Presentin', Progressin' and Back-of-the-Book Blurb #85

       Yes, I know. I'm way behind. I had a super busy end of week, along with a crazy weekend. I'm saying one apology for each of my readers... which means I only have to say "I'm sorry" 1.6 times.

     Thursday evening was full of prepping for a substitute (I took off on Friday), along with putting the finishing touches on a workshop handout and getting stuff ready for a writing marathon.

      The NCTE convention (National Council of Teachers of English) was in St. Louis. I was leading a writing marathon through Ferguson, Missouri--of great interest to people from out of town.

       We ended at Cathy's Kitchen, a Ferguson restaurant that is located right next to the Ferguson Police Department. Cathy Jenkins and her husband Jerome had stories to tell us over a delicious lunch.

      At the convention I did a bit of oohing and aahing. Jacqueline Woodson spoke to a huge convention room. It was so crowded and in such demand, teachers were sitting on the floor along the sides, just to hear her. By then, my former teaching partner and I had already done our presentation, so we could relax...

Okay, so maybe this is a better photo of her...

I also got to go to a workshop by Tom Romano. He's a rock star when it comes to multi genre writing.

     Today, it's back to work. However, as of 7:26 on Sunday evening, my NaNoWriMo word count was 16,179. Fortunately, I will have time to write tomorrow with my students. Since we have a short week (only two days), we're going to work on our NaNoWriMo during our literature classes as well as our composition classes...

      And now onto to a much-belated book blurb post...

        Look at the photo below. That is the cover of your book. You choose the genre. Is it a coffee table book of fashion trends? Is it a photo collection of mentally-ill patients and their clothing choices? You decide.

        Write an enticing blurb--150 words or less. (The title doesn't count in the word count.) Blurbs are those enticing bits that prod you into buying the book. Sometimes they're on the back cover of the book. Sometimes they're on the inside front cover. What they always try to do is lure you into purchasing the book. 

          Lisa Ricard Claro was the original creator of this writing challenge. She moved to Florida, and is too busy to host a weekly book blurb. Her first romance novel, Love Built to Last, just came out as an audio book.  She's quite busy these days. Not only is she a prolific writer, she also runs an editing business. (I hope someday I will have need to hire her.)

          
          Okay, back to book blurb stuff.
     

          Include your blurb in a blog post. Include a link to this post. Also, link your post to Mr. Linky. Mr. Linky is easy. If you've never done it, you'll be impressed with how simple he is. And then, check out the other blurb(s). It's interesting to see the different directions writers take, given the same photo.

           Here's the book cover, along with my blurb:

Google Images

Henry the Thinker

“Are you ever going to come out?”

Bang! Bang! Bang! “How long are you going to be in there?”

With only one bathroom in the house, sometimes it was a race. If Eloise saw signs that Henry was getting up, with the intention of using the toilet, she’d fly out of her rocking chair and beat him to it… a slammed door signaling her victory.

Outwitting him was necessary. Henry thought the toilet was his throne. He read magazines while he crouched on the circular seat. He played video games on his tablet so long, his butt cheeks would go numb. Henry spent so much time in the bathroom, Eloise decided to honor him with a sculpture… which she had installed in their front yard, along with the sign:

This is my king on his throne.

          Will Henry be pleased? Or will he be pissed? (145 words)

Reviews

George Costanza: I think this book goes overboard. I mean, he's naked. I only recommend taking off the dress shirt and undershirt when preening in the bathroom after a toileting event, so I cannot recommend this book.

The Roto-Rooter Man: This guy looks like he lives on pizza and corn dogs... probably doesn't even know what vegetables look like. I advocate he either starts eating some roughage, or he'll have need of my services. I also advocate that everybody avoids this book.

The Bathroom in Room # 1 at the Bates Motel: If you read this book, something horrible will happen to you... something as horrible as what happened in me. Eeek eeek eeek!

And for those who'd like to work ahead (since, goodness knows, I rarely do), here is the photo for later this week:

Google Images

Being Thankful

        This has been a rough week for us. My school is in Ferguson. And even though horrible things are happening, there are some uplifting things happening as well.
 
         Tuesday morning, after a night of looting and many fires and total destruction of some businesses, I drove through to check on a particular restaurant. Cathy' Kitchen was started by Cathy and Jerome Jenkins. It has the best fish tacos in town, and their apple pie makes me (a hater of apple pie) smile and purr when I eat it. Cathy and Jerome spent months renovating it (the décor and the menu have a Route 66 theme), eventually expanding  to serving breakfast along with lunch and dinner, and have been doing well.

         However, they are located right next to the Ferguson Police. This was a place where large groups of people congregated--and not all of them were peaceful.

          What happened to their restaurant--when some angry protesters threatened to destroy it--is miraculous. Here's a link to the CNN article (and I think the video is there as well)  Cathy and Jerome Jenkins

        Today I am giving thanks for my family and my friends. I'm hoping my sister-in-law, who is in the hospital, recovers quickly and completely. And on a lighter note (although it will probably end up being a heavier note), I hope I can display a bit of restraint when it comes to the mashed potatoes, the homemade gravy and the pie.

       Whether or not you celebrate Thanksgiving, have a wonderful day today... and keep peace in your thoughts.

Today's Kids

        Folks who make blanket statements about kids today aren't getting to know the kids of today.

       For example, the kids living next door to us greet us first when they see us in the yard, saying, "Good morning." They're polite, well-mannered children.

       Another example--a young man who (in May) graduated from one of my district's high schools, is now working in a local restaurant--as a pastry chef. As the owners were renovating (since January), he came by every week, looking for a  job.  They kept telling him no. On the day the restaurant opened, this kid showed up with his apron and his pastry chef tools, ready to work. (He was already a shining star of the high school home ec department.) They finally gave him a try, handed him their pie recipes, and from what the owners say, his apple crumb was prettier of than the owners, and out-of-this-world delicious. 

        One of my students this past year did something very selfless, and was a great friend in the process. Moved by what he did, I wrote a story about him (entitled "Help By the Bagful") and submitted it to the Chicken Soup: For Positive Kids I just got news today that the story about him had made it through the first round of editors. Although my friend Lisa Ricard Claro warns me to not count my chickens until they're hatched--she's known too many people who had their story booted out at the last minute--but if I have to, I'll just smash the eggs and chalk that up as one of my many rejections.

         Speaking of eggs, the WWWPs are a bunch of good eggs. They helped me immensely with the story--if I had submitted it before I got it critiqued, it would not be under consideration right now.

          What is your opinion of kids today?

To Dream the (Im)possible Dream

          Have you ever nurtured a dream over decades, fanning the tiny lick of flames when it threatened to extinguish itself, only to see it (gloriously) grow and expand?

       A woman I know, Cathy Jenkins, had a dream of owning her own restaurant. She took a trip across the country with her family and wheedled her way into restaurant kitchens as they traveled. (Cathy is so personable, she could get a lamppost to engage in conversation.) Along the way, they took lots of photographs of their family in national parks, on the beach, and so on.

       She then began her own small cooking business, and offered a weekly treat for the teachers at her children's elementary school. A flyer would be posted in the office,  complete with a photo of the entrée of the week, and the staff would call in their order. No matter what she made, it was delicious.

        Now--after months and months of working on the interior and planning the menu and meeting with city planners, she just had the grand opening of her own restaurant--Cathy's Kitchen. It's in the heart of old-town Ferguson, right next to a Curves (not a great place for the Curves clients, I must say) and every publication in town interviewed her. The Post-Dispatch. The Suburban Journal. She's going to be in Taste and Sauce, two local cooking magazines.

You can't really tell, because I'm not the best photographer, but the kitchen
is completely open and retro-looking.

Along the entire length of the restaurant is a highway. Along the road, there are
photos of the dishes Cathy's Kitchen offers, family pictures, and guitars and cowboy boots and
Mardi Gras beads, to represent each geographical area along the highway.

This is the dreamer...Cathy Jenkins.


If you're in St. Louis and have the chance to stop by Cathy's Kitchen, you won't be disappointed. (The smoked salmon crostini is delicious. A friend had the fish tacos--the fish is not breaded--and thoroughly enjoyed them.)

What dream do you have for yourself or for your writing? And...what are you doing to keep your dream burning brightly?