Guest Post at Teen Librarian Toolbox!

It's Dyslexia Awareness Month, and since the main character of my YA Fantasy novel A DRAGONBIRD IN THE FERN has dyslexia, Teen Librarian Toolbox (a School Library Journal blog) asked if I wanted to write a guest post.   

Check it out here!

While you're at it, don't forget to browse the other October TLT posts!

A DRAGONBIRD IN THE FERN has a pub date!

Hey everyone, I have exciting news! 

Until now, my debut novel only had a general publishing time frame: Fall 2020. But now it has an actual date!

You'll find my YA Fantasy in stores and online on November 10, 2020!

What's A DRAGONBIRD IN THE FERN about?

When an assassin kills Princess Jiara's older sister Scilla, Jiara takes her sister’s place as the bride to the king of a faraway country—hoping she can catch the killer before her sister’s vengeful ghost murders their family—and making Jiara the killer's next target.

You can add A DRAGONBIRD IN THE FERN to Goodreads here!






all pictures free use via BeFunky

My Journey to Publication - aka DON'T GIVE UP

This past week, everyone has been so amazing and supportive, with friends and strangers saying delightful things about A DRAGONBIRD IN THE FERN and adding it on Goodreads (you can do that here!).

I've dreamt of being a published author since elementary school. This journey was far from an overnight success. If you spend that much time working on a dream, you might get discouraged, like I did—many times.

I thought of this line a lot…

Sometimes it's very difficult to keep momentum

If it's you that you are following.

-"New Argentina", Evita

That's essentially what we as creatives are doing—trusting over and over that we've carved out the right path, and while we may make adjustments, we have to keep going to get where we want to be.

So, if you're like me, you're writing and writing, and learning, and growing, and collecting some praise, but lots of passes (more on this below). Accounts of longer publishing journeys like from the wonderful Beth Revis helped me keep my faith.

So, here's my path.

I wrote a lot in school and some in college, but never managed to complete a novel until 2011, when I figured out the two keys for me were knowing the ending and trying to write in first person. Eureka! A full novel! I was a writing genius!

Ha

Ha

Ha

Since then I completed many full first drafts, and polished and queried several of them. I signed with an agent (yay!), went on sub, but my story didn't find a home. My agent's interests changed, and we parted ways. I found myself at a crossroads.

1. I was starting to lose faith in myself as a writer (again). Massive are-you-just-wasting-your-time feelings crashed over me.
2. But I still believed in A DRAGONBIRD IN THE FERN with all my heart.

I worked on my next WIP, but I also used feedback from some editors from my round of subs and revised Dragonbird on my own. I sent it to a small number of respected publishers that take unagented submissions.

On my birthday (seriously, on my birthday), Kelsy Thompson from Flux requested my full. Fast forward a few months, and she asked if it was still available! And now A DRAGONBIRD IN THE FERN will be published by Flux in Fall 2020.

So, to get to this point of having a publishing deal, I had 8 years of hard work, heartbreak, hope, and learning. I wrote 9 manuscripts and queried 5 of them. I received somewhere around 300 passes.

Yes. 300. And some of them were really important, because they contained feedback that helped me grow as a writer. And if I had given up at 100 or 200 or even 250, I wouldn't be looking forward to holding my book in my hands.

So, keep writing, keep learning, believe in yourself!

And DON'T GIVE UP!

I sold my book: A DRAGONBIRD IN THE FERN !!!

I'm absolutely thrilled to announce…

Flux Books has bought my debut novel

A DRAGONBIRD IN THE FERN

obligatory Publisher's Marketplace announcement picture

A DRAGONBIRD IN THE FERN is a YA Fantasy with a sister relationship that transcends death, empowering female friendships, and a bloodthirsty ghost. Intrigued? You add it on Goodreads here!

Want to know more?

When an assassin kills Princess Jiara's older sister Scilla, her vengeful ghost is doomed to walk their city of glittering canals, tormenting loved ones until the killer is brought to justice. The mourning period hasn't even reached its end when Scilla's betrothed, the king of a country far away, requests that seventeen-year-old Jiara take her sister's place as his bride.

Marrying the man meant for her sister would make her feel bad enough, but with a learning disability and years of scholarly struggles, Jiara believes her chances of learning a new language are slim. She's terrified of life in a foreign land, where she'd be unable to communicate. Then Jiara discovers evidence that her sister's assassin came from the king's country. Marrying the king would allow Jiara to hunt the murderer and release her family from Scilla's spirit, whose thirst for blood mounts every day.

With magical bracelets on her forearms and a dagger strapped to her calf (neither of which she knows how to use), she makes her way to the lush, fern-covered country of her sister's assassin. But Jiara hasn't even reached her new home when the first attempt is made on her life. To save her family, Jiara must find Scilla's killer...before he murders her too.

I love this story, and I'm so excited to share it with the world!

Look for A DRAGONBIRD IN THE FERN in Fall 2020!

Levi's...from Germany?

Did you know Levi Strauss—the inventor of Levi's jeans—was an immigrant from Germany?

I live about a half hour away from the house he grew up in. It has since been turned into a museum, and today, we took the kids to see it. So how did Levi Strauss go from being a poor kid in Germany to the founder of a wildly successful American clothing company?

He was born in 1829, one of seven children of a Jewish family in Buttenheim, in the Kingdom of Bavaria, in the German Confederation. The entire family lived in only two rooms of the house pictured below; only one room had heat.

The family lived on the ground floor.

Levi's name was originally Löb Strauss, and he left Germany for the US at age 18, due to the occupational and personal restrictions imposed on Jewish people in Bavaria at the time.

Before leaving the country, a notice was published in the local paper--in case anyone thought the family owed them money.

Within three years, he'd changed his name from Löb to Levi, worked to learn English and took on American citizenship. He and his family started a dry goods business, and Levi moved to the west coast to provide goods to people heading out for the California Gold Rush.

One of his customers was Jacob Davis. Davis figured out a new way to use rivets on pants, to make them sturdier, but he didn't have enough money for the patent or to get the business off the ground. He asked Levi to work with him. 

The patent!

By 1890, the famous 501s were being produced under that model number.

These jeans were made in 1890. They already had the stitching on the pocket, which was supposed to resemble an eagle in flight.

 

old advertisement: "patented riveted clothing"

Later, he left the running of his company to his nephews and worked as a philanthropist, among other things. He passed away in 1902.

Bonus pic

The first Levi's specifically for women weren't produced until 1918. But many farming women wore their husband's.

All pictures by me.

Bamberg - Colorful, Dignified and Occasionally a Bit Crooked

One of my kids recently had some appointments in Bamberg, Germany, so I had the opportunity to wander around the town. I've been to Bamberg before, but it had been a while and I'd forgotten how fascinating Bamberg is.

We had some pretty dreary weather, but I'd still love to show you around!

There are colorful buildings...

Old Town Hall

See the 3D effects?

 Old, crooked buildings...

Very dignified buildings...

The Old Palace

Cathedral in the background

 

Bridges and narrow streets...

Caught a bird in flight on this shot!

Do you see the faces on this bridge?

There's so much more to see in Bamberg - hopefully, I'll get the chance to show you more sometime!


Bonus Pic

My dog being a VeryGoodBoy^TM at an outdoor café.

All pictures by me