooks (like The Light Between Oceans) that sync the traditional book’s pages with the ebook version.

For illuminated/backlit ereaders:

5. Comfortably read indoors & outdoors.

During my book club, I’m sometimes in the shade and sometimes in direct sunlight. Either way I can simply adjust the brightness on my Paperwhite. Of course the lighting is a major advantage throughout your ereading, from the moment you download your ebook to your club’s meeting.

Comment with your input!

Are you an avid ebook reader in a book club? What other advantages have you noticed with your ereader?

The Unknown Reader blogs monthly about all things ebook.  Naturally, she has strong opinions about her reading material. We met with the Unknown Reader to capture a portrait of her in front of a mosaic in Solana Beach, CA, doing what she does best–reading! Naturally, she is a voracious reader and today she shares her reactions to an ebook she read that has caused lots of discussion. Keep reading to find out what the Unknown Reader thinks of The Glass Sky.

Tired of slow-moving plots? Sick of forgetting to finish that ebook that chronically sinks to the bottom of your “to read” list? Then you’ll be pleased to find out that The Glass Sky by Niko Perren is not a snooze fest. Though I didn’t read the book very quickly, the unfinished narrative kept me itching for resolution.

The story follows two main characters: Tania Black, an American scientist who’s unexpectedly thrown into a dangerous job as the UN’s Chief Biospherist,  and Tian Jie, a Chinese engineer who might know how to obstruct the intensifying sunlight — and buy Earth time to clean up its act. While Tania battles political schemes and scrambles to grassroots organize, Jie hurries to develop the planet-saving shield technology.

You’ll see a convincing picture of the political backhanding, close-call manhunts, and weather catastrophes. As addictive as the action can be, this global-climate-change saga borders on going overboard. Sure, the intertwining plots are gripping and offer a cliffhanger at every turn, but how much action and how many cliffhangers are too much?

If the sheer amount of edge-of-your-seat action deters you, I’ll bet you’ll still enjoy the staging in the year 2050, which features many predictive technologies, world crises, and political maneuvers. While the imagined tech was hard to picture at times, Perrin usually provides enough context to convey its purpose and appearance. Seriously, folks, if you’re like me, a sucker for Wired and FastCo articles on the world to come, you’ll get a kick out of Perrin’s evolution of Google Glass, smartphones, cars, and more.

(more…)

Julia Larson is a freelance copywriter & copyeditor. When she’s not on a quadrilateral device, she’s on her yoga mat, a hike, or a cooking spree.

Fantods. Reglets. Circumorals. Kliegs. Boscages. These are just a sampling of the many vocab words I’ve highlighted in Infinite Jest. How many of us actually go back and look up those difficult words that we encounter — especially during an engrossing read?

Honestly, when reading print books, I’d rarely go back and research those noggin-scratchers. Here’s why my Kindle Paperwhite’s Dictionary Look-up Feature has revolutionized my reading:

1. It’s a (relatively) seamless experience.

When using my Kindle Paperwhite, I hardly interrupt my reading to satisfy my lexical curiosity. Keep in mind that the feature does take a moment to pop up (compared to the speed of current mobile devices).

2. It’s interactive.

I find that my kinesthetic and visual learning is very happy with the ability to touch the screen and see the dictionary screen pop up. If you’re using a touchscreen eReader, simply holding your finger down on the word brings up the dictionary preview, plus the option to highlight or read the full definition. This interaction still leaves me in awe (and I thought I was dumbstruck by typing into the original Kindle’s dictionary!).

3. It’s highlightable & catalogued.

My favorite part: You simply highlight that word, and you can return to your “Notes” section later and revisit your vocab collection.

You see, when I read from paper books, I’ll wield a pen, either circling the unknown word in the text, or keeping track elsewhere (usually on a sorry scrap of paper-turned-bookmark). Both these methods take much more time & effort.

4. It’s easy to add variety.

You can download all sorts of dictionaries and toggle between different options that you download. One eReader feature I’d like to see is the smart, automatic assignment of one of your dictionaries to each book, or a prompt to download the dictionary that’d best match the era and diction of the text.

5. It’s not bulky.

The eReader is already lightening your book-toting load, and the dictionary (or as many dictionaries as you want to download), add no extra weight or bulk. After all, who has that much room to spare in your backpack, purse, or car for the big Oxford editions that your eReader holds effortlessly?

It’s still our job to do the learning.

Although the dictionary look-up is supremely helpful, most of us probably don’t thoroughly absorb those words we look up (and highlight), except for those fortunate souls with photographic memory. I’ve had some words come to mind when writing (e.g., “simpering”) and have run into them elsewhere, but when it comes to memorizing and utilizing the whole breadth of words I’ve found, I need to be proactive. My belated New Years resolution? To start writing up that bevy of vocab flashcards!

Please share

But before I get started (Note: I didn’t resolve to not procrastinate), I want to ask our readers: What’s your favorite way to solidify and memorize the words you want to add to your vocabulary?

Richard Fitchen, BA MA MLIS PhD, was a firefighter and National Guardsman before teaching at the University of Washington and the University of California (Berkeley and Santa Barbara). He served as the social sciences bibliographer in Yale University’s Libraries and retired as bibliographer and reference department head at the Stanford University Libraries. He now writes full time and enjoys traveling with family.

Publishing electronically rather than in traditional print seemed a smart choice to me, like online retail versus newspaper ads.  Then Linda at eFrog Press explained the print-on-demand option.  Voilà, the best of both worlds!  When I met Linda, I mentioned projects in which I had participated to convert paper bound information to electronic files ranging from cutting-edge scientific journals to archives of the World Trade Organization.  She made the connection:  give readers of my fiction the same advantages!   I had tried putting up an electronic file but with no more success than I found earlier sending material to print publishers.  Now with editorial and technical guidance by Linda and her expert staff, my new book is properly launched.

United by Covenant, Ben’s America is the first of five books to be published in a series called An American Saga.  Three of the remaining four volumes are already in draft form, and we anticipate publishing at least two in 2014.  It helps to have design and layout decisions already set for the series by volume one!

I began writing United by Covenant because I could not bear to change a very long but personally cherished prequel.  The prequel rivals books like Hawaii and Shogun in length and complexity, and many letters to editors/agents plus meetings at a writers’ conference convinced me no publisher would undertake such a leviathan tome from an unknown author.  No doubt, I’m not the first to be consumed by unsalable abundance of creativity!  The prequel was polished occasionally and given ever better titles, but in the end a fresh start was needed.

Fortunately, the prequel experience helped enormously in writing United by Covenant, in many ways allowing me to learn from experience.  Writing it was very satisfying (ditto its sequel), perhaps partly because the project was planned from the very outset to comprise five volumes.

My previous career in American universities required highly developed research skills and a depth of subject knowledge, and I’ve drawn deeply on both to produce this title.  Its central character rises above the story’s dramatic fray to articulate the political faith that unifies partisan and cultural antagonists in America.  The covenant of American life reaches a peak of success in preserving the union through civil war, massive immigration, and sweeping industrial transformation.

United by Covenant is FREE today and tomorrow

After years of researching and writing, it is exciting to see my book come to life both as a print and ebook version. In my first attempt to connect with readers of historical, especially American, fiction, I am making my book free today and tomorrow, January 29 and 30. Please spread the word, download the Kindle ebook, and post a review. I wrote the book to make U.S. history as interesting to readers as I have always found it, and the best way I know is through story. So if you enjoy United by Covenant, standby as more volumes are coming soon in this American Saga.

The Unknown Reader opines about how to gift ebooks this holiday season. Although she hides her face behind her Kindle, the Unknown Reader never hides her opinions. Read on to learn why ebooks make the ideal holiday gift!

Cyber Monday might be a distant, foggy memory. At this point, you probably hate to think about any more holiday planning or browse Amazon & eBay yet again. But, if you need to (or if there are also winter birthdays to shop for), there’s the instantly-delivered digital gift of an ebook.

I’m all for giving ebooks as gifts because it’s . . .

1. Convenient

Though shopping burnout happens by this point in December, shopping for ebooks is relatively painless. View some excerpts, read some reviews, and find the ebook that your recipient will enjoy. Even the iBookstore has caught on and added ebook gifts this season.

2. Easier on the budget

While convenience is a main reason to go for ebooks, it’s also a matter of budgeting. A good ebook can easily cost under $15—and incur zero shipping & handling fees, which can mean huge savings compared to one- or two-day shipping. Giving an ebook also means that you don’t have to disclose how much you’re spending on the gift, as you would with a gift card.

3. Easier on the environment

Giving an ebook means one less thing to feel guilt over this holiday season. Without sending any packages on trucks, packing gifts in plastic, or giving something that will someday end up in a landfill, you can feel great about your choice of gift. (And you don’t spend gas money going to a bookstore or resources to wrap a traditional book!)

4. Thoughtful

With any book, it’s clearly the thought that counts and expresses your unique connection with the recipient. When you know what a person will really spend their time reading, or a topic that you two share, an ebook is a great gift. (And you’ll know them well enough to know what device to buy the ebook for!)

5. Not tricky to learn how           

Starting a new gift giving tradition can be daunting. That’s why it’s key to find some great how-to’s.

Check out these guides to begin:

• How to give ebooks via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBookstore, Kobo, and Sony’s Reader Store (videos)
• How to give ebooks via Amazon, B&N, iBookstore, Kobo, and All Romance Books/OmniLit (text)
• How to use QR codes to give free Project Gutenberg books on gift labels, cards, etc. (text & screenshots)

Ebook Suggestions for Last-Minute Gifts

‘Twas the Late Night of Christmas

This fun take on the classic ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas is a great gift for families, kids, parents, but especially moms worn down by the demands of the season! Sit by your fireplace (where the stockings are hung) and sip egg nog as you order from Amazon, Barnes & Nobel, or iTunes (Read Aloud version). Perfect for Christmas!

View book trailer starring Malcolm in the Middle’s Jane Kaczmarek and read interview with Mrs. Saint Nick about her featured role in this fun book.

Bloody Lessons: A Victorian San Francisco Mystery

Have a friend who loves mysteries or historical fiction? Bloody Lessons: A Victorian San Francisco Mystery by M. Louisa Locke is both–a cozy mystery set in Victorian San Francisco. This is the third book in the series so you could gift the first title, Maids of Misfortune, but Bloody Lessons is a great read and gives enough context to be read first. Especially  fun for teachers! The author is a retired history professor who knows the Victorian period well.

Unveiling

Need a gift for a friend who likes more recent history, stories about other cultures, or a bit of romance? We have the perfect new title–Unveiling by S. Woffington. The heroine, Sara, is passionate about art and her culture’s ancient traditions but flees her sheltered family life to live in America and pursuit her art. Two men follow and she faces two possibilities for her future. The author lived in Saudia Arabia and her love for the country and people shine through.

View the book trailer and read what S. Woffington blogged about this new title.

 Dear Ann, Dear Mary: A Correspondence of Grief and Friendship

But what to get for your friend who is grieving and dreading the holidays? The friend who cannot bear to hear one more “Ho, ho, ho!” or another “Merry Christmas!” Dear Ann, Dear Mary is the ideal gift. Written by Ann Carli and Mary Scherr as they struggled to cope with the deaths of their husbands, these two women documented their journey in an email correspondence full of wisdom and even humor as they supported each other. This honest book has already helped others. Here is a recent review from a reader: “Touching, heartfelt and theraputic for a person who had lost a loved one. Highly recommended. I bought 5 copies, two as digital books to share with friends.”

Authors Ann Carli and Mary Scherr blogged about their book.

Are you giving ebooks this season?

If so, what’s your main reason for going the ebook route? And don’t forget to check out ereaders to give as gifts this year, too

Susan L. Lipson, a middle-grade novelist who also happens to be our Forest Beat reporter, shares her recent interview (below) with Althea, a tree fairy with unique knowledge of the human lifestyle. Lipson was tipped off to the fairy’s whereabouts by 10-year-olds Sara and Jonathan, who shared their tale, The Secret in the Wood, with her. The kids accidentally met the displaced tree fairy when Althea regained consciousness after a long sleep on Sara’s wooden bedroom wall. In this interview, Lipson discusses with Althea the positive effects of the burgeoning ebook industry on forest dwellers like herself.

SLL: Hello, Althea! So, I imagine that you have some strong feelings about the book industry that humans have created. Is that correct?

Althea: Oh, yes, indeed I do, Susan! As I’ve told Sara, I believe that humans who write words on paper must at all times remain conscious of the fact that trees gave their lives for that paper; and you must honor that sacrifice with well-chosen, vivid, concise words—the very least one can do to conserve paper and respect our natural world. Too many books spend too many pages saying too little that is worthy of the paper upon which it is printed. It’s a waste of precious tree lives, in short.

SLL: Do you think we should stop printing books on paper then and read exclusively on electronic reading devices?

Althea: Well, no, because not all humans have access to technology, and I have learned that illiteracy is as harmful to this planet as wasted trees. So, I believe you humans need to strike a balance, as we fairies do in Nature. I believe that you must print some paper copies of books, but definitely balance out the paper copies with ebooks. And definitely get more children to read on screens whenever possible—and to be conscious of not wasting paper when they write, too!

SLL: How can kids avoid wasting paper?

Althea: Be concise and precise!

SLL: Like poets?

Althea: Yes, indeed—by writing memorable words!

SLL: That’s the name of one of my blogs: Writing Memorable Words (www.susanllipson.blogspot.com)!

Althea: Blogs? Those are the electronic alternatives to paper journals and newsletters, right? Hurray for alternatives to tree chopping in every form! For every tree chopped down to make paper, tree fairies are displaced; remember that!

SLL: Your tales in The Secret in the Wood certainly make us remember that! What was the worst part about having your tree chopped down?

Althea: The worst part was ending up on Sara’s bedroom wall without roots for energy or the natural world for company. But then again, I never would have met Sara and learned so much about your human world if I had merely followed the fairy kingdom rules without questioning them . . .

SLL: Are you implying that young readers should also be rule-breakers?!

Althea: Not rule-breakers, necessarily. NONCONFORMISTS. I changed my life and the lives of Sara and Jonathan for the better by not conforming to the rules of the fairy kingdom. But now, with my new perspective, I respect the wisdom behind those rules and follow them because I choose to, not merely because I have been ordered to follow them.

SLL: In other words, you’ve branched out, spread your limbs, grown up . . .

Althea: Yes! Just like a tree! Oh, how much better life would be if everyone lived like a tree!

SLL: Ah, you just stated the chorus of a song I wrote, “If Everyone Lived Like a Tree”! That song will soon be added to the soundtrack I’ve written for The Secret in the Wood.  People can already hear the first song on my author-teacher website’s Songs page, a haunting song called “Dance of the Trees” (www.author-teachersusanllipson.com) or click on the picture of the trees.

Althea: Do all writers write songs to enhance their books?

SLL: No, and I don’t write them to enhance the books either. The songs just start playing in my head as I’m writing. I have songs for everything I write! Words and music just seem to flow in my head.

Althea: You must live around trees then, for tree fairies harness the music of the wind and fill human hearts with songs.

(more…)