There are so few independent book stores. Bookish at 63 South 6th Street in Fort Smith, Arkansas has invited me to do a book signing! They are featuring my children’s book, “How Wise Old Owl Got His Name”! Please come join me, 12:30 until 4 o’clock on Saturday, December 16th. I hope to see you there!
I spent part of the morning at the Van Buren Public Library. Madison Swaim, the children’s librarian invited me to read “How Wise Old Owl Got His Name” to the children. I had so much fun and I hope the children did as well! Please, take the time to read to the special child in your life.
My first children’s book, How Wise Old Owl Got His Name was released on August 1st. Illustrations are by Sandra Difazio, a Michigan landscape artist. I am pleased to be working with Sandra. Look for the second in the Wise Old Owl Series to be released in 2024. You can find the book on Amazon or at your favorite bookstore.
I am dreaming of writing children’s books.
At one time I had a contract with a publisher in Northwest Arkansas to write a series of children’s books. Then along came the pandemic and he decided to give my contract back to me. “Why take a chance on a new author?” I found a landscape artist to help me and I have a book ready for print. I am thinking of stories in the Walt Disney style, life lessons starting with Hector, the owl. Hector was born with an insatiable curiosity. He wants to know all about the animals and the forest they live in.
You can meet the bear who cried fire! (Sounds a little like another story we read!) A Bluebird and squirrel who share a special friendship, a rabbit with a taste for sugarcane, and a pair of wolf cubs who learn the meaning of family.
Next comes the $100,000 question. Do I need an agent or a publisher? The answer is, ” I need someone who believes in me!” I have six stories ready to go, so if there is someone out there who wants a children’s author, Here I Am!!!
I want to share a story with you. Some time ago, I saw a wildlife documentary, and this beautiful bird had the plastic that holds soft drank bottles together, stuck around his neck. His head was through one of the loops and it looked like it was snug, and the rest of the plastic was dragging behind him. It dawned on me that someday that bird was going to get one of the trailing loops caught on something and if he wasn’t able to break loose, he would die from lack of food and water or be killed by a preditor.
This picture made such an impression on me that I started to keep a pair of scissors on my kitchen counter. When I bought a six-pack of cola or juice I took the scissors and clipped each circle so nothing could get caught in the plastic! I have thought over the years how foolish this habit is. One person cannot possibly make a difference, but still, I cut the drink holders apart before dropping them in the trash.
I hear about social influencers, and how they get their followers to help with certain projects. They get people to come out and rally for certain causes. They boycott businesses that pollute our environment and share posts on Facebook! This brings up a question, could one crazy lady get the world to start clipping the plastic that holds soft drink containers together? Let’s give it a try. Copy and post this story, then take a pair of scissors to your kitchen and hang them next to the trash can. Do your part to protect the wildlife!
A very young Hector!
In a tree, deep in the forest, four baby owls hatched to Mother and Father Owl. From the very beginning, Hector was the most curious of the baby owls.
I sent in a story to the Oklahoma Writers Ass. contest this year. It was introducing my “Wise Old Owl” series. When I got the critique back it seemed to suggest that I was writing to the wrong age group. A lady who has a lot more experience than I, told me I should do a picture books and that is how I submitted it. She didn’t like my ideas for the series but growing up in the Walt Disney era, I wasn’t ready to let it go. The lady who is doing my illustrations is a landscape artist and I think she is wonderful. It was my idea to teach life lessons to the children and to show that child who has grown up in the city just how fabulous the great outdoors can be. I am going to spend the summer getting my act together and if I can’t find a publisher who believes in me, I plan to send the manuscript to Amazon. I refuse to give up! Any creative suggestions, you can get in touch with me on facebook @ Author Linda Laughlin or email me at author.lindalaughlin@gmail.com. (Those who only want to be mean need not reply! )
I watched a documentary today. It was on the Nez Perce Indians. Apparently at one time they had an outstanding breed of horses and they were known for their horsemanship. It seems that after a battle with the United States Calvary, as part of their punishment the government took away all of their horses. In this documentary they were showing how the Nez Perce people are building back their herd of horses, reviving a part of their history. One of the men who is helping them to register and build back the herd is of Navajo heritage. Apparently, this man’s love of horses drew him from Arizona to the northern part of the United States. I thought it was interesting because some of the Indian people were very against allowing him to help with their breeding program. They claimed he was a Navajo; all he knew about was raising sheep. Who knew that there are raciest everywhere? Now the reason for me telling you this story is that there was a young man in the tribe and he made a comment that I found very informative. “My people need to get over it! It was some turning against our own race that divided the Indians and that was how we lost our land to the government.” Does this young man make you stop and think?
We are burning flags, tearing down statues, all the while trying to erase our history. Something in the back of my mind has always told me this was wrong. Our history is part of who we are. I think that young Indian man had a point. His history had a lesson to share. We can erase all outward signs of our own history, but is that wise? Does that mean that we repeat the same stupid mistakes from our past? Maybe what we need to do is embrace our history, the good and the bad. We should learn not to repeat the bad, because it didn’t work out for us in the past. Today it was a story about the American Indians. Last week it was asking people to stand up against violence against the elderly, in the Asian community. The week before that it was marches for Black Lives Matter. Wake up everyone! The United States is a melting pot and that was a lesson from my history teachers. One of these days we’re going to look at each other and not be able to tell which nationality we came from, is it going to be harder to decide who to hate then? Be kind to your elderly neighbors, whether they are black, white, or brown. All lives matter! There are only two kinds of people, good and bad! History has a lot to teach us if we are willing to learn . It is not our enemy!
The art of being politically correct has never been my forte! I have always thought that my mouth ran about five minutes ahead of my brain. It’s when you say something and five minutes later you think, “I shouldn’t have said that!” I find I am still that person who continually says the wrong thing. At least one good thing has come from the virus lock-down! When you are in solitary confinement, it is hard to say something you shouldn’t! I have found that my friends and family like me much better when I am not around.
I always imagined myself as Auntie Mame, like from the Broadway Musical, but I never had the flare she did! I thought maybe I would mellow with age, but no such luck and so I write and edit out the mistakes. In writing I can control the plot and make the story come out as I see it happening in my imagination.
Please everyone, take care of yourself! I have a friend who had this virus and is having a hard time bouncing back. The virus is real and it effects everyone differently. Don’t take a chance, and stay healthy!
Happy reading,
Linda
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