Print Bookstore July 22nd
Print is a relative newcomer to the Portland bookstore scene. (For a small town, we’ve got a very high proportion of restaurants and bookstores. This is something I really appreciate in a city). And they are superb. I love their selection, their beautifully curated kid’s section, and the events they host, all with writers I’d like to become my new best friends.
I’m very honored to be showing up at an event there myself in the near future! If you’re in and around Portland, Maine on July 22, drop by Print at 11:00. I’ll be signing copies of Ancient Animals: Plesiosaurs and Quick, Little Monkey, and there will be a scavenger hunt among the stacks. We’ll all have a blast.
Where: Print Bookstore, 273 Congress St.
When: Saturday, July 22, 11:00
Why: for books and fun!
For more info: (207) 536-4778
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Deadly Flowers Wins Wisconsin Award!
Giddy dancing and excitement around here, because Deadly Flowers has won the 2017 Elizabeth Burr/Worzalla Award, given by the Wisconsin Library Association for “distinguished achievement in children’s literature!”
So delighted. I’ll get to go to a library conference in the scenic Wisconsin Dells and speak to numerous sagacious and exceptional librarians. Can’t wait!
Read MoreDeadly Wish Reviews
“In the face of mounting challenges, a ninja is torn between her mission as guardian of a magical pearl and loyalty to her friends. In this sequel to Deadly Flowers (2016), Kata finds herself in Madame Chiyome’s clutches again, the very person who molded her into the stealth warrior she is today. Kata soon learns that she is up against far more than Madame Chiyome’s wrath…. Even though a true ninja must always act alone, Kata must trust her friends: Jinnai, a thief who professes his love for her; Otani, an ex-samurai-turned-bandit; and her ninja sisters…. As her mission nears its climax, Kata faces an epic battle alone…. Kudos to Thomson for a well-researched story with plausible characters in a fantastical world reminiscent of 16th-century Japan. Jam-packed with thrilling action and hurtling plot twists—readers may forget to breathe.”
–-Kirkus Reviews
Twelve Truths I Learned From Life and Writing by Anne Lamott
“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes. Including you.”
“Every writer you know writes really terrible first drafts, but they keep their butt in the chair.”
“Go outside. Look up. Secret of life.”
Phenomenal Woman
Heartbroken to lose her. The world is sadder, dimmer, and less beautiful without her.
Read MoreWhy Health Insurance Matters To Writers
Have you ever got to your doctor’s office and asked how much something would cost?
If you never have, indulge me. Try it some time. The next time your doctor tells you that you’ll need a test or a referral to a specialist or even an MRI, ask her how much it will be.
She won’t be able to answer you, but the look of befuddlement on her face will be entertaining.
If you’d never seen that look of befuddlement, chances are you have employer-provided health insurance. You’re lucky. I sincerely hope you can go to your doctor when you choose and get the medical procedures you need without worrying about your bank account, your retirement, or your child’s college fund. Just please remember–it doesn’t happen for all of us.
Normally this blog is about books and children’s literature and the writing process. But I’m taking a break to write about health insurance since it’s in the news lately and because–perhaps this will come as a surprise–writers get sick now and then.
I’m a writer, full-time. This is rare. Most writers have day jobs or working spouses. One of the reasons they have these things is so that they can have health insurance. So they don’t get sick and die because they can’t afford to see a doctor. So they won’t be bankrupted if a healthy life is abruptly turned upside down and inside out by a terrifying diagnosis or a dreadful accident.
I don’t have a day job or a working spouse. I buy my insurance through the Affordable Care Act. I pay thousands of dollars a year in premiums, and on top of that I pay for all my family’s medical care out of pocket because my deductible is so high.
This is hard. I can do it, but it’s hard. Perhaps it’s about to get harder.
And it matters. If you like books, it matters. If you love to read to your child, it matters.
If we, as a society, want a creative work force, if we want people to write and illustrate books (and direct movies and compose music and perform dance and do all the other things we love about the arts), then we have to make it possible for those people to see a doctor. To get the tests the doctor recommends. To write and illustrate and live long and healthy lives.
Honestly, it doesn’t seem that much to ask.
Read MoreChenery Book Festival
Here I am with my fellow festival-ites! Ammi-Joan Paquette, on left, specifically requested that we not mention how she is holding her book upside down and backwards….so I won’t.
Had a lovely time yesterday at the Chenery Book Festival in Belmont, MA, where the dogwoods are blooming. The only drawback was that so many kids and parents wanted to drop by to talk about books that I didn’t get enough of a chance to hobnob with my fellow authors!
This reader didn’t want her face to show in the photo. But how cool to meet a reader whose shirt matches your book!
I did have some happy chat with poet Teresa Millstein (you know how some poets just look like they’re poets? She’s one of those) and novelist Tara Sullivan (I took home her remarkable and harrowing The Bitter Side of Sweet.) This fabulous festival held at Chenery Middle School and organized by super librarian Karen Duff (seriously, where’s her cape?) gets better every year!
Sarah L. Thomson
A children’s book author publishing award-winning nonfiction, poetry, picture books and novels including…
“Readers will treasure the blossoming friendship between opposites in this whimsically illustrated tale. Short chapters and plenty of action make for an accessible and appealing reading experience. . . . Touching and inspiring.”
—Kirkus Reviews