coming soon....

I have always loved to write. I wrote a story about global warming when I was 12 (I LOVE that I did this). I wrote for our junior high newsletter. I kept diaries and journals through junior and senior high school. I spent virtually every single weekend of my high school years with BF Mare where we would eat pizza and applesauce and write stories to read to each other until dawn. (No WAY will I ever share any of these stories with anyone other than Mare. That is a privilege that she and I will both take to the grave - RIGHT Mare???? BFF privilege, ESPECIALLY BFF from the tender years of high school. To everyone else in the world I'm semi-together and mostly mature and it's going to stay that way. Mare will keep this secret, and because Mare, like me, has much to lose, I know I'm safe. Heh.)

Anyway, I have always longed to have the word "author" tagged after my name. Even before I wanted to be a scientist, maybe even more than I wanted to be a musician, more than just about anything other than being a mother, I've wanted to be an author.

Well, that hasn't happened to me (yet), but it HAS happened to a friend of mine. My friend Holly Jahangiri has written and published a children's book (among other things), and because I am an enthusiastic supporter of not only my friends, but also of literature and children and especially GOOD literature for children, I have volunteered to have my blog host a spot on the Trick-or-Treat tour for this book. This will be next week on Thursday, October 9.

By the way, I bought this book several months ago, and I treasure it. It's called "Trockle" and is a story about what a little boy, Stephen, discovers about the "monster under his bed." The story is sweet and supportive of children and their imaginations, and the illustrations are beautiful. I don't have children young enough to give it to, and am keeping my copy for myself, but have several friends in mind for a gift this year.

Anyway, on October 9, I will be hosting an internet visit from Holly Jahangiri (author), Jordan M. Vinyard (illustrator) and Trockle (the monster that lives under Stephen's bed). I haven't done this before on my blog and probably won't ever do it again (unless another one of you readers writes a book), so don't expect my blog to become an advertising venue. This is a one-time thing for a good friend of mine who wrote a great book.

There will be prizes associated with this Trick or Treat tour. The prizes and rules for entering are below:

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Grand Prize: A customized Halloween short story featuring your child (or grandchild, niece, nephew, or friend) with Trockle - written by Holly Jahangiri and illustrated by Jordan Vinyard.
Second Prize: A $20 gift certificate to Amazon.com.

To enter, complete the following steps:

(1) Purchase a copy of Trockle directly from 4RV Publishing (http://www.4rvpublishingllc.com/Store) between 12:00 AM October 5 and 11:59 PM October 13, and

(2) Send an email to president@4rvpublishingllc.com with your answer to the question posted at http://jahangiri.us/trockle-promo.html.

You may enter as often as you like, but all completed entries must be received before midnight on October 13! Winners will be announced at http://blog.jahangiri.us and at http://www.4rvpublishingllc.com. The winners will be chosen randomly from all correctly completed entries (see "To enter" above) and winners will be notified by email. IMPORTANT NOTE: The Grand Prize winner will need to work directly with the author and illustrator to create a memorable gift for that special child. To include the child's likeness in the illustration, you will need to provide a digital photo upon notification that you have won. Every effort will be made to deliver the prize prior to Halloween, but circumstances beyond our control may prevent that and we do not guarantee that it will arrive by October 31.

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