The debut young adult novel of my fellow TaleBlazer and dear friend Mary Ann Steinke-Moore is now available. MANDY’S SONG, published by Pelican Book Group, will speak to young people who struggle with self worth. It’s a wonderful, heart-warming read about young hopes, dreams, and love. Congratulations Mary Ann on this long-awaited milestone!
Four years ago March 31, THE SEAGOING COWBOY set sail!
Happy birthday to THE SEAGOING COWBOY!
Thanks, Claire Ewart, for your beautiful illustrations that brought the story to life!
And thanks, Brethren Press, for a great ride!
The little guys to whom THE SEAGOING COWBOY is dedicated.
You can find me at two book signings next week autographing copies of The Seagoing Cowboy. Sunday, November 24, I’ll be at the “Meet the Author” event at the Springboro Historical Museum, 110 S. Main Street, in Springboro, Ohio, from 2:00-3:00 p.m. And Saturday, November 30, I’ll be at the New & Olde Pages Book Shoppe, 856 Union Blvd, in Englewood, Ohio, at their Holiday Open House from 1:00-5:00 p.m. The Seagoing Cowboy makes a wonderful Christmas gift for that pre-school or elementary school student on your list! Stop in and say hello if you’re in the area. If you’re further away, the book can be ordered through Brethren Press.
My congratulations to Dayton Christian Elementary School on raising $3,416.00 for Heifer International!
Your classes selected 5 hives of bees, 2 sheep, 6 chickens, 4 goats, 3 rabbits, 2 flocks of ducks, 1 flock of geese, 2 llamas, 4 pigs, 5 water buffalo, with $6.00 left over to be used where most needed. Best of all, your gifts were given during a matching gift promotion and your contribution was doubled!
You are an inspiration!
Students proudly display pictures they made of the animal their class decided to purchase. Photo credit: Melissa Geiss.
I give a big shout out to Dayton Christian School Librarian Jodi Brown! Jodi coordinated a school visit for me to share my book The Seagoing Cowboy with the Dayton Christian Elementary School students in chapel this morning. But she did much more than that. Since last spring, she has been sharing her enthusiasm with school staff and students for the work of Heifer International to which my book relates. The students inspired me by energetically raising funds to buy several animals for Heifer, exemplifying the school’s mission of “Building Foundations, Changing Lives,” and being “the Salt and Light of the World.” Read more in DCS Communications Director Melissa Geiss’s report on the DCS website.
Students proudly display pictures they made of the animal their class decided to purchase. Photo credit: Melissa Geiss.
Me with Dayton Christian School Librarian Jodi Brown. Photo credit: Melissa Geiss.
Joyful students from Dayton Christian Elementary School. Photo credit: Melissa Geiss.
I had a grand time sharing the beginnings of Heifer International with the residents of the Brethren Retirement Community in Greenville, Ohio, last week. The Southern Ohio Heifer Project Committee was a big player in those beginnings. In return, many of the residents shared stories of their own involvement.
Peggy Reiff Miller invites Ivan Patterson to share his experiences as a seagoing cowboys in 1945.
A book signing for residents followed.
I’m looking forward to participating in Children’s Book Week with readings at Main Elementary School in Beavercreek on Friday and with a booth and reading at the First Annual Children’s Literature Festival at Memorial Park in St. Marys, Ohio, on Saturday. I’ll be there from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. My reading and talk will be at 12:30 in the Gazebo. If you’re in the area, stop in and say “hi”!
I was honored to be interviewed about my picture book THE SEAGOING COWBOY by Sharon Short in her literary column today in the Dayton Daily News. Thanks, Sharon, for introducing me to Dayton area readers! Sharon writes under the pen name Jess Montgomery and has a book of her own out now, THE WIDOWS. It’s a fantastic historical fiction read inspired by the story of Ohio’s first female sheriff which I highly recommend.
I attended a very enjoyable, moving, and inspirational concert last night put on by the Beavercreek, Ohio, Main Street Elementary choir. With the theme “Sow it on the Mountain” and artwork created by the students, the concert raised money for Heifer International. Between each song, the students narrated bits of Heifer International history and current work. Kudos to choir director Anita Campbell and the Main Street Pizzazz students!
I just learned that Better World Books closed their store in Goshen, Indiana, March 30. So sad. We need to keep the Independent Bookstores alive!
