A real-time conversation, via video feed on Booktalk Nation, with Deeanne Gist!
Inspired toShare:As I am always humbled and amazed at how giving authors are today of their time! They write engagingly witty blogs, encourage their readers to participate in bookaways or giveaways, inspire us to continue to keen on their works through their author newsletters, and either make appearances at book signings, bookish conventions or festivals, or find new and clever ways to interact with their readership! I was fascinated by this invite that I received via Ms. Gist’s newsletter, on Tuesday 6th of May, and quickly clicked over to reserve my ‘spot’ to take part in the interview on Thursday, 9th of May! This will be my first Book Talk Nation event, and I cannot wait to absorb what she has to share and listen the answers of the questions other readers’ like myself have proposed to her!
The Details:
Deeanne Gist, participated in a real-time conversation on Book Talk Nation.
Once you’ve reserved your spot via email registration, from the author’s sign-up page, you return to the url they provide you at the time they specify. In this instance, 7:00pm (EST) / 4:00 (PST). The interviews typically run for thirty minutes.
Question that I submitted on Tuesday: Ms. Gist: Do you intend to write more psychological suspense novels, such as Beguiled? As it was a departure from your regular faire of historical romances, but contained within it a sense of adventure and intrigue that held my breath throughout the story! Wicked pacing! I’d be keen to know if you have any other suspense novels in the wings with J. Mark Bertrand? Or, was this a one-off?
{NOTE: I re-submitted my question via the live chat interface where we could log in as a guest {thankfully! as I am not involved in social media and hadn’t thought that that could be an issue!} to ask questions directly to Ms. Gist during the Q&A session at the end of the interview. My question was the first one that posted and was happily the first one asked! I choose to re-submit the question, as Jen {who moderated the internet side of the chat} mentioned that she’d take questions pitch through this interface ahead of the ones originally submitted at sign-up!}
And, she replied {at approx. 20 minutes}: It was the first suspense, the first contemporary, and the first collaboration that she undertook. She had such a fun time writing this book. She chose to work with Mr. Bertrand due to the fact he’s an up-in-coming author that she believes we should all keep an eye on as his writing starts to take off. He wrote the suspense bits and she wrote the romantic bits. She is not planning at this point in time to write another romantic suspense, as the rest of the books that are mapped out at this time are historicals.
Background Insight on my Thursday: What I wasn’t expecting when I signed up for this author chat & the RWA Historical Romance one that follows it at 8pm, is that the virus I came down with late Sunday/early Monday would take a turning for the worse! I am plumb miserable dealing with it, but I have a fresh mug of echinacea tea and a heaping pile of ricola’s {the cherry dual-action lovelies!} to keep me company, which I am making a vain attempt to curtail the worse of my symptoms so that I can fully enjoy my FIRST EVER live author chats online! Fingers crossed this is not an effort in futility!
A few seconds ahead of 6:50pm, I opened up the url for this chat, and discovered that the chat interface was already *LIVE*, for which I was thankful, as it gave me a chance to get my feet wet! I clicked on the ‘join the conversation’ button, keyed in “Jorie” and signed in as a guest! As thankfully, I wasn’t alerted that most would be using social media outlets to log in — which would not have been an option for me, as I am not social media inclined {save this blog and the blogosphere in general!}! So far, the window reflects myself and Jen, who is most likely the chat mod! The sick girl ends up being the early bird! Now that is something for the memory books! Inwardly laughs, as otherwise to do so would be devastating this close to the chat going live!
I clicked Play, at 6:53pm and was alerted to stand by as the discussion will start soon,… okay, now I’m growing more excited! Especially since this is an author that I discovered whilst getting back into reading after quite a long hiatus, and came to love the way she writes and builds her characters! I pitched my question about “Beguiled” because it was such a departure from her other books,… and one that I was pleasantly wrapped up in! When I first read it, it was through the library, but I happily picked up a copy of “Beguiled” whilst walking through a big box store having a rockin’ sale on inspirational fiction! Don’t you simply live for those sorts of sales!? I brought home “A Bride in the Bargain” that same day, as well! Fast forward a few years, and I am about to meet her through a video chat hosted by Booktalk Nation! Read More
Acquired Book By: Winning a contest adverted through “Shelf Awareness for Readers” bi-weekly newsletter, October 2012. I received the book direct from the author {Ms. Peacock} without obligation to post a review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts herein.
Carol Antoinette Peacock {Photo courtesy of Paula Swift Photography}
Dr. Carol Antoinette Peacock grew up in Maryland, in a suburb outside of Washington D.C. She is the oldest of three children in a family who loved books. When she was young, her parents, Andrew and Gloria Peacock, read devotedly to her, her younger brother, Richard, and her younger sister, Nancy. Carol Peacock has wanted to be a writer since she was eleven. She is now a practicing psychologist and author of six books.
Carol Peacock currently practices at Mt. Auburn Counseling Associates, where she specializes in treating children and families, along with her black Lab, Pepper, as her co-therapist. Her latest book, Red Thread Sisters, a middle grade novel, is the story of two friends, one who is adopted from a Chinese orphanage and promises to find her friend a family too, is forthcoming from Viking Penguin in fall 2012.
The author lives outside of Boston with her husband, a history teacher with the Boston Public Schools. Her family includes her stepson, her oldest daughter, Elizabeth, 19, and her youngest daughter, Katherine, 18. Her family also includes Pepper, four cats and two turtles.
What originally drew me into the premise of the story? I have attended meetings for international adoption programs, where I first learnt of the connection to children who meet in orphanages or group homes. Where their friendship is closer to that of a sibling and how they really do try to either get adopted together or at least get adopted within a similar timeframe. The title reminds me of another story: I have heard about how there is an invisible thread that interconnects all of us, either to each other as a whole society or as individuals. There is a line of compassion and interconnectivity that unites us as humans, but its more than that. There is something to be said for finding someone who both understands you and wants to help you succeed in your own life.
Why is adoption a special part of my own life’s story? I have always known that I wanted to adopt children, since I was quite a young girl. Mostly as I grew up on the film Annie, and my parents oft spoke of their attempt to bring home a younger brother for me from a children’s home. Sadly, this harkens back to the early 80s, and adoptions were not quite as successful as they are today. Originally, I was considering international adoption, but I have since amended that to choosing school-aged children in foster care here in the United States. My journey has not yet begun in this regard, but my appreciation, compassion, and empathy for all prospective adoptive parents throughout the process towards bringing their children home knows no bounds. I am forever an advocate for children in need of families and for those of us who can provide a home, to consider a child who needs a Mum, and a forever family to call their own. Inasmuch, as those who choose to adopt as a two-parent family. We all come to adoption on different lifepaths, and it’s the children who benefit from our loving kindness to give them a renewed sense of Hope for their future.
Inspired to Share: I knew this was going to be a powerful book to read from the moment I first learnt of its existence, and this book trailer only touches lightly on what is enclosed within its pages! I am growing fond of book trailers of late, as they cast a happy glow of what a book could yield to a reader, and starts to embark you on the emotional arc of the characters your more than eager to get to know on a very personal level. Drink this trailer, and prepare your heart for an emotional journey whilst Wen and Shu Ling find their paths are interlocked towards their futures.
Upon returning to visit her daughters’ orphanage in China, Ms. Peacock was inspired to write Red Thread Sisters. Peacock Family Album
A short Q & A with the author:
Carol Antoinette Peacock, thank you for being gracious in answering the following questions! I emailed her personally in early May 2013.
What was your impression of returning to China, and seeing where your daughters were from originally?
When we returned to China, we toured with a group and saw a lot of Chinese sites, like Tiananmen Square, the Great Wall and the Terra Cotta Warriors. We went to a panda preserve in Chengdu and the girls got to hold pandas! But the most powerful part of the trip was the return to our girls’ orphanage in Wuhan. I was moved to be able to have a banquet with Director Li, the former director, who actually “matched” both daughters to us! Seeing the very room where we had had Elizabeth placed in our arms brought tears to my eyes. Also moving was the time we spent with the older girls, still waiting for families. This experience inspired Red Thread Sisters.
I can only imagine what it was like to re-trace your daughters roots whilst returning to China to breathe in the richness of the country’s history and to walk amongst the living remnants of the past! I had to smile when I read that your daughters were able to hold pandas, as I have fond memories of holding lion cubs as a child, as well as a spider monkey! There is something to be said for interacting with wild animals when your younger, to grow up with a deep appreciation for the natural world whilst an adult. I was touched by your recollection and pictures that you shared with me of your trip to China, as I couldn’t upload a few of the ones I wanted to spotlight, such as the Great Wall snapshot and the group photo of your family with Director Li! For some reason the file configurations are not agreeing with my blog! I was humbled by the fact you allowed me into this part of your life with such openness and willingness to share. I shall never forget your generosity. And, i too, know well of the plight of older children who are awaiting forever families. Many a time, whilst looking through heart galleries of waiting children {esp sibling groups}, I say silent hope filled prayers that there will be families willing to adopt older children, such as I am, who struggle to retain the hope and faith that they will one day be adopted. My heart always aches knowing the swell of children available verse the ready availability of adoptive families. You gave a voice to children like Wen and Shu Ling in such a strong and positive way, that anyone who reads this story cannot but help be touched by the powerful testament of a mother’s love for a children she brought home who needed her most.
Your dog Pepper, and you share a special bond as evident in your photograph, was he a rescue? And, if so, could you share one snippet that endeared you to him as the companion he’s become?
Carol Antoinette Peacock and her dog, Pepper. {Photo courtesy of Paula Swift Photography}
Pepper and I do share an incredible bond. He wasn’t a rescue dog, although all my other dogs have been. Pepper is a therapy dog and he senses when people are sad. He goes up and licks their faces. I also take Pepper whenever I go to the beach to write. We go to a pet-friendly motel right on the beach and he becomes my writing companion. We share so much. He is my companion, friend, colleague, retreat pal. Pepper means the world to me.
I know that my Mum has always wanted another dog since ours passed on in 1992. He was very much the epitome of what you express about Pepper, for Mum! She always wanted to get him trained to be a therapy dog, to enable them to travel to nursing homes, assisted living centers, and hospitals. I know in the back of her mind, she still yearns to find a dog to adopt that would be a great companion but secondly, could help give back to those need a bit of extra encouragement and a smile! I am hoping that perhaps a window will open that we are not yet aware of. Pepper sounds like the most ideal pal to have and I am thankful he’s one of the sweet souls that we all seek to find to have in our lives!
The Peacocks’ return trip to China, when Elizabeth was 11, and Katherine was 10. Peacock Family Album.
The reason why this story has endeared my heart and captured the very spirit of why I cannot wait to embark on my own adoption journey,… As soon as you begin “Red Thread Sisters”, you are being taken on a journey through Wen’s eyes as she leaves her orphanage to relocate to Boston, Massachusetts in the far-off place known as “America – Land of Dreams”. She’s trepidatiously unsure if this is a good thing or an omen of uncertainty, as everything about her life and her world will be turned upside down. In ways, that she is not even expecting, such as not needing to pick up a pail and start washing the floors {a particular scene drawing back memories of watching “Annie” as a young girl by which I tired out the videotape as much as the soundtrack on cassette!} to recognising that she didn’t need to get in line for a week’s worth of clean clothes because her clothes were now stored in a closet and set of drawers of her own. Her yearnings of being with her best friend Shu Ling haunt her as she starts to make in-roads and progress towards adapting to her new life in America. School was one thing she was hoping would be familiar and normal, yet it proved to be just as challenging as sorting out how to interact with her ‘new’ family: a mother, a father, and an eager seven-year old sister named Emily, who although adopted from China like her, was free of the anxiety that Wen felt as she came home as an infant not a young girl who was fully aware of the consequences of a placement that could reverse your course back to the orphanage.
What I appreciated the most, was the inner world of Wen, seeing her thoughts, her emotions, and the ways in which she interpreted everything happening to her. Her inability to draw close to her Mom, always pulling away, and fearing that she shouldn’t get too close to her. The regret and guilt she had over making new friends at school, as a stab of pain knowing her first true friend was Shu Ling, who was still awaiting adoption and had a harder chance at it being listed as a special needs child with a club foot. There is a pure honesty in the story, as it unfolds through the pacing of an average American household shifting through childhood growing years and the instability of economic hardships that plague working class Americans.
I enjoyed watching her parents show patience and acceptance rather than bitterness and resentment towards Wen. They embraced her unconditionally from the moment they picked her up in China, to a very emotional scene on a blistery cold Winter night in Boston. That particular scene is a changing of place and reassurance of who she is and where she is now. I won’t spoilt it for you, but know, when you come upon it, it’s the critical arc where Wen finally understands her life and where it’s heading next.
I have always been drawn to stories of adoption, ever since I was a young girl. Annie became a mainstay in my life, as I think a part of me was hoping things could turn around and my family would expand. As I grew, I noticed that I was always excited about seeing a film or reading a book that revolved around adoption and non-traditional families. I knew in my early twenties that I would adopt children myself when the time was right for me to start my own family. It’s as natural as knowing I would one day be a Mum, as I have always known I was maternal. Even now, I celebrate films like “The Three Gifts” a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie from 2009 and “The Fosters” a new ABC Family tv series that showcases a blended family of foster adopted siblings, a natural bourne son, and two foster placed children in need of a permanent home.
“Red Thread Sisters” for me curls up inside my heart, warms my soul, and allows me to see adoption from a new angle of insight. Wen and Shu Ling will tug at you, and endear you to understand how difficult it is for them to acknowledge they deserve a second chance at having a family. As well as how transformative their lives can become if they learn to trust the family that has brought them home.
The organisations mentioned in the Afterward & Ending Bits of the novel:
Wide Horizons for Children – is the organisation by which Ms. Peacock and her husband adopted their daughters from China, a little over 20 years ago in 2013. Founded in the 1970s to help children in need in over 60 countries to date. They have current programs for sponsorship or adoption in the following countries: Burundi, China, Columbia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Guatemala, India, Korea, Moldova, Philippines, Russia, Rwanda, Taiwan, and the USA.
Love without Boundaries – is the organisation that Ms. Peacock is donating a portion of the profits from “Red Thread Sisters”. Their continuing mission is to inspire all of us to wrap the lives of children in China with special {medical} needs around our hearts and give as we’re able too, to ensure that these children can thrive under the care they deserve. As my copy of the book was won through the contest, I am going to purchase a copy of “Red Thread Sisters” and give to one of my nieces for Christmas this year. She’s around the age of Wen & Shu Ling, and I know she would benefit from their story. I always like to support authors who give proceeds of their books to charities that have touched their hearts, and I look forward to adding to the silent contributions that have already come to pass.
Half the Sky – an organisation that gives Chinese orphans a chance at a childhood, inspired by a Chinese saying ‘Women Hold Up Half the Sky”. Founded in 1998 to provide the same loving attention to all orphans in China, irregardless if they were adopted or not able to be adopted, due to noting the power of love can affect a child who was raised without human affection. Simply reading these words about their mission and their founding gives you goosebumps knowing the heart of their mission is to simply change the stars of the young people who may not realise they are having an impact on others. Being a Mum-in-Waiting as I have called myself over the years, as my own journey towards adoption has not yet begun, but the heart of a mother has always been inside me, I can attest to knowing that the most important factor in a child’s development is the interactions they have with their caregivers. Mother. Father. Sister. Brother. Aunt. Uncle. Cousin. Grandmother. Grandfather. Adoptive Parent. Foster Parent. Whomever steps into the role in the life of a child, will write the future for them, because children thrive on stimulated interactions and a curiosity about their living environment and world. I ought to know, because my own Mum was my first teacher and she garnished a life-long pursuit of knowledge inside me that I have not yet been able to quench a zest of! How beautiful that this organisation exists and is thriving! I applaud their efforts!
Holt International– is an organisation that gives back to children in need as well as enables those who are able to adopt children through the process of international placements. They work in the following countries: Cambodia, China, Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Mongolia, Nepal, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, Uganda, and Vietnam. I have been aware of Holt for a long time, especially since when I first embarked on researching adoption as a single parent, I turned to international adoption first ahead of domestic adoption choices. Holt is a name that is passed through adoption circles most readily due to their reputation of helping children in need. Through research you will find adoption to be a close-knit circle of supporters and organisations. Holt was founded in 1955.
Children’s Hope International – is an organisation since 1992 who has placed nearly 8,000 children through adoption into forever families! Most of the adoptions took place in China, with the rest in the following countries: Columbia, Ethiopia, India, Guatemala, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, Nepal, and Russia. They also believe that every child deserves the resources they need to thrive irregardless if their able to be adopted. They send resources directly to where they are needed most. They offer a Partners in Hope program to help fund their support and outreach.
Our Chinese Daughters Foundation – I was unable to pull this organisation up online.
Families with Children from China – New England– is an organisation founded in 1996 to unite families who have adopted children from China to each other for support and friendship. They provide a guiding light towards adoption as well as resources families might need once they are settled back home post-adoption. A membership supported volunteer run organisation that thrives on providing the interactions between children and parents that might otherwise not be made possible or as easily. I always felt that resources like these are proved to be invaluable as the road towards adjustment and adaptation to a new home is a long transition that could use a bufferment of support and care.
Pepper examines the newly arrived box full of Red Thread Sisters first editions! Peacock Family Album.
There are two sayings throughout “Red Thread Sisters”, as well as in the personal letter attached in the afterword by the author herself,… one is a meditative pause of ‘light reflected as brightly lit as lunar lanterns’, and the second is the poignancy behind the entitlement of the book itself, ‘of the delicate red thread that unites all of us in a shared common bond, where those who cross our path are meant to be in our lives, and despite the appearance of the thread’s nature, will hold steadfast and strong perpetually’. The book gives pause to any woman considering motherhood through adoption and any father choosing his path of fatherhood through adoption, because it touches on the raw emotions that are silently withheld from the adoptive parents, by children who live in constant fear that something they do or say or not do even will be grounds for them to return back from whence they came. To become un-adoptable simply because they didn’t live up to the adoptive parents expectations. It’s also a book that examines adoption from the reflections of the children themselves, as they struggle to yield and bend with a new rhythm completely different from the one they were used too whilst at an orphanage, group home, or foster home. They have to learn its okay to make mistakes, to learn and grow through their experiences, and that a forever family isn’t co-dependent on perfection but rather with honesty, heart, emotion, and love. May we always keep ourselves lit from within with a light of hope as powerful and strong as lunar lanterns, to advocate for adoption and the expansion of our hearts and worlds when a child in need of a family, finds one in those of us willing to open our hearts and homes to them.
{SOURCES: All photographs, quotations of the author, and content from the authors’ website featured in this post were used with permission by the author herself: Carol Antoinette Peacock. The book trailer by COS (Circle of Seven) Productions had either URL share links or coding which made it possible to embed this media portals to this post, and I thank them for this opportunity to share more about this novel and the author who penned it. Book Review badge provided by Parajunkee to give book bloggers definition on their blogs. #KidsLitBlogHop badge created by Jorie in Canva. Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination.}
Acquired Book By: Winning a contest adverted through “Shelf Awareness for Readers” bi-weekly newsletter, December 2012. I received the book direct from the author/publisher {The Perfect Moment, LLC} without obligation to post a review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts herein.
“A Moment in Time” Book Trailer by Jennifer Butenas
{writer, publisher, promoter}
Inspired to Share:What an ingenious way to introduce someone to the creativity inside of a picture book, than to produce a book trailer to make its arrival that more special! What I adored about the trailer is that it captures the very heart of the story!! Press play, you’ll be thankful you did!
My original lamentations about the premise:
I could not agree with you more! My father’s job runs on a 24/7 clock, and its due to my Mum’s insightful fortitude to carve out niches of family time amongst the chaos of his job that became the excitement and joy of my childhood! You see, it wasn’t simply going out for dinner or catching an evening movie, it was somehow more than all of that combined. My family’s greatest joys of memories are the times where we spontaneously walked out the door or met up with each other… trying something new for the first time, meeting up with my grandparents, or engaging in conversations we weren’t expecting to have that day. Little road trips on the weekends (now infamously called ‘one tankers!’), or little discoveries in neighbouring townes, or walking down a boardwalk,… all of it was in an attempt not only to be together as a family but to encourage and there by inspire me to appreciate the art of everyday discoveries.
Life is a brilliant journey, and I happen to adore photography, as one way my parents encouraged me to ‘log’ my experiences (as experience itself was always pertinent to them to give me) was to always have a camera in hand and at the ready!
What wonderful whispers of thoughts and memories your little blurb erupted inside me! Everything that I want to pass on to my own future children, and give them the playful, whimsical, humourous, joy-filled childhood that I had! A family can endure loads, but its the core of their bond and connection that lasts long after the bursts of delightful memories!
I must confess, I am a
After reading the story, I walked away with a sense of: rhymatically pleasing rhyme! Ms. Butenas has a clever way with igniting words with a musical note as they ease off your tongue and into the air, they float and drift and swirl around you injecting you straight into the story of a family enjoying the fresh air! There is an older brother walking with the tunes in his head, his younger sibling completely unaffected by time and only wants to sip his soda pop, whilst their father takes the time to catch a few flies, and the mother notices how perfectly sublime her family truly is! She fetches her camera and snaps the shot! Why alter the photograph when their individually enjoying their time!?
Mindfulness is etched into the heart of this delightful story, full of colourful illustrations that dance alive in your eyes! Children will vie for storytime to arrive! I always struggled to get the tone and the pulse on reading aloud, but if I were to find more picture books such as this, I simply might have found the key to unlock the mystery!
Don’t delay one instant, find a copy of this uplifting book to set yourself straight on a course of spontaneous joy! Capture what you can by camera in hand and smile knowing your one of the lucky ones who takes a pause out of the rush of the days to appreciate the essence of being alive!
{SOURCES: The book trailer by Jennifer Butenas had either URL share links or coding which made it possible to embed this media portals to this post, and I thank her for this opportunity to share more about this picture book and the author who penned it. A selection of buttons, dividers, and blog decorative freebies were chosen from the Shabby Blogs blog OR from Shabby Blogs website; such as the button that says Pathological Picture Taker.}
Isn’t that a wonderful premise to have as your statement of purpose!?
L O V E 2 R E A D: evokes the harmony of selecting a book that will catapult you into a world that you’re not even aware of visiting previously, but will hopefully become entrenched and enchanted by before you lay the book down. When your passionate about the written word you really *do!* “love to read” because you never want the inertia of discovery to stop. Your addicted to where each book you choose will take you next. And, the symmetry of your selections makes your reading adventure singularly unique and modified to your own personal stipulations and personality. I have an entire page devoted to Children’s Literature that reveals the books that I read as a child in my growing years, as much as the books I am discovering now in my early thirties because I have uncovered a new joy for juvenile and young adult literature! I will always endeavour to promote reading to children as much as to adults, because your never too young OR too old to be wrapped up blissfully inside of a story!
How I found this lovely organisation: The more bookish blogs I sought out this year, the more I would stumble across organisational badges that the blogger’s would place on their sidebars. One particular evening, I was reading “The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader” and noted their badge. I promptly opened up an email and composed a message! This blogger also promotes sharing the ‘loot’ you pick up at your local library as part as a weekly meme that other bloggers can participate in. I appreciate that there is a general sense of sharing the love of books, reading, and libraries amongst the bookish bloggers I am discovering!
(previously the video was embedded; before it turnt private)
Information from Love2Read’s Media Release:
February 14, 2013: The National Year of Reading in 2012 was such a success that libraries across Australia have decided to continue the Love2Read branding for 2013 and beyond, and to make The Reading Hour an annual event.
During 2012, the National Year of Reading saw 4,000 events, more than 200,000 participants, $26 millon-worth of media coverage, $5.6 million-worth of in kind support, and a return on investment, at a conservative estimate, of $18 for every $1 invested in the campaign.
Love2Read brand: Following on from the Love2Read flower logo appearing in thousands of locations across Australia last year, the symbol has given a new lease of life, with the promise that, wherever it appears – in a library, a bookshop, a school, or some other community space — you will be able to find something to read, somewhere to read, and people who share your love of reading. More than 80 ambassadors, partners and friends of the National Year of Reading have agreed to continue to support the campaign and you can find the list of supporters on the website: www.love2read.org.au.
IF you ask me, there is something quite special for the united love of reading to ignite such a widespread movement of learning and shared reading space! I wish I could sort out how to find a badge that says: I LOVE Libraries or a version of the sentiment, because Love2Read and The Reading Hour are directly connected to libraries, and anyone whose read even an inch of my blog knows that my passion for libraries is all-inclusive! Bookshoppes come in a close second as you might have assessed from the bit I wrote up about them under “My Bookish Life“.
Each year that The Reading Hour event is held, I will be participating in America, proudly tipping my hat to their efforts down under, and smiling at the same time knowing that half a world away, the joy of reading is being enthusiastically enjoyed! I think that the mission and vision of this programme yields to mine of Jorie Loves A Story, and perhaps that was the first inkling of why I wanted to gain permission to share this organisation’s outreach in this manner: to promote the passionate joy of reading! Afterall, without my passion for the written word, this blog would not exist. And, without the fortitude of encouragement by my Mum, Da, and teachers through my growing years I never would have battled through my woes with dyslexia to find the silver lining that yielded such a bounty of knowledge!
The Reading Hour {event} with {this} American’s twist:
24 August 2013 @ 5p Australian {Melbourne, Victoria} time is 3a {EST} the same day!
Whereas on 24 August 2013 @ 5p {EST} it is 25 August 2013 @ 7a the next day!
IF I can swing it, I will read a book for an hour on 24 August 2013 @ 3a / 5p to participate in Australia / America!
[UPDATE: 24 August 2013 @4:12am] I was roused awake with the intention of participating, even though, I had turned into my dreamscapes by the stroke of 10! I was plumb knackered for all the reading that I had been doing the full-week of the Bout of Books, 8.0!! I clearly was watching over my well-being, never reading past the point of strain, cat-napping if my eyes blurred due to exhaustion, and ate regular meals & remembered to see the light of day outside the realms of the books I was consuming! I had a lot of highs and lows as the week progressed as I sort of met some of my goals and sort of plowed right-on past the others! The one thing I didn’t want to forsake was this particular Hour to Read, because I was caught up in the allure of being able to *read at precisely the same time as the Australians!* Which is why, despite thinking I had no extra stamina or eyes willing to wake themselves at 2:55am, I found myself alighted with a spare surge of energy! Eyes dancing with the possibility that perhaps, one girl can dare to make a difference, even at such a distance as the Eastern state of Florida, far removed from the country of Australia! To promote the joy of reading + to undertake one hour, on the 24th of August, to say, “reading is a pleasure wrapped inside a joyous balloon that never fades nor leaves you with anything less than a ruefully happy smile!” Books transport us everywhere we want to go, including the places not yet known, and the curious corridors we like to re-visit, as their characters and memories are strung to our hearts as well known as our own living memories can be! :) Thus, I embarked on this curious quest, and met it in such a fine of a way!
I pulled “Charlotte’s Web” by E.B. White off my wooden shelf, housed underneath a small stack of books, which include the first two Alex Rider novels by Anthony Horowitz [better known to me know, as the man behind “Foyle’s War”], and the quartet mystery series that involves two spunky correspondents who take trips and solve mysteries by Jennifer Austin! I curled into Charlotte’s Web, and read the first 104 pages out of 184!! I was quite chuffed when I realised I had accomplished that! As despite being a proud Night Owl, this owl has been staying wayy past her usual time of night, sinking into the dreamscapes closer-to 2 or 3a on a regular basis all week!! To think, she was able to turn in early on a Friday to wake in time to greet the Aussies on a Saturday was nothing short of miraculous!
And, the story of this day does not yet end here! As although I participated during the official Reading Hour, I still have my own Reading Hour coming up in the late afternoon! I wanted to participate twice, because its only fitting, given the International Time differences and the fact, it gives me the chance to finish reading Wilbur’s story!! I am going to treat myself by placing on hold at the library, a copy of the film “Charlotte’s Web” starring Dakota Fanning as Fern! I never had the proper chance to watch it, as I had bought this edition of the novel for that specific purpose in mind! My own copy from my childhood is a mirror image of this one, as its the hardback edition from the 1980s with the familiar illustrations by Garth Williams! :) :) This one, also says, “Now a Major Motion” which is something to give a pause and smile too!
[next update: shortly after 6p, same day!] I do wonder if anyone who saw this coming up on my blog, as I cross-referenced it under my Voraciously Absorbing Lit page, if any of the other bookishly inclined bloggers are taking part!? I am so happy that it all worked out, as this one project simply touched my heart! Literacy, libraries, reading, and the joy of words will always be a pursuit that I will stand behind!! :) :)
I have completed Charlotte’s Web, albeit a wee bit tuckered out around the edges, as I am not used to reading at 3am, whilst needing to be ready to head out the door for a workshoppe in writing by 10a! Oy vie! I did cut things rather close, today, eh!? I had such an enjoyable time playing my part in The Reading Hour, that I hope, as visitors discover my blog and the wholeness of what makes Jorie Loves A Story, that they might stumble across this posting, and remember that the world is not such a large place if one programme in reading across the continents can inspire this book blogger to participate!! I tried to imagine the joyous faces of the children who would take part in the live events, and the mirth of the supporters who had put in the long hours to get the notice out to everyone who might like to take part! I wonder, truly, what books the children selected to read OR which books might have been read to them, today!? Maybe, just maybe, one of those selections was Charlotte’s Web, and if dear hearts, that is true, than the distance between me and them was not so impossible to visualise!
I even started to choke up whilst reading the teary eyed good-bye that always comes at just the moment your keen on this little magical world of Zuckermann’s farm, where animals talk with kindness and love, and where the world doesn’t quite move as fast as it needs too, because there is time enough to do what needs to be done. Including, taking the time to notice your surroundings and how the environment changes through the seasons. Noticing the ticking pause of time, and the beauty of making the time to solidify strong friendships and fill your life with love. Your all warm and comfortable inside this slip of a world, and then, right by the time your ready for the next chapter of their lives, you find you have arrived at the end! Until the next time you pick up the book, smiling with a fondness of recent memory, and sink back into that quiet and innocent world that makes Charlotte’s Web such a beautiful place to visit, whether you’re a young reader or a girl who grew into a woman of thirty-four years!
Alas, now all I need to do is place a hold for the adaptation starring Dakota Fanning, and the circle shall be complete! Until next August, when this lovely project comes back around and is the focal point of a day in late August,… celebrating the joy of reading one curious book at a time!
What will you read today!? If you were only given an hour!?
NOTE: Previously all badges provided by Love2Read & The Reading Hour were linked to the site: http://www.love2read.org.au – however, in July 2017 the site was found to be taken down.
{SOURCES: I was given permission for the use of the banners and badges, that are featured on this posting as well as on my blog. They {Love2Read & The Reading Hour} were most encouraged that an American wanted to promote a literacy advocate organisation in Australia, as literacy is a universal issue and reading should be promoted everywhere. I was also given permission to use content from their website. I have quoted which pieces I have used by them to differentiate between my own words. Seriously wicked bookish, coffee and library badges {entirely FREE!} provided by Squeesome Designs!}}
Inspired to Share: Due to noticing that indie film-making and indie book shoppes go hand-in-hand with each other! They infuse a near-mystical illumination of the joy that every bookishly inclined person feels whilst entering into the realm of a book shoppe ~ row after row, shelf after shelf, book after book, of curious possibilities,… soon-to-be-discoveries that implore you onward and inward, further into the shoppe, and into the heart of the unexpected.
Directed, Edited, and Filmed by: Sean Ohlenkamp (ohkamp.com)
The opening sequence of musical score parlays my mind to reminisce fondly on my Potter days, spent in darkened theaters awaiting the next installment to capture my mind and invigorate my imagination! The chilling moment of anticipation as the opening titles would start to eclipse the screen, left a palette of interest and a curiosity that couldn’t be quenched. As this film opens, your aware that it’s quite possible that your going to leave the outside world, and enter a new dimension! Very much in an awe of happiness, noting that it’s not always cherished teddies and toys that can spark alive in the middle of the night, but books and their companions in arms! Watch this video and find yourself entering a portal into a new world of creative synchronicity!
This video that Type Books created is a moment of creative inspiration for anyone who has become wrapped up in the magical blissitudes of discovering books and the worlds that they allow of us to visit, each time we open their pages!
{SOURCE: This video by OhKamp had either URL share links or coding which made it possible to embed this media portal to this post, and I thank them for this opportunity to share such an imaginative exploration with you.}
Red Thread Sisters by 
