One Week and Counting

One week till I fly to NYC (make that Get Flown). One week from tomorrow= My Scholastic Speech.

So I'm getting organized. And all those years of hanging out in elementary schools taught me a thing or two.

Like- Bring props! We only have 5-10 minutes to talk about ourselves and our debut books. I'm going to squeeze in a little Show and Tell. Sharing Time. Visuals.

This is my Buster Brown shoebox (Thanks for the fab purple ribbon, Amanda!). My main character, Glory, and her big sister created a game, basically Blackjack, that they call Junk Poker. Of all the things in my middle-grade novel that are really true, Junk Poker is possibly the truest. My sister and I saved old skate keys, wax lips, bubble gum--all sorts of treasures-- and we bet against each other. My parents did not object. In my novel, Glory's daddy, the preacher, probably would. If he finds out. Which he won't.

Inside this shoebox are true artifacts that Glory might really have had in her Junk Poker box.

Stay tuned! I'll share soon! (hint: Elvis has not left the building.)