NATIONAL BEST BOOK AWARD FINALIST!!!!

I was happy to open my e-mail Monday and find out - surprise - I was a finalist for an award in children's fiction! This is a national award which gives out prizes to all the big houses like Hyperion and Simon and Schuster, so to be a finalist coming from Fava Press really excites me. I just wanted to share the good news with you all!

KINGSVILLE ELEMENTARY

The students at Kingsville Elementary in Kingsville were great! Everyone had great questions and some even got up and danced to the Kingsville Elementary World Music Bands. Thank you, Kelley Louden for helping to set up the event.

PLYMOUTH ELEMENTARY READING NIGHT

As you can see, we had a lot of fun at Plymouth Elementary Wednesday night. I met some very dedicated teachers, students, parents and educators. Thank you for inviting me!

MADISON WOMEN'S BOOK CLUB

Last Monday I was able to speak to some very interesting ladies at Gale's Coffee Corner where I wrote the bulk of The DragonFly Keeper. Thank you Carolyn Malin for inviting me! And thank you Candy for my Green Tea and macaroons!

JOSEPH BETH LAST TUESDAY

Local author night was a success. I had a lot of fun with poet Dennis Stanfield and Cleveland mayor candidate Kimberly Faith Brown. Being Rosh Hoshana, the crowds were thin in this Jewish neighborhood, but all the seats were filled and the standing area as well. Next week I will be speaking to the MADISON WOMEN'S BOOK CLUB at GALE'S COFFEE CORNER in Geneva at 10 am on Monday the 13th. Then on Wednesday, the 15th, I will be appearing at PLYMOUTH ELEMENTARY's READING NIGHT from 6-8pm. Finally, on Monday the 20th, I will be at KINGSVILLE ELEMENTARY speaking to the students all morning. Happy Reading!

JOSEPH BETH BOOKSELLERS 9-30

Hello world,

September is coming to a close, and what better way to close it then by doing a local author signing at JOSEPH BETH BOOKSELLERS in LEGACY VILLAGE at 7 pm on TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30th. (Yes, the caps are to get your wandering attention to focus on details.) If anyone happens to be out in that area, I'm excited about this signing. After all, the protagonists of THE DRAGONFLY KEEPER, Manuela and Silvia, are GOING TO BE THERE! Yes, for those of you who didn't know it, I based (loosely) the main characters of my novel on my two nieces who are now 14 and 17. Hope to see you there. Maybe they will sign your copy!

Tanya

SCBWI CONFERENCE

This past weekend, September 5th and 6th, I was able to attend the Northern Ohio Society for Children's Books Writers and Illustrators 2208 Conference in Cleveland. As always, it was great to see so many writers and concentrate only on the craft. I saw my friends Kim and Charlie (above) and Jodi (with camera). Jean Daigneau, the chair, was a energetic organizer. Regina Brooks, president of the Serendipity Literary Agency of New York, gave a wonderful address on Saturday which made me immediately wish she were my agent. Above are pictured the three speakers, Amy Lennex of Sleeping Bear Press, Regina Brooks, and Kritin Daly of HarperCollins. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot. Now its back to dirty socks and maccaroni and cheese!