A Fun Time Was Had By All

I had a book reading on Friday in Tuckahoe NY on Friday at Main Street Pediatric Dentistry and had a blast. I was part of the festivities in the First Annual Spooktacular Pajama Party Story Hour. I read from a few of my books as well as selected poems from the poetry collection, An Eyeball in My Garden. Everyone had a great time.

There were plenty of activities for the kids to do, including arts and crafts and pumpkin decorating. The kids were adorable. Most of them were in costume or wearing Halloween themed pajamas. The dentist’s office was unbelievable. The entire office has an undersea theme and the decorations are incredible. There’s a life-sized image of a diver in what seems to be a diving bell when you first walk into the waiting room. There are also alcoves that contain computer games and a TV. This place is definitely designed to entertain. If you live around Westchester County, NY, and your kids don’t like going to the dentist, I think this place just might change their minds. For anyone interested, the website is below.

http://www.mainstreetpediatricdentistry.com/

Theme Writing Article Featuring: An Eyeball In My Garden

I was discussing the poetry collection I’m involved with, An Eyeball in My Garden: And Other Spine-Tingling Poems, with some other writers, and Debra Eckerling from Write On! suggested I write an article about making a holiday book. I wrote an article about Theme Writing since An Eyeball in My Garden is basically a Halloween themed book. You can see the end result here.

http://writeononline.com/2010/10/14/theme-writing/

In this article, I talk about the process of putting the project together and ways to stay on topic while still being completely original.

This is the first time I ever tried to write an article on the writing process. I guess after having four children's books and some poetry published, people assume that I must actually know something worthwhile about the writing process. Upon careful consideration, I've come to the conclusion that maybe they're right. ;-)

If you get a chance, go check it out and leave a comment (and be kind). :-)

Visit From Award-Winning Author Carolyn Howard Johnson

Today, I am very pleased to present the award-winning author Carolyn Howard-Johnson who is sharing her work in progress with us, just in time for Halloween here’s...


Stories to Make Frankenstein Faint

A Sampler: Legends from Bohemia
By Carolyn Howard-Johnson

(The introduction from a work in progress that
tells legends from around the world.)

Listen my Children. There is a place in Eastern Europe that is full of ancient graveyards and cellars where even today people read scary poetry by candlelight. It is an ancient city called Prague. There they speak a very, very mysterious Celtic language called Czech. There are strange circles and lines a little karets over the letters that make sounds like nothing we English speakers have ever heard.

In that city is an olden bridge. We who speak English call it the old Charles Bridge, but the people who live there call it the Karlov most. And that bridge looks like no bridge you have ever seen. Towers and gothic arches and stones, like a castle, are like sentries at the entryway. You can imagine horses hobbling and clattering over the cobblestones beneath as they move from the old town onto the bridge.

The people who lived in the town say a water goblin lives under the bridge. He crouches on the bottom, ready to devour children and adults don’t pay attention to the rules and go swimming after eating huge quantities of dumplings and pork and beef,. They die of the cramps and the goblin feels that they are fair game.

At the bottom of the river, in the shadow of the bridge, the goblin keeps pottery pots—or perhaps they are enameled metal—for both are still made around Prague today. These he uses to pop the souls of those who die and keep them there. He has quite a collection but, it is said that he has grown skinny and bored today because the river is no longer good for swimming so there are very few opportunities for modern children to encounter his long fingers and toes and hair that moves with the current like deep green seaweed or slender water grass in the sandy bottom. He must rely on his stores of days gone by.

That means that he is hungrier than he ever has been. So beware!

----

Carolyn Howard-Johnson is known for her multi award-winning nonfiction how-to books for writers and retailers (http://www.howtodoitfrugally.com/), but she is also an award-winning novelist (www.howtodoitfrugally.com/this_is_the_place.htm) and poet (www.howtodoitfrugally.com/poetry_books.htm) . Her novel This Is the Place won eight awards and her book of true short stories, Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered, (www.howtodoitfrugally.com/harkening.htm) won three.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson, Instructor for the renowned UCLA Extension Writers' Program Web site: http://www.howtodoitfrugally.com/ E-mail: HoJoNews@aol.com
Award-winning author of the How To Do It Frugally Series of Books for writers, including USA Book News' award winners The Frugal Editor http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0978515870/The Frugal Book Promoter http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/193299310X/The Great First Impression Book Proposal http://budurl.com/BookProposals Great Little Last Minute Edits: http://budurl.com/WordTrippersPB Love LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/carolynhowardjohnson Squidooing at: http://www.squidoo.com/HowToDoItFrugallyforAuthors My iFOGO Page:http://www.ifogo.com/BRZ_AG/members/chjohnson.htmlTwittering at: http://www.twitter.com/frugalbookpromoAt Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/carolynhowardjohnsonBlogs for Writers:http://www.sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com/ , http://thenewbookreview.blogspot.com/ http://www.thefrugaleditor.blogspot.com/

Now blogging on War. Peace. Tolerance and Our Soldiers at: http://warpeacetolerance.blogspot.com/

Just In Time for Halloween!

Halloween is right around the corner! Now might be a perfect time to introduce yourself to a brand new monster like the one in Winking Wot Warning, or to try a dish off the Mummy’s Menu, or to really find out Where Nightmares Dwell, if you dare.

An Eyeball in My Garden: And Other Spine-Tingling Poems is a collection of forty four spookalicious poems written by fourteen terrifyingly talented poets. Containing everything from the humorous, to the creepy, to the absolutely sinister, this collection is designed to tickle your funny bone and then perhaps, gnaw right through it.

This book is available from Marshall Cavendish, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, or ask your local book store.

Be sure to check my the poems, Our Neighborhood and The Gargoyle.


To find out more, please visit http://www.eyeballinmygarden.com/