I Love Being Busy: Operas, New Covers, and Fifth Graders

Hey everyone! So, I've been extremely busy lately, but that is a good thing. As long as I have time to write, I enjoy being busy! 

Two weeks ago I had Spring Break. The weather was nice, and I had fun attending rehearsals for something called Words + Music, which was a collaboration between the Coterie Theatre, The University of Missouri-KC, and the Lyric Opera. Six writers from the Coterie wrote pieces that were turned into opera moments by UMKC composers, and performed by Lyric Opera performers. During Spring Break, I was able to attend rehearsals for this every day, and on Thursday, the pieces were performed in a Master Class led by opera professionals Mark Adamo and John Corigliano. My opera moment, which is inspired by the Salem Witch Trials, will be performed again several times in the future, including at the Coterie Theatre Young Playwrights Festival.

My composer and my performer for "It Was Only A Joke" after the performance!

Also this week, I got to see the cover for Carried Home (out April 28th). Oh. My. Goodness. The cover is spectacular!!!! I cannot wait to share it with you. Ahhh! :D

On Friday, I had the honor of speaking to a fifth grade class at Prairie Point Elementary. This was an amazing experience, and I would love to do it again. Those kids were really special, and they were so excited about me and about writing. I was greeted with huge smiles from the moment I entered the room, and I felt a little bit like a pop star. The kids asked me tons and tons of amazing questions about writing. Their questions were better than what most of the high-schoolers I go to school with would ask! I loved their inquisitiveness. And at the end, my hand was tired from signing so many bookmarks for every child and my cheeks hurt from grinning so much, but I was the happiest I had been all week. I left the school after getting a few hugs from the kids, and receiving a card that they had made me as a thank-you for coming that day. I'm going to keep that card forever as a token to remember that special day. 

Me speaking to the awesome class.

The card they made me! Everyone signed it on the inside, too.

I hope to have the opportunity to speak to many more school groups like this in the future!

So how have you all been? Are you excited to see the cover for Carried Home? What's new with you?

Book Review:Thief of Glory

Hey everyone! I finished a book, so here's a book review. I didn't love Thief of Glory by Sigmud Brouwer very much, but maybe you would like it, so I suggest you check it out and give it a chance if you think you might enjoy it. 

Here's what I thought:

I have to admit that I was not completely in love with this book, while the general idea of it was interesting. I didn't like that I was made to believe that this was a romance, when it really was not. I hate to write a negative review, and I don't think the problem was with the book, but more so with the marketing involved with it.
I felt that the main character, Jeremiah, was able to do way more things than a ten year old should have been able to do. Since he was 10 for 2/3 of the novel, I had difficulty taking this book seriously.
However, the historical aspect of this novel was great. I never knew Dutch POW camps existed in Indonesia. I liked reading about the history here. All in all, this novel was very rich in historical ideas, but I didn't love the actual story.