Update on Steps to Courage

I now have an agent for my book.  I have been asked to add about 12,000 words.  Over the last two days I have added a total of 6,582 leaving me a minimum of 5500 words to go.  I am so excited.  My book cover and blurb are complete thanks to my good friend Marlayne Giron.  She is the author of The Victor and Make a Wish.  I feel privileged to have her as a friend and a writing mentor.  Looking forward to finally getting this book published.  Based on my summary here is the teaser she came up for the back of my book.

 Three teens with backgrounds which haunt them find themselves in New York's Twin Towers on the morning of 9-11. Each of them is a survivor of a horrific tragedy from their past and now face escaping the burning towers with all the odds stacked against them. How will they survive this ordeal when each of them feels guilty at having survived in the first place?

 

Poetry Day

I felt like posting some of my poetry.  I am getting ready to take a day off from school for a meeting of the minds.  I don't mind when we have a day where our department plans for the next year it is productive.  However some of the conferences we've had to go to have been horrible.  As I explained in my last post, I write out of emotions.  The following was a poem I wrote when bored and annoyed at a training.  I hope you enjoy it.

The Training   by Sandra Stiles

Screechy, nasal and high pitched

We’re not talking about a witch

The speaker here is a trainer 

Someone please try to contain her

On and on the speaker drones

We look around with silent groans

She starts to shout and walk around

My head is spinning round and round

How much longer must we suffer

Sitting here is getting tougher

Let me go back to my school

My students are way more cool

They tell me that I must be trained

I must improve my students’ brains

This class is boring as can be

Oh help me, help me, help me please!

The time has come that I may leave

I have learned nothing I believe

They just kept going on and on

And now my brain’s completely gone.

What’s that you ask what have I learned?

I must speak out, it’s now my turn?

I learned to sit and smile a lot

What have I learned?  A lot of rot!

I learned to look like I am writing

Sit and act like it’s exciting

Nod my head and tap the keyboard

Was that my neighbor who just snored?

It’s finally over and I may go

Back to my students where I will show

The knowledge that today I gained

That left me breathless and entertained.