Edited 5/6 3:25pm EDT: The giveaway and form below are both now closed. Thank you to all who stopped by! To the ten teachers and librarians who responded, I will pick the recipient of the Year of Shadows ARC via random.org and contact you shortly!
In the meantime, any teachers/librarians who missed the giveaway, fear not! I’d still love to send your school/library a pack of signed bookmarks and a Cavendish study guide. Also, please feel free to visit my Author Visits page if you’d like to set up a Skype or in-person visit with me!
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I will never forget my elementary school librarian.
Her name was Mrs. Bailey. She had tight brown curls, wore bright red lipstick and painted her fingernails to match, and she had a spectacular voice. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her whenever she read aloud to us; she was my wardrobe to Narnia in human form, transporting me to the land of words and adventure. When I was in third grade and wrote my first ever book — a melodramatic gripping adventure about a wild horse named Cinnamon — she read it and praised me with the kind of enthusiasm that ensured I would remember her forever.
an excerpt from THE JOURNEY: omg y’all they are totally in love. epic mustang love.
I will never forget my first grade teacher.
Her name was Mrs. Young. She had short blond hair and a voice like Kate Mulgrew. Once, when I smarted off in her class (safely behind her back, I thought), she caught me doing it and made me “sign the book.” SIGN THE BOOK. I don’t even remember what signing the ominous notebook kept at the back of the classroom did to one’s academic record, but I remember my mortification, my crushing goody two-shoes guilt. (“What was I thinking? Mocking the teacher?! I am going straight to Hell.”) Mrs. Young liked me, but she did not put up with my precocious crap, and I loved her for it. When I wrote the abovementioned opus about wild horse Cinnamon — and her doomed lover, Desert Dust, and the tragically orphaned filly, Mischief, who liked to wear flowers in her hair for some reason? — I showed it to Mrs. Young. She read it and loved it and requested a copy.
I will never forget her, or Mrs. Bailey.
For countless students across the country, it’s the same: The teachers and librarians they see every day affect them in immeasurable, invaluable ways. They shape their futures and encourage their dreams.
Today, I want to give back just a little to these remarkable people by giving away ten hardcover copies of my first book, The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls, to teachers and librarians!
I know that budgets can be strict, and you may not always be able to purchase the books you want to add to your classroom or school libraries. Hopefully this will help get Cavendish into the hands of kids who wouldn’t otherwise be able to read it, and add another book to collections that may need a bit of a boost.
The first ten librarians, school media specialists, or teachers who respond to this post will receive Cavendish, as well as a set of signed Cavendish bookmarks and a copy of the Cavendish reading guide (which is still in the works but will be mailed to you upon completion). Additionally, I will gladly personalize your copy of Cavendish, making it out to your classroom or school library!
Each of the first ten respondents will also receive a set of signed bookmarks for my second book, The Year of Shadows, and a few The Year of Shadows stickers (great for summer reading prize packs, random rewards, etc.)!
And one grand prize winner, randomly selected out of the first ten to respond, will receive one of my very few, very precious The Year of Shadows ARCs!
To win the above goodies — and for a chance to win an ARC of The Year of Shadows! — all you have to do is fill out this form (now closed). Again, the first ten respondents (U.S./Canada only, please) will get Cavendish and the swag listed above, and then I will randomly select one of you to receive the ARC as well.
That’s it!
Once again — because it can’t be said enough — librarians and educators: You ROCK. Thank you for all you do, and thank you for stopping by!
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