Welcome readers, writers, authors,
and bloggers!
We're glad you're here! It's the
First Wednesday of the month; when we celebrate IWSG Day in the form of a blog hop
featuring members and guests of the Insecure
Writer's Support Group. Founded by author Alex Cavanaugh (Thank you, Captain!) and fostered by like-minded
associates, IWSG is a comfortable place to share views and literary news as we
record our journeys. Check out our monthly
newsletter here.
The awesome co-hosts for this month’s posting of the IWSG are: PJ Colando, Pat Garcia, Kim Lajevardi, Melisa Maygrove, and Jean Davis!
Today’s entirely optional question: What were some books that impacted you as a child or young adult?
Growing up in a neighborhood called Enchanted Hills, on a
street called Land’s End, it’s no surprise my reading tastes would lean toward
all things imagined or dreamed of – even if they kept me up at night ;-)
Goodnight, Moon was the
perfect book to fall asleep to. I’d heard it so often I could recite the story
to myself when no one felt like reading to me. After reading Corduroy, I began collecting buttons because you never
know when you might really need one. Years later, I lay awake wondering if the
kids would discover what happened to their father in The Railway Children. I marveled at how alike Posy (Ballet Shoes) and I were, and how excited I was to finally graduate to toe shoes. Would I be as good
as Posy?
Ours was a house full of cats and readers. We even had a library. A newspaper was delivered every
morning and every evening. Everybody read something. Even the birdcage was
lined with funnies from the Sunday paper. I suspect the cats always knew
exactly what we were feeding them and thanked us with theatrical disdain, while
the scotty dog (like the Monopoly game) at least feigned indifference so as not
to cause a scene.
A story I loved as a child was told to me in reference to all the cats we had. I wasn’t sure, at the time, that any real book existed. As far as I know, I’ve never known anyone who owned a copy of the book "Millions of Cats" (1928); however, it remains the oldest American picture book still in print to date.
But the book that remains the one, the first one, the
unforgettable first story that flowed across my heart like warm syrup on a pancake, still remains in full detail on a repeating reel as if I’d walked those fields
with Robin. It was after I read The Velvet Room that I ever
dared to consider writing something myself. Zilpha Keatley Snyder inspired me.
Happy writing!
