Tea with a Young Reader
Yesterday morning, I got an email from my friend Cheryl, who lives up the road from us. Her granddaughter Iris is visiting, and they had had a conversation about my YA fantasy novel Maya and the Book of Everything. Cheryl had gotten Iris the book for Christmas, and Iris really enjoyed the novel. Cheryl wondered if she and Iris could come for a visit.
Yes, yes, and yes! As it turned out, Sam—Iris’s dad and Cheryl’s son—came, too, and what a delightful time Clif and I had talking with the three of them, book lovers all. We chatted a bit about Maya and the Book of Everything. Cheryl wondered where my ideas came from. I couldn’t give her much help on that one. Somehow, the ideas just come. Iris hoped that Andy and Maya would eventually wind up together. (I gave her the answer, but you, dear readers, will have to wait and read Library Lost to discover Andy’s and Maya’s fate.) Sam wondered how long it took me to write the book. My answer: About a year, but there was a lot of editing and tinkering with the story after that.
Then the conversation turned to other books. Iris told me what she was reading, and as I knew I wouldn’t remember—oh, the aging memory!—I jotted them down. When I’m through with the current batch I’ve borrowed from the library, I’ll request Iris’s recommendations through interlibrary loan. The list includes the Percy Jackson books by Rick Riordan and the Pendragon series by D.J. MacHale.
When asked what I was reading, I replied, “The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly.” This slice-of-life novel centers on a young girl—the Calpurnia of the title—who lives in Texas in the late 1800s. She’s a budding naturalist at a time when young women aren’t supposed to be interested in such things. But Calpurnia has an ally in her grandfather, an amateur naturalist who teaches her how to look, draw, record, measure, and do research. Calpurnia is a spunky, satisfying heroine, but the pace of the novel is deliberate, and I was wondering how young readers would like it.
Today, I found out. It seems that Iris has also read Calpurnia Tate. She liked it very much, and this caused me to have an epiphany, of sorts. That is, young people who love books are patient readers, and it’s a mistake to think they need an explosion a minute to keep them interested. It’s not that plot and narrative flow aren’t important, but well-developed characters are what keep young people interested in a story. If a novel’s pace is leisurely, then that’s perfectly fine as long as the characters are interesting.
So, all in all a terrific day. Tea with a wonderful, bright family and insight into the patience young people bring to reading books.
You might even call it a finest kind of day.
A Beauty of an Easter Weekend
A few days ago, the weather forecast was for sun on Saturday and rain for Easter Sunday. Clif and I had planned to have crab-meat rolls on the patio on Easter, but as the forecast didn’t look good, we decided to have the rolls on Saturday. After all, our philosophy is to celebrate early and celebrate often.
Saturday, as predicted, turned out to be a beauty of a day. In honor of the occasion and of the lovely weather, we brought out the round white table from down cellar. I felt like jumping up and down with joy. It is always a thrill to have the outside furniture on the patio, and soon the large green table will be joining the smaller one.
Oh, what a nice little feast we had, with a shared whoopie pie for dessert.
The sun was warm, the red buds were showing on the maples, and all around us birds called, sang, and twittered. Best of all, in April, there are no biting bugs to vex us, which makes time spent on the patio even sweeter.
Today, Easter Sunday, did indeed start out cloudy, and in the spirit of celebrating often, we decided to have a small Easter brunch of egg-in-toast and turkey bacon.
By eleven, the clouds were gone, the sun was shining, and I made a pot of green tea sweetened with honey. It will be chilled for iced tea for mid-afternoon when we go out on—you guessed it!—the patio.
It’s shaping up to be a lovely Easter weekend, the gateway to spring then summer and lots of time spent outside.
Around the Yard: Friday, April 14, 2017
Spring, spring is here. This morning, I grabbed my wee wonder of a camera and headed outside. The weather was so warm and sunny that I didn’t even need to wear a jacket.
Now, readers in warmer places might not be impressed by my yard, but to me it is a glorious sight to behold. In the shady front yard, the snow is melting nicely.
A closer look.
In the backyard, it is even better, with just a few patches of snow close to the house.
I sat down for a few minutes to enjoy the birds, the sun, the red buds, and the squirrels.
I hated to go inside and sit at my desk, but there was work to do.
However later on, I’ll be be back outside, cleaning the back garden, feeling the sun, and listening to the birds.
There might even be drinks on the patio.
Miracle of Miracles!
A Blast from the Past with Sesame Street
Everybody loves me ’cause I’m spring? You bet!
What a Difference a Week Makes
Last week on the patio, when Clif was toasting our blog friends Derrick and Jackie, this is what the backyard looked like. (Note the flower bed just behind Clif and how it is completely covered with snow.)
But what a difference a week makes in Maine. Yesterday, here is what the patio looked like. The weather was so warm that Clif didn’t even need to zip his jacket.
By gum, my flower bed is nearly free from snow, and I’ll begin working on it this week.
When spring comes to Maine, it comes in a rush. One day, it’s winter, and the next week the snow has shrunk to the point where gardening has become more than a dream.
Still not many flowers in central Maine, but soon, soon.
Book Signing and Card Sale in Lewiston, Maine, on April 8, 2017
On Saturday, April 8 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., I will be at the Artisan & Craft Fair selling books and cards at the Lewiston Armory on 65 Central St. in Lewiston, Maine. Maya and the Book of Everything is featured about half-way through this little video of items that will be at the fair. If you’re in Lewiston on Saturday, stop by and say hi.
The Stream’s Song
Last night, we had the first thunderstorm of the season. The windows rattled with each strong rumble of thunder, and the rain pelted against the house. There was even a power blip, but fortunately it didn’t last long.
Was this winter’s emphatic farewell? It is, after all, April, the beginning of spring even for Maine. We shall see, but I am hoping in the next few days that these little beauties can be put away.
The strong rain brought flood warnings to the southern part of the state. In the backyard, it whittled down the snow to such an extent that there are now bare patches of lawn. And mud. And plenty of branches to be picked up after the winter storms ripped them from the trees.
It feels as though we are in a purgatory, of sorts, in a dreary, almost hopeless place between winter and spring.
Yet this morning as I was taking pictures in the backyard, I could hear the roar of the little stream in the woods as it rushed to the Upper Narrows Pond. Free from ice and strong from the rain, the stream’s voice was loud, insistent, exhilarating.
“Take heart!” it called to me. “Spring is coming, and I am the herald.”
If my knees were less creaky, I would have made my way to the stream, clambering through the still-deep snow and sliding down the bank. Then, I would have dipped my hand into the cold, rushing water to feel its spring journey.
Never mind! The stream’s song more than made up for the ugliness that is now the backyard.
Spring is coming, and that’s exactly what I needed to hear.
Springish in central Maine
Notes From the Hinterland 