Do You Remember Pinky Promises?

The first time I heard about a pinky promise was in a movie. I never made them or even heard of them as a child, but my children knew of them and probably made a few.

Curious about when they came about, I Googled it. I found an article in the Cardinal Chronicle and on Wikipedia about them and from that and other sources, discovered they've been around in the US since the 1860's, and that they probably originated in Japan. The most horrifying thing is that in Japanese, where it's called yubikiri, it means "Finger cut-off" ... ugh! I guess it's serious.

I know for Todd and Louise, the pinky promise is very serious. It's so solid a contract that Louise, despite her fear of the haunted Lacey Manor, accompanies Todd inside on his quest, a neighborhood right of passage, to shine a light from the attic window.

Have you ever made a pinky promise?

2024: A year of Success (I didn't realize I had)

Children's author Julie Hedlund, challenged participants of her 12 Days of Christmas for Writers series to share our SUCCESSES (rather than resolutions) this year. She believes the way New Year's resolutions are traditionally made come from a place of negativity - what DIDN'T get done or achieved in the previous year.  Instead, she suggests we set goals for the New Year that BUILD on our achievements from the previous one. I decided to participate in this Anti-Resolution Revolution!

Thank you Julie for creating the 12 Days of Christmas for Writers.

Here is my list for 2024. I didn't realize I had done so much!

And don't forget, Storytime at the Gadsden, AL Library

Why Do I Do it?

Sometimes, I wonder why I continue to create books, but then I get a chance to interact with children who enjoy them. It is a wonderful reminder that my books don't have to be best sellers for me to be happy. They only have to make one child smile.

Thanks to Hanna Gray, the Gadsden Children's Librarian, I had a chance to get smiles from several children at Walnut Park Elementary School. Hanna already taught the children the concepts I was showing them in my presentation, but they participated and laughed anyway, and they loved Jazzy.

Hopefully, at least one of them left with a feeling that, if they wanted, they could write a book too. But I know that they all left with a smile, and so did I.