After a long weekend of book events with Texas Word Wrangler and grand re-opening of Temple Feed, I'm tired - but energized.

Connecting with readers, parents, and teachers seems to get the juices flowing again, even if I'm physically exhausted and mentally drained. I'm filled with new inspiration and fresh ideas. I'm encouraged to strike out farther into uncharted (for me) territory. I'm blessed beyond belief that my little bit of work has moved children.

Texas Word Wrangler was more than anything I could have dreamed of. Sure, I sold books. Nothing like the best seller on some New York blockbuster list. But a little closer to home - a little more personal. I got to see children's faces light up, ask questions, and take up a new love of books. You can't get that with a credit card!

Last year I hosted an art contest. I've only been crowing about it for weeks! For those of you who are tired of hearing about it, skip to the next paragraph :) for the rest of you - an entire class of second graders submitted sketches. To say it broke my heart is an understatement. I didn't have a way of judging those sketches, let alone even think about choosing just one. Enter new book number four, and wearing out my desk chair for six months. I think my poor husband considers me lost to the world and has resorted to the company of my photograph!

This year, I was blessed to present those nineteen children the book they helped create. Each child received a copy (paid for by the school)  signed, and with all sorts of extra goodies like stickers and a little plastic horse. THEN those children were recognized by the school, the public library, and the town! Children who once were shy, now walk with their heads held high. I feel very proud, but very small in the vastness of this movement. I always say that if I can touch one child....... Yea, it's all that.

I was also invited to speak to the first, second, and third grade children, about 150 total in the three groups, along with an extra presentation for the second grade teachers. Talk about stoked. Well, I won't go into that, because it's really not all about me, it's about the kids.

If you are an author and live in Texas, check into Texas Word Wrangler. If you are not in Texas, I encourage you to visit your local library and try to do this in your area.

So, the rest of the weekend, A madhouse at a feed store! I'd like to say that crowd was there for me, but it was the John Deere Gator drawing! However, plenty of kids, and grandparents, stopped by to visit me. More than once a child or a teen would notice The Black Pony and say that they read it in school, or a friend recommended it, and they loved it. A pleasant spin-off to that was a few extra sales, but the best part was, again, the happy faces.

And to conclude the weekend, I had an energizing visit with my critique group. Yes, I'm starting a new Pony Book. Yes, I'm working on a bigger novel. Yes, I have an outline for a NaNoWriMo project. But the 'energized' part is my new goal of involving my local library, and hopefully the schools, in our own book festival.

It's all about the kids. Wish me luck.

I have been honored to join the Back To School Blog Hop for
  Linda Ulleseit, author, teacher, mom, and everything else. The first of her
books that I read was Under a Wild and Darkening Sky. From the first line I was
  hooked and promised myself to purchase all of her books. Linda is not only a
  talented writer, but she gives us a look into a long forgotten world. The
  winged horses carry the reader into breath taking adventures, the characters
  pull at your heart, and the drama keeps you reading until the very last
page.

 

Under A Wild and Darkening Sky

 Alyna is weary from traveling around; weary of working for her
parents in the bakery, weary of covering for her brother who always seems to
find an escape from work. And she is frightened of the winged horses which make
this town famous. This town was her father’s dream, not hers, but how can she
break away? By redefining herself. By finding her own identity. And by doing
what every teenager in history has done, rebel.

 As her father finds his place among the elite and powerful barn
leaders, who control the last living herd of winged horses, he aligns himself
  with the most powerful of these barn leaders. But Alyna makes friends with the
  daughter of that same leader’s arch rival. Soon Alyna not only loses her fear
  of the flying horses, but learns to love them and takes a job as a groom for
  one special filly.

 Soon, Alyna and her brother Ralf join a group of young people
bent on righting a terrible wrong of the past, and find themselves banished from
the town. Danger abounds with every revolution, but sometimes revolution is the
only answer.

 When I finished reading this amazing adventure, I turned around
and read it again, then immediately purchased the other three books in the
trilogy. I give it five stars and if there were six, I’d give that as well. I
highly recommend this for anyone who can read; young or old, horse lover or not.


Author Bio: Linda Ulleseit was born and raised in Saratoga,
  California, and has taught elementary school in San Jose since 1996. She enjoys
  cooking, cross-stitching, reading, and spending time with her family. Her
  favorite subject is writing, and her students get a lot of practice scribbling
  stories and essays. Someday Linda hopes to see books written by former students
  alongside hers in bookstores.

 Her first novel, ON A WING AND A DARE, was published in 2012. It
is a Young Adult fantasy set in medieval Wales, complete with flying horses, a
love triangle, and treachery. It’s sequel, IN THE WINDS OF DANGER, was released
March, 2013. The focus of that book is the misty past of a groom and the murky
future of a rider. The last book in the trilogy is UNDER A WILD AND DARKENING
SKY, May 2014. It follows a brother and sister, new to High Meadow, who become
involved in a plot to steal flying horses.


Linda Ulleseit

 As a child, Linda always loved to write. She took her first
  creative writing course in seventh grade, accumulating a closet full of stories
  that she never showed anyone until 2007. At that time, she gave the first draft
  of a flying horse book to a teacher colleague to read. ON A WING AND A DARE
  began as a NaNoWriMo novel in 2009. It was revised with the help of reviewers
  on thenextbigwriter.com over the next two years. For NaNo 2011, Linda drafted
  the sequel, IN THE WINDS OF DANGER. NaNoWriMo 2012 brought the first draft of
  UNDER A WILD AND DARKENING SKY, and NaNoWriMo 2013 saw the completion of UNDER
  THE ALMOND TREES. This last is a historical fiction that follows three women
  who struggle for women’s rights in early California.


As with THE HOBBIT a story that will forever span the ages,
  Linda’s latest book, is actually the introduction to the trilogy. I recommend
you first read: WINGS OVER TREMEIRCHSON, released as an ebook in Fall 2013. It
is the story of Hoel and Neste, parents of a main character in ON A WING AND A  DARE.

 Please visit Linda’s page: http://ulleseit.wordpress.com/ 

And, September 6: Angela Fristoe  http://angelafristoe.blogspot.com


Be a part of the flight, and check these fabulous blogs. Indeed, I walk among
giants in this lineup. And don’t forget to comment.