Wow, I received a Flamingnet Top Choice Award from a young reviewer. I'm smiling from ear to ear. It's one thing to have friends and family pat me on the back and say, "good job," and another thing entirely to have Running for My Life be appreciated by a young reader whom I do not know. Thank you Flamingnet...I love the bug.
Please feel free to email me if you have questions about Running for My Life or if you are having any difficulty obtaining a copy. Also, if you would like a signed copy I'm happy to work with Santoro's Books, my neighborhood bookstore, to coordinate purchasing and signing and mailing. Just let me know.
My email address is: ann@anngonzalez.com
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I'm the lucky winner of several items in the Bridget Zinn Fundraiser Auction. I'll be on the radio and interviewed in a podcast...stay tuned for more details. (In case you haven't heard, writers, illustrators and readers got together to raise almost $13,000 for Bridget, a young adult author, who was diagnosed with cancer.
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Kirby Larson is an amazing writer, person, and friend to all writers. I'm still sad that I made the boneheaded mistake of not acknowledging her on the Acknowledgements page of Running for My Life. I would not have been able to write Running for My Life without her guidance, support and encouragement. Hattie Big Sky, Two Bobbies, Kirby's blog -- they're all must reads.
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The Craft of Writing for Teens and Tweens
The first two offerings of this class have been well received and the students are making great progress on their novels. There's nothing better than working with and supporting writers, particularly when they are working stories fo children and young adults.
Therefore, as long as there are interested writers I will continue to offer this class with the money-back guarantee. I don't want anyone to come away from the class feeling like he/she didn't benefit from taking it, and will happily refund the course fee to anyone who is dissatisfied. Writers have so few guarantees in their professional lives that I don't think they should have to worry about whether or not they are picking the right course.
The next class begins in mid-July. The cost is $100.00 for 8 weeks.
If you are interested in signing up for a class on writing for middle graders and teens please send me an email at ann@anngonzalez.com . If you aren't able to join us this time around, I'll put you on the mailing list for future class offerings.
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Listen to KUOW's 94.9 Sound Focus to hear me talk about my mother and what it is like to grow up with a schizophrenic parent.
Sarah Waller and Jeannie Yandel are wonderful producers and hosts. They welcomed me into the studio and let me wear headphones and talk into the big spongy yellow microphone. In a recording studio the silence around the spoken word is the most beautiful sound I've ever not heard.
At the edge of speech there is a magnificent quiet.
Kirby Larson, author of Newbery Honor Book, Hattie Big Sky