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Today I had the honor and privilege of leading two poetry writing workshops for the Fort Osage District’s Young Authors Conference. There are certain moments in life that bring such joy it’s difficult to really express with words. This day was filled with those moments. Watching so many wonderfully talented kids utilize their creativity—and doing so in a format that I love so dearly—was incredible. I would like to extend a sincere thank you to Rebecca Conrad and the Fort Osage School District for inviting me to teach their young authors a little bit about poetry. I would also like to give a cyber round of applause to all the children there today who were brave enough to share their creativity with the world. I hope you all continue to write every day! Here are a few pictures of some of the remarkable kids I had the pleasure of teaching today. #TheFutureIsBright #FutureAuthorsofAmerica   
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What do Sid the Sasquatch, Wendy Elliott, William Shatner, Henry Winkler, Cary Elwes, Jason Liebrecht, Juliana Harkavy, Danielle Panabaker, Mark Pellegrino, Dean Cain, Michael Rosenbaum, Chris Sarandon, John Wesley Shipp, Tom Welling, Linda Blair and Bonnie Wright all have in common? They’ll all be attending the 20th Anniversary Celebration of Planet Comicon Kansas City - March 29th-March 31st 2019! Come and join the fun! Get your tickets today!  I have been fortunate to meet several aspiring authors since publishing Sid the Sasquatch in 2016. This has been a real treasure for me! So I wanted to give a shout out to a few of them here. These young ladies have a remarkable talent for writing and I can't wait to see what the future brings for them! #TheFutureLooksBright #FutureAuthorsofAmerica #YoungWriters Meet Eva: She is an avid reader and has a vast imagination!  Meet Bella: She has a talent for rhyme and quick creative writing!  Meet Sophie: She loves to write stories about talking animals!  Thank you all for sharing your stories with me and for expressing yourself through writing! You are going to go far!! A note from the author: I had the absolute pleasure of speaking at Rising Hill Elementary school yesterday and hosting a couple of writing workshops for their #KindnessWeek kickoff! There are so many talented kids attending Rising Hill! I was blown away. I even had the opportunity of listening to the 2nd grade class sing the "Rising Hill" song (which was AH-mazing)! A big thank you to fellow Author Hollie Westring, Principal Kate Place, and the PTA for inviting me to spend the morning with their kiddos! What a fun way to spend a rainy Monday morning! Here are a few pictures of Sid's new friends! I want to also take a moment to send a special shout out to Liam - thanks for helping me turn the pages!
 A note from Sid's author: Last night, Greenwood Elementary PTA invited me back to the school for their "Read-in" to discuss my book and the writing process with their students. It was a delightful evening filled with fun conversations with children of various ages about costumes, animals, and even rainbow unicorn poop! lol The children were all such a joy to talk with, and so eager to express themselves and share their own creativity. One student (Sophie) brought in a story for me to review and edit... it was a sweet story about a dog, that highlights her creative talent. She is a remarkable writer and I have no doubt she will one day have a published book in her hands! She is now spearheading a campaign at the school to start a writing club, with several eager children wanting to join in (Madi, Meagan, the other Sophie who wants to be a unicorn, and others - I hope you get your writers club!). If you follow through with it, I'll come and visit again sometime to chat with you and read your stories. And remember, the best way to improve your writing is to READ lots of books! In the meantime, please feel free to email me your stories if you'd like to. I would love to read them anytime! Thank you to the kind kids who offered their books for me to read with them last night (I'm sorry I didn't get everyone's names); To the charming boy who loaned me "Super Rabbit Boy Blasts Off!" to read - the book was super fun, I hope King Viking learns how to be kind in the end! To Blaine (Blane?) who loaned me the Pirate ABC's book, "RRR," you have quite a talent for finding hidden letters! To the sweet boy who wants to be an eagle and thinks I don't remember him! I still have not forgotten you and the 156 page novel you're reading! I hope you enjoy the read! I know you will soar to great heights! Again, I would like to thank GWE for allowing me and Sid to be a part of your Read-a-Thon this year! You have a fantastic group of students there and it was an honor to spend time getting to know each of them. Here are some of Sid's new friends... and two lucky winners of the Sid the Sasquatch bundle drawing (Evie and London)! #GWEkindness #GWEreadswithsid #GWEselfieswithsid     A note from Sid's author: I had the absolute pleasure of kicking off Greenwood Elementary's October Read-a-Thon last week with a presentation and reading for all of their 450+ wonderful students. Greenwood Elementary's motto this year is "Be kinder than necessary... it matters!" I love their focus on kindness. Sid's story is one about kindness; and because Ollie, the human boy in his story, chose kindness over fear Sid made a new friend.  GWE Staff has invited Sid to stay with them during the read-a-thon and they have a lot of fun things planned for the kiddos... a daily Sasquatch hunt, reading with Sid, selfies with Sid, etc. The kids are going to have a blast (and Sid is too) and I look forward to hearing all about it over the next couple of weeks! Sid has already met so many wonderful kids, and even future authors! Here he is pictured with one of his new friends.  I look forward to chatting with this future author next week at the GWE Read-in! Thank you again, Greenwood Elementary, for inviting Sid and myself to join in your exciting Read-a-Thon this year! #GWEkindness #GWEreadswithsid #GWEselfieswithsid As you likely know by now “Sid the Sasquatch” was the recipient of the Illustration Award in the Reader’s Favorite annual international book award contest in 2017. But how much do you know about Mark Wayne Adams, who judges this contest every year? Take a moment, if you would, to journey over to his website and read about the man who turned his 3rd grade dream into a lifelong career. There, you can also see other talented recipients of the Illustration Award as well. Thank you again to Mark Wayne Adams for recognizing Sid’s talented illustrator and honoring Sid the Sasquatch with this award.
 Today it was announced that Sid the Sasquatch won the illustration Award in the Reader's Favorite annual international book award contest for 2017. This is quite an achievement and honor for Sid! A HUGE thank you to the talented Joseph Cowman for his award winning contribution to this book!  In December, I sent President Obama a couple of Sid the Sasquatch books. I never shared his letter because there wasn't any reason to. I read it from time to time because it gives me #HOPE in what our country can be again and gives me hope knowing that there are people out there still fighting for the majority of us who do not share the same views as the current administration. I feel that now is the time to share his letter. Because perhaps it will give others hope too, when we so desperately need it. What is going on so publicly in the country right now is heartbreaking. When I was a child, I remember comments being made about interracial couples. I remember wondering why it mattered. It didn't. Love is love, it knows no colors. To tell someone not to love someone else for any reason is the complete opposite of how we should behave. No matter what anyone thinks, there is NO GOOD REASON why someone shouldn't love another. Let them love. One of my favorite phrases is "to each their own." I heard that when I was a child and I have repeated it many times in life. I believe in it. If there is no harm in a person's actions, then let them be. How can loving someone cause harm? It can't. So let them love. But I digress… The world today is worse than I remember. I saw so much progress throughout my life, and now… we have stepped back. So help future generations move forward once again. Teach children to love. Teach them about other cultures and how to respect those that are different. Teach them to embrace the good qualities we all have. #SPREADLOVE Sid the Sasquatch is a story about the acceptance of diversity. It is a fun story about a young sasquatch learning to see people for their heart and actions instead of their appearance. It is a tool to help introduce these topics in a fun and positive way. I hope that you will share Sid's story with your children. Share it with your own kids, your nieces, nephews, cousins, grandchildren, neighbors. Share it and SPREAD LOVE. Thank you former President Barack Obama, for giving me hope.  |
