A NaNo-ing We Go

 I used to hate the fact that National Novel Writing Month, AKA NaNoWriMo happens in a Month theat is busy with holidays and travel. But now the fact that it has Thanksgiving in the same month seems very appropriate, as there are few on-line places which i am as Thankful for as NaNo

 http://nanowrimo.org/participants/echopandora/novels

Shows the fruition of the books which had sent down roots in my mind for years but may never have pushed through the darkness into the sun without the daily deadlines and encouragement of NaNo and the forums there 

 i also find the change in seasons here to be conducive to writing. The storm and bluster adds to my imagined drama as it also keeps me indoors and with less distracting me from the goal.

 Just like the giving tree that never stops having the right gift, November's NaNoWriMo never stops giving me affirmation of one of my favorite parts of myself.  I am a good storyteller and now I can say I am a writer too.

 If you are going to join the exhausted writers this month, stop by and become one of my writing buddies. I'm echopandora there.  I am writing about two boys helping each other escape giant volcanic eruptions 1901 years apart. Tell me about your story too.

I Won Diary of a Penguin-Napper by Sally Harris

http://www.amazon.com/The-Ninja-Librarian-ebook/dp/B0079NQFAA/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1360954145&sr=1-1&keywords=the+ninja+librarian

 I had read this wonderful novel about a mysterious and unusual librarian in a town with a grudge against Librarians and loved it, and likened it to a wild west Mary Poppins or Nanny McPhee.  So when I heard that the author, Rebecca M. Douglass had been included in an anthology of middle grade novels, I uploaded the kindle ebook and entered the drawing to win a kindle fire or a copy of one of the 14 books included in excerpt in the anthology.  I didn't win the kindle fire, which is fine, but I did get introduced to many interesting titles which I think my students might enjoy.

http://www.amazon.com/Love-Middle-Grade-Actually-ebook/dp/B00B2KEI32/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1360954195&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=love+middle+grade+actully

And I was lucky enough to win the ebook copy of the first story in the anthology, one excerpt which had me laughing as soon as I started reading.  

http://www.amazon.com/Diary-of-a-Penguin-napper-ebook/dp/B00A25GNEA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1360954103&sr=8-2&keywords=diary+of+a+penguin+napper

The following is the blurb about the book from Goodreads

3 weeks ...
2 boys ...
1 little penguin ...

What could possibly go wrong?

When 11 (and a half) year old Marty is partnered up with Jessica on the overnight science trip, he thinks all of this dreams are about to come true. It's his big chance to impress the most beautiful girl in Year 7 (and probably the world) and he wouldn't miss it for anything.

Only problem is: Marty can't afford to go on the overnight trip. 

Yet.

Inspired by the urban myth that it is possible to steal a penguin from the zoo on a school visit, Diary of a Penguin-napper is a hilarious tale of growing up, bending the rules and how one big fuss can be caused by stealing just one little penguin.

So thank you to Sally Harris, and the other authors, and best of luck getting your wonderful books out into the hands, and ebooks of people who will love them.

And because every chance to remind you about my books is a chance I am not going to pass up, here are the links to a couple of my own Novels for middle school on up.

http://www.amazon.com/Double-Time-Oregon-Trail-ebook/dp/B008G3JZB8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1360954231&sr=1-1&keywords=dixie+dawn+miller+goode

http://www.amazon.com/Duffy-Barkley-Tales-Uhrlin-ebook/dp/B004478F5M/ref=la_B004458ES2_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1360954270&sr=1-4