Does This Mean I'm Official Now?

I was informed by my editor that I now have a publicist assigned to me. What does a publicist do exactly? Heck if I know--yet. Hopefully, I will soon. And when I find out, I'll let all of you know. : ) But it is exciting all the same to know I now have someone who can help me know what I should do as a new author to get my book out there to the masses. Book launches and book signings here I come! Only two more months until Forbidden Sea is out in stores. I must admit there were times I never thought this day would come.

The Fun Theory

This is a fabulous video about the power of making life more fun. Click here to watch the clip. You must watch this with audio to get the full effect. : )

All in a Day's Work for a Librarian

A father brought his three children to the reference desk today, inquiring after a certain Veggie Tales Christmas movie that said it was checked in, but wasn’t on the shelf. Deciding not to question his off season choice of films, I went into the back room and did an extensive search for the title. Before I was through, half the backroom staff was helping me look for the DVD. Triumphantly one staff member held up the missing DVD and I happily took it back to the father who was still waiting for my return. The father held the DVD out to his son and asked, “Is that the one you wanted?” The kid wrinkled his nose and backed away from the DVD like it had some kind of a bad smell rolling off of it.

They left the library without the DVD.

The Way Things Should Be

Norman Rockwell use to say that he didn't paint the world the way it was, but he painted it the way it should be. Well today I came across this article of some girls who made the world a little more like it should be. I was so touched by their simple act of kindness, I had to post it.

Click here to read the article.

Another Great Viral Video

I was talking to a friend of mine about one of the stories I'm currently working on, with a haunted doll as part of the plot, and she showed me this commercial for USPS. I could not stop laughing. Clowns have alway given me the willies. This was just too good not to share!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKGKB5bc9DU

Fairy Tea 2010

Every year our library puts on a big program called the Fairy Tea. This year there were four teas, each with 200 attendees. That makes 800 guests in all, most of them little girl ages three and up. The little girls dress up like fairies (wings, crown, the whole she-bang) and come to watch ballerinas perform and be introduced to the fairy court as they walk the runway and show off their fairy finery. The girls are always so cute! As part of the program, we librarians are required to dress up as well. I've been doing this for eight years now, so I've got quite a collection of fairy dresses hidden away in my closet by now. This year I wore a dress I sewed myself. (pictured above) I don't know how real fairies can move around freely with wings permantly attached to their back, because I kept hitting people in the head with mine whenever I tried to turn around.

The cream dress is my costume for the second day of Fairy Tea.

Library Wisdom

Listed below is some of the mystic knowledge I've gained from working twelve years as a public librarian.

1) If your toddler goes missing at the library head straight for one of two places, the top floor of the elevator and the parking lot. Yep, there they are.

2) If you are one hundred percent, really, really, really, sure that you returned that overdue book back to the library and it hasn't shown up on the shelf yet, check under the passenger seat in your car. It has never failed for me. Freaky huh?

3) If you get a sudden fabulous idea to take your whole family to the library tonight, you can be certain that every other family in the city has received the exact same brilliant idea and they will all be there standing in the checkout line ahead of you. We call this psychic broadcasting.

4) If you want to make your librarian's day just walk up to the desk and ask them to recommend some good books. (Be fairly warned, however, that you might not be able to get them to shut up before closing time.)

5) Coming to the children's department to read your favorite childhood picture books with your significant other is not the unique date you might think it is. Proposing in a library, though a surprisingly popular method, is NEVER a good way to start out a future marriage commitment. Trust me on this one.