Why I Write Just Like Sam!

This Past weekend my daughter, Emily, and my husband, Bobby, joined me as we traveled to beautiful Huntington, West Virginia for the Ohio River Festival of Books. I had high hopes of meeting lots of readers and visions of selling many books, but as often happens, reality was a totally different experience. Extremely few customers ventured into the civic center where the event was being held, and those who did, spent their time in the next room buying used books from the library volunteers.

Despite the less then stellar book event, we managed to make it a mini vacation. Emily was thrilled to swim in the hotel pool, wander the square with her father as they looked into small shops, eat ice cream, and have a picnic at a nearby park attractively nestled next to the Ohio River.

As I thought about our time in West Virginia, I remembered something my mother always told me when I was growing up, "It's not your circumstances that matter, but your attitude towards them." This is a lesson I try to live by, and so we talked of all the things that were good about our trip as we drove home Saturday evening.

So when it came time to read and review a book for this post, I found it quite interesting that my chosen book, Library Mouse, reminded me of why I write just like Sam. Sam is a small mouse that lives in the library behind the children's reference section where at night he reads, and reads, and reads. Then one day he decides to write a book of  his own, and then an other, and an other. When the librarian and the children want to meet Sam, he comes up with a creative idea for a meet the author day that encourages children to write their own books because there are so many stories to tell.

 

So what does this have to do with me. How is it I write just like Sam? I write like Sam because I too was a voracious reader. I too wanted to write books of my own. I too believed and still believe that there are many stories to tell. Stories to tell that will encourage young readers to keep reading and will possibly make them want to create books of their own one day.

And although I only sold two books during the festival, they were purchased by a man who generously uses his time to read to first graders in Mrs. Thomas' class and who was going to give them to her class as a gift. Only two books, but two books that can possibly change the destiny of the children who will hear those stories. Children, who just like Sam and I, will read, and read, and read. Children who also might just write, and write, and write!

 

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Join me next week for another exciting episode, same crazy time, same crazy channel. And feel free to drop by my personal website, Fun With Aileen, any day of the week for even more on reading, writing, my very own early grade chapter book, Fern Valley, and my sequel, Return To Fern Valley! I'm also on twitter @AileenWStewart if you want an extremely brief glimpse into my days.