To find our winners, we assigned a number to each entry (from only the entries with contact info) and asked random.org to choose FIVE numbers!
Congrats to:
2-The Every Free Chance Reader
22-Eline
38-karenk
42-Mary (mryward)
46-Nova
Here is a message from Samantha Hoffman:
I'm still on a high from publishing my debut novel with St. Martin's Press - it is beyond thrilling. I feel like prom queen!
But that's just the beginning of this process - now we have to figure out how to get people to find it. So I'm eternally grateful to Chick Lit Central for featuring it on their website, helping to spread the word, and hosting the contest. It was such fun to read the comments and stories. It's an amazing world we live in, isn't it, where you can so easily find people from long ago. Actually, "What More Could You Wish For" was inspired by some events in my life, one of them being that I connected with a former flame on Classmates.com, someone I hadn't seen since I was 18. But don't go thinking the book is an autobiography - it's complete fiction. Well...mostly!
Thanks to all of you who entered the contest. I hope the winners will enjoy it and that maybe a little something in it will resonate. Maybe those of you who didn't win will be inspired to read it too, and then I would love to hear from all of you!
Enjoy!
Reminder: If you have won a book, you have about 48 hours to claim it by sending your contact information. (You will be e-mailed if you have won, as well.) After that time, a new winner will be picked.
Thanks to everyone for participating and telling us about your reunions with classmates.
Thanks to Samantha for a fun interview and to St. Martin's Press for sharing the book with our winners.
Check out our latest giveaways and also enter ones from other blogs and websites on our giveaways page.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Books of the Week - September 20th
Thanks for checking out our newest feature...Books of the Week! There are seven of us and we can't keep up with the many review requests we receive, even though we'd love to read everything sent our way. Therefore, we have decided to give some books their time in the spotlight and introduce you to them through this new blog feature. We will be featuring two books a week. We hope you will take the time to check these books out. (Click the titles to find them on Amazon.) If you read them and want to write a guest blogger review for us, please e-mail us and we'll be glad to work with you!
Authors: We will let you know whether or not we'll be able to review your book upon your request, and hope you'll be interested in this feature as an alternative.
“Saffron September”
By Aliya Anjum
This is the story of Zara and Ali, and their struggle to find eternal bliss in the land of opportunity.
Aliya Anjum can be found on Facebook.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The Fall of the Misanthrope"
By Louise Wise
Louise Wise can be found on Facebook and Twitter.
Authors: We will let you know whether or not we'll be able to review your book upon your request, and hope you'll be interested in this feature as an alternative.
“Saffron September”By Aliya Anjum
Zara grows up privileged, in Pakistan. By the time she reaches her late twenties, she is single and no longer welcome in her home; death, illness and an arranged marriage has broken family bonds. She leaves Karachi, Pakistan to seek a new life in America. What begins as a quest for a new life, turns into a journey of faith.
Zara wants what every woman wants: a husband, a family and a home. Breaking free from the traditions of her culture where marriages are arranged, Zara overcomes the constraints of her upbringing and sets out to find that special someone. Her quest is a long, hard road, beset with heartbreak and sorrow, where faith becomes her savior. One chance encounter with Ali, connects her to a kindred spirit; a man who seems like the answers to her every prayer.
Zara wants what every woman wants: a husband, a family and a home. Breaking free from the traditions of her culture where marriages are arranged, Zara overcomes the constraints of her upbringing and sets out to find that special someone. Her quest is a long, hard road, beset with heartbreak and sorrow, where faith becomes her savior. One chance encounter with Ali, connects her to a kindred spirit; a man who seems like the answers to her every prayer.
This is the story of Zara and Ali, and their struggle to find eternal bliss in the land of opportunity.
Aliya Anjum can be found on Facebook.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The Fall of the Misanthrope"By Louise Wise
Being a misanthropist is Valerie Anthrope’s defence.
She is a cut-throat business woman and happy being alone. She answers to no-one. She has no time for romantic trivialities, and definitely no time for Ellen who nominates herself as her fairy godmother.
But what of Ellen’s playboy nephew? The one who Ellen coerces into buying insurance from Valerie’s brokerage? The one who is full of himself and smitten with Valerie’s cool demeanour. His cocky know-it-all manner, posse of female admirers and playboy reputation are more than enough to put Valerie off – or is it enough to keep her interested? After all, being in a relationship with a playboy means there’s no burden of commitment.
Or is there?
"The Fall of the Misanthrope" is $2.99 for Kindle.
Louise Wise can be found on Facebook and Twitter.
Winners of Emily Giffin books
To find our winner, we assigned a number to each entry (from only those that included contact info) and asked Random.org to choose two numbers.
Congrats to:
The winner of a signed copy of "Heart of the Matter": Linda Kish
"Where We Belong" hardcover: Marthalynn
As an extra treat, Macmillan Audio is giving away one audiobook of "Where We Belong" to one of our US giveaway participants. We found this winner the same way.
Congrats to A Cozy Reader's Corner!
Everyone can listen to an audio clip here.
Reminder: If you have won a book, you have about 48 hours to claim it by sending your contact information. (You will be e-mailed if you have won, as well.) After that time, a new winner will be picked.
Thanks to everyone for participating and telling us which of Emily's books you can relate to the most!
Thanks to Emily for chatting with us, sharing a hardcover of "Where We Belong" and signing the giveaway copy of "Heart of the Matter."
Thanks to Macmillan Audio for sharing the audiobook of "Where We Belong."
Check out our latest giveaways and also enter ones from other blogs and websites on our giveaways page.
Congrats to:
The winner of a signed copy of "Heart of the Matter": Linda Kish
"Where We Belong" hardcover: Marthalynn
As an extra treat, Macmillan Audio is giving away one audiobook of "Where We Belong" to one of our US giveaway participants. We found this winner the same way.
Congrats to A Cozy Reader's Corner!
Everyone can listen to an audio clip here.
Reminder: If you have won a book, you have about 48 hours to claim it by sending your contact information. (You will be e-mailed if you have won, as well.) After that time, a new winner will be picked.
Thanks to everyone for participating and telling us which of Emily's books you can relate to the most!
Thanks to Emily for chatting with us, sharing a hardcover of "Where We Belong" and signing the giveaway copy of "Heart of the Matter."
Thanks to Macmillan Audio for sharing the audiobook of "Where We Belong."
Check out our latest giveaways and also enter ones from other blogs and websites on our giveaways page.
Maryjane & Caryn Beth school us on publishing, plus a book giveaway
Introduction by Tracey Meyers
No matter what it is, a relationship, job, etc., getting rejected hurts and can take a toll on ones self-esteem.
After getting "DUMPED", Maryjane Fahey and Caryn Beth Rosenthal decided instead of getting upset, they would help others get over being rejected. The result is the book, "DUMPED."
With both Maryjane and Caryn Beth having a background in writing, putting together this break-up bible was right up their alley!
Throughout the process, they both learned a lot about how to take a book concept and turn it into a reality. They are now the co-authors of DUMPED, a breakup bible for women to get off their behinds and over their exes in record time. AVAILABLE NOW.
Today, Maryjane and Caryn Beth teach us how to turn our dreams of writing a book into a reality.
JUST DO IT
By Maryjane Fahey
Damn that was a good slogan...and so true! When you have a book percolating inside of you – just do it. Don’t get worn out by the publishing world before you even start. Don’t read all the depressing stats on how the industry is in the trash. Just write your book, then think about how to market it when it’s in some kind of tangible form.
Yes, there are lots of decisions to be made like: do you get an agent? Do you self-publish? I can only share what my coauthor, Caryn Beth Rosenthal, and I decided to do and – and we just launched our book, DUMPED, on September 12th with a killer agent and publisher in tow! Woohoo!
We knew we wanted an agent. We knew we did not want the hassle of self-publishing or to have our already crammed closets stuffed with our DUMPED books as well as fuck-me pumps. We knew we were first time authors and needed the support – physically and psychically – of an agent and a publishing house.
We also knew that, in our case, we had a kernel of an idea for a book that was unique. How did we know that? We researched it – thoroughly! And knew our subject and market – intimately.
Caryn and I went through tough breakups: I was with my guy for 7 years and got dumped in a phone call – blind sighted. Caryn left her guy after 10 years...never easy. Separately, we had each started working on the huge task of getting our “UMPH” back. Together, since we broke up within one week of each other, we were determined to reclaim our fun sexy selves again – and were lucky enough to have each other to lean on. And it took us a year...a bitch of a year. We exchanged movies, astrologists, numerologists, shrinks – and books. But the books we read for guidance were decidedly un-inspirational. They were written by men to begin with – what’s up with that?...and often took us to page 149 for a first tip...not good when you’re desperate for a best friend with some words of wisdom. Overall, the books we found were corny, self-indulgent and sappy. SO not us! Now, there were exceptions…and they are noted in our book. We simply did the grunt work for our readers!
One year after our breakups, when we were celebrating our “brand new spankin’ lives”, it hit us: we needed to share what we learned with other women by writing a fun, sassy, empowering, DIRECT guidebook that would be the opposite of all the self-help tomes we wasted our time reading. We wanted to give our readers a much-needed kick in the ass, and a laugh when they needed it most.
Here’s what we did to get DUMPED out into the world:
1. Wrote the whole damn thing
Instead of writing a proposal, we spent three months writing the entire book. Why bother with a proposal when we knew that the TONE of our book and the attitude would be what differentiated it.
2. Made a dummy
See it in your mind? Then make it!
We immediately saw the “brand” and knew exactly what the bold graphic approach should be – the exact opposite to the dozens of self-help sappy pastel books we’d been snoozing through in our post-breakup recovery!
Now, here I admit that I had the advantage of being a designer, but think about your advantages: you have a pal who is a kick ass designer? Buy him/her a drink or three...schmooze, baby!
3. Shopped it–relentlessly!
We printed ten mock-up books to show to potential agents and then lurked around bookstores, researching. How? Look at other books in your genre (especially ones you admire). Who did the authors acknowledge in their pages? Usually, their agents...
4. Found that agent!
Three months after the initial mock-ups, we signed with our agent. We know that handing him a tactile dummy made all the difference. Was it easy? No. But we did have a couple of interested parties. And we hustled...be relentless...be shameless.
5. What about a trailer?
Though no publisher was bagged yet, we knew we wanted to make a sassy trailer that would draw attention to the sauciness of DUMPED. Caryn is an actress, and had access to all of her fabulous actress pals. Between her pals and our connects in the film world, we made our trailer on a shoestring. It was great fun to do...and made us stand out!
How to win "DUMPED":
Please comment below with your e-mail address. (Please note: Entries without an e-mail address will NOT be counted. You can use AT and DOT to avoid spam. Or provide a link to your facebook page or blog if you can receive messages there.)
Bonus entries (can be listed all in one post):
1. Please tell us: How do you get over being rejected (whether it's dating, a job, etc.)?
2. Follow this blog and post a comment saying you are a follower (if you already follow, that's fine
too).
3. Post this contest on Facebook or Twitter or in your blog, and leave a comment saying where you've posted it.
4. Join Chick Lit Central on Facebook. Edit settings if you don't want to receive a lot of messages at your e-mail account. Please read our posting guidelines as well. (If you're already a member, let us know that too.)
5. Follow us on Twitter and/or Pinterest.
6. Add a friend to our Facebook group. (Tell us who you added.) Be sure to remind them to edit their settings.
US/Canada only. Ends September 26th at midnight EST.
 |
| Left to right: Maryjane and Caryn Beth |
No matter what it is, a relationship, job, etc., getting rejected hurts and can take a toll on ones self-esteem.
After getting "DUMPED", Maryjane Fahey and Caryn Beth Rosenthal decided instead of getting upset, they would help others get over being rejected. The result is the book, "DUMPED."
With both Maryjane and Caryn Beth having a background in writing, putting together this break-up bible was right up their alley!
Throughout the process, they both learned a lot about how to take a book concept and turn it into a reality. They are now the co-authors of DUMPED, a breakup bible for women to get off their behinds and over their exes in record time. AVAILABLE NOW.
Today, Maryjane and Caryn Beth teach us how to turn our dreams of writing a book into a reality.
To learn more about Maryjane and Caryn Beth, visit them at their website, Facebook, Twitter and You Tube.
Thanks to Sellers Publishing, we have two copies of "DUMPED" to giveaway to readers located in the US or Canada.
Thanks to Sellers Publishing, we have two copies of "DUMPED" to giveaway to readers located in the US or Canada.
By Maryjane Fahey
Damn that was a good slogan...and so true! When you have a book percolating inside of you – just do it. Don’t get worn out by the publishing world before you even start. Don’t read all the depressing stats on how the industry is in the trash. Just write your book, then think about how to market it when it’s in some kind of tangible form.
Yes, there are lots of decisions to be made like: do you get an agent? Do you self-publish? I can only share what my coauthor, Caryn Beth Rosenthal, and I decided to do and – and we just launched our book, DUMPED, on September 12th with a killer agent and publisher in tow! Woohoo!
We knew we wanted an agent. We knew we did not want the hassle of self-publishing or to have our already crammed closets stuffed with our DUMPED books as well as fuck-me pumps. We knew we were first time authors and needed the support – physically and psychically – of an agent and a publishing house.
We also knew that, in our case, we had a kernel of an idea for a book that was unique. How did we know that? We researched it – thoroughly! And knew our subject and market – intimately.
Caryn and I went through tough breakups: I was with my guy for 7 years and got dumped in a phone call – blind sighted. Caryn left her guy after 10 years...never easy. Separately, we had each started working on the huge task of getting our “UMPH” back. Together, since we broke up within one week of each other, we were determined to reclaim our fun sexy selves again – and were lucky enough to have each other to lean on. And it took us a year...a bitch of a year. We exchanged movies, astrologists, numerologists, shrinks – and books. But the books we read for guidance were decidedly un-inspirational. They were written by men to begin with – what’s up with that?...and often took us to page 149 for a first tip...not good when you’re desperate for a best friend with some words of wisdom. Overall, the books we found were corny, self-indulgent and sappy. SO not us! Now, there were exceptions…and they are noted in our book. We simply did the grunt work for our readers!
One year after our breakups, when we were celebrating our “brand new spankin’ lives”, it hit us: we needed to share what we learned with other women by writing a fun, sassy, empowering, DIRECT guidebook that would be the opposite of all the self-help tomes we wasted our time reading. We wanted to give our readers a much-needed kick in the ass, and a laugh when they needed it most.
Here’s what we did to get DUMPED out into the world:
1. Wrote the whole damn thing
Instead of writing a proposal, we spent three months writing the entire book. Why bother with a proposal when we knew that the TONE of our book and the attitude would be what differentiated it.
2. Made a dummy
See it in your mind? Then make it!
We immediately saw the “brand” and knew exactly what the bold graphic approach should be – the exact opposite to the dozens of self-help sappy pastel books we’d been snoozing through in our post-breakup recovery!
Now, here I admit that I had the advantage of being a designer, but think about your advantages: you have a pal who is a kick ass designer? Buy him/her a drink or three...schmooze, baby!
3. Shopped it–relentlessly!
We printed ten mock-up books to show to potential agents and then lurked around bookstores, researching. How? Look at other books in your genre (especially ones you admire). Who did the authors acknowledge in their pages? Usually, their agents...
4. Found that agent!
Three months after the initial mock-ups, we signed with our agent. We know that handing him a tactile dummy made all the difference. Was it easy? No. But we did have a couple of interested parties. And we hustled...be relentless...be shameless.
5. What about a trailer?
Though no publisher was bagged yet, we knew we wanted to make a sassy trailer that would draw attention to the sauciness of DUMPED. Caryn is an actress, and had access to all of her fabulous actress pals. Between her pals and our connects in the film world, we made our trailer on a shoestring. It was great fun to do...and made us stand out!
6. Got those endorsements
We went after A-list authors we admired who we felt would “get” the book, then sent our DUMPED dummy out to them. And – voila! – we got amazing advance endorsements...from Rory Freedman, coauthor of Skinny Bitch; Michael Hogan, Executive Entertainment Editor of Huffington Post, and best selling authors Amy Sohn, and Jill Conner Browne. Work it!
7. And of course...the inevitable “platform”!
You will hear about “platform” in every meeting you take. You may as well embrace it. I was a dinosaur and resisted for the first 3 months. Then, after the 11th meeting, I realized I had to get on board. So glad I did. Hire yourself a 20-something who thinks differently from you and proceed to pick the kid’s brains! Read everything about it, research the best for inspiration. Set up twitter, FB, a website, pinterest and...BINGO...you’ll have the much ballyhoo’d platform.
Most of all - have fun with it all and remember your BRAND and tone! Get exposure NOW! TA DAH....you will be a platformed writer....who will find that publisher, agent....and hey...a film or reality series...why not?
JUST DO IT…and enjoy the ride.
Special thanks to Maryjane (and Caryn) for an inspiring lesson and Sellers Publishing for sharing "Dumped" with our readers.
Special thanks to Maryjane (and Caryn) for an inspiring lesson and Sellers Publishing for sharing "Dumped" with our readers.
How to win "DUMPED":Please comment below with your e-mail address. (Please note: Entries without an e-mail address will NOT be counted. You can use AT and DOT to avoid spam. Or provide a link to your facebook page or blog if you can receive messages there.)
Bonus entries (can be listed all in one post):
1. Please tell us: How do you get over being rejected (whether it's dating, a job, etc.)?
2. Follow this blog and post a comment saying you are a follower (if you already follow, that's fine
too).
3. Post this contest on Facebook or Twitter or in your blog, and leave a comment saying where you've posted it.
4. Join Chick Lit Central on Facebook. Edit settings if you don't want to receive a lot of messages at your e-mail account. Please read our posting guidelines as well. (If you're already a member, let us know that too.)
5. Follow us on Twitter and/or Pinterest.
6. Add a friend to our Facebook group. (Tell us who you added.) Be sure to remind them to edit their settings.
US/Canada only. Ends September 26th at midnight EST.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Winner of "Breaking the Rules"
To find our winner, we assigned a number to each entry (from only the entries with contact info) and asked random.org to choose one number. It picked 11.
Congrats to Jessica (walkingcorpse11)!
Here is a message from Cat Lavoie:
Thank you so much to Chick Lit Central for hosting this giveaway! It was an honor to have "Breaking the Rules" featured on your site alongside some great chick lit reads. I feel like the nerdy kid in high school who finally gets an invite to the cool kids' table... which would have never happened to me in high school (oh-so-many years ago) because my nerdiness knew no bounds. Apart from passing the occasional note, I was definitely a rule-abiding student. Thank you to everyone who dropped by and left a comment - I had so much fun reading them! - and congratulations to the winner! I hope you enjoy "Breaking the Rules."
Reminder: If you have won a book, you have about 48 hours to claim it by sending your contact information. (You will be e-mailed if you have won, as well.) After that time, a new winner will be picked.
Thanks to everyone for participating and telling us about playing by the rules (or not).
Thanks to Cat for a fun chat (we definitely enjoy being compared to the cool kids' table!!) and Marching Ink for sharing "Breaking the Rules" with our winner.
Check out our latest giveaways and also enter ones from other blogs and websites on our giveaways page.
Congrats to Jessica (walkingcorpse11)!
Here is a message from Cat Lavoie:
Thank you so much to Chick Lit Central for hosting this giveaway! It was an honor to have "Breaking the Rules" featured on your site alongside some great chick lit reads. I feel like the nerdy kid in high school who finally gets an invite to the cool kids' table... which would have never happened to me in high school (oh-so-many years ago) because my nerdiness knew no bounds. Apart from passing the occasional note, I was definitely a rule-abiding student. Thank you to everyone who dropped by and left a comment - I had so much fun reading them! - and congratulations to the winner! I hope you enjoy "Breaking the Rules."
Reminder: If you have won a book, you have about 48 hours to claim it by sending your contact information. (You will be e-mailed if you have won, as well.) After that time, a new winner will be picked.
Thanks to everyone for participating and telling us about playing by the rules (or not).
Thanks to Cat for a fun chat (we definitely enjoy being compared to the cool kids' table!!) and Marching Ink for sharing "Breaking the Rules" with our winner.
Check out our latest giveaways and also enter ones from other blogs and websites on our giveaways page.
Lucie Simone's thirst for education, plus a book giveaway
Today we welcome back Lucie Simone and her latest novel, "Picture Perfect." Lucie has a passion for travel, yoga, and writing. She has a degree in Journalism, a Master of Fine Arts in Television Production, and is a certified yoga teacher registered with Yoga Alliance. Her love of comedy resulted in a stint studying improvisation, which, ironically enough, taught her to be a better writer. Her short story, "A Taste of Italy," won the New York Book Festival competition for best e-book and is a bestseller at Amazon UK. The release of her debut novel, "Hollywood Ending," a romantic comedy about life in Hollywood for the not-so-rich-and-famous, marked the launch of her small press, Simon and Fig, which publishes Chick Lit, Lad Lit and Women’s Fiction exclusively. Lucie lives in Los Angeles.
To learn more about Lucie visit her website, Facebook and Twitter pages.
Thanks to Lucie, we have TWO e-books of "Picture Perfect" to give away to some lucky readers anywhere in the world!
What's Cool about School!
It’s September, and to a lot of folks, that means it’s Back-to-School time. When I was a kid, I dreaded the end of summer and the return to school, to waking up at 6am, to riding the school bus, to doing homework, to taking tests, to eating cafeteria lunches. I was desperate to prolong my summer vacation. Summer was this blissful retreat when the sun was bright and the grass was lush. When making a pitcher of Kool-Aid and lounging by the pool (even if it was only five feet in diameter and twelve inches deep) was the only thing on the agenda. Reading Judy Blume books and catching fireflies at night. Jumping through sprinklers on hot days and staying up late to watch scary movies in the den.
And once I actually got to school, I somehow managed to enjoy myself. Goofing off with my friends at recess, exchanging notes in the back of class, whispering over who the cutest boy was, making papier-maché volcanoes and dioramas out of shoeboxes. Sure, there were things I didn’t like about it. Math, for instance. And there was always one teacher who needed an attitude adjustment. You know, the crotchety old lady who smelled like bug spray and seemed hell bent on terrorizing everyone into submission. But overall, returning to school was fun.
In fact, I loved school so much that I didn’t quit after high school. I didn’t even quit after college, going on to pursue my master’s degree. And I would probably still be in school today if I had the time for it. I’d study all sorts of things that I fluffed off during my schooling years. I’d study world religion, philosophy, French poetry, renaissance art, Greek mythology and the Russian language. Why? Because I somehow graduated with a Master of Fine Arts only to discover how much I don’t know...about life, history, art, other cultures, and so much else that makes up our world. And of course, let’s not forget all the Back-to-School paraphernalia I’d get to play with, too! I know I would have a blast filling up my Trapper Keeper with gel pens, subject dividers and college-rule paper. Not to mention the sparkly stickers that would adorn the front. I am a girlie girl, after all.
What about you? Would you go back to school if you could? And what would you study?
Special thanks to Lucie for reminding us about why school can be fun and sharing "Picture Perfect" with our readers. Thanks also to Chick Lit Plus for including us on Lucie's book tour!
Please comment below with your e-mail address. (Please note: Entries without an e-mail address will NOT be counted. You can use AT and DOT to avoid spam. Or provide a link to your facebook page or blog if you can receive messages there.)
Bonus entries (can be listed all in one post):
1. Please tell us: If you could go back to school now, what kinds of classes would you take?
2. Follow this blog and post a comment saying you are a follower (if you already follow, that's fine too).
3. Post this contest on Facebook or Twitter or in your blog, and leave a comment saying where you've posted it.
4. Join Chick Lit Central on Facebook. Edit settings if you don't want to receive a lot of messages at your e-mail account. Please read our posting guidelines as well. (If you're already a member, let us know that too.)
5. Follow us on Twitter and/or Pinterest.
6. Add a friend to our Facebook group. (Tell us who you added.) Be sure to remind them to edit their settings.
Giveaway ends September 24th at midnight EST.
 |
| http://www.clpblogtours.com/2012/08/picture-perfect-by-lucie-simone.html |
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
School is in session for Cindy, Gail and Tracey
Since it's "Back to School" month at CLC, we're talking about our favorite school moments and other thoughts on the topic. This week, Cindy, Gail and Tracey are here to share about their alma maters.
Cindy:
Favorite Elementary School Memory:
I look back at the first five years of elementary school with a great deal of fondness. I attended St. Lawrence Catholic School in Sayville, Long Island, New York. It was a big stretch for my family to afford sending me and my brother and sister to private school, because my father was a police officer and mom was a stay-at-home mother. But some how they got the money together and proudly sent us daily in our iron-crisp uniforms with our notebooks and brown lunch bags.
What I remember most vividly though, is opening up my lunch bag daily and finding a handwritten note. Every day, without fail, my mom would write a note to me on my napkin telling me to have a great day, or tell me something positive about myself. She never once forgot to do this. I wish I had those notes today. I can't remember exactly what they said, but I can recall the feeling they gave me. It was a sense of security, that I was protected.
I was recently in a stationery store and saw pre-written notes for parents to buy and put in their kids lunch bags. Perfect for the busy parents on the go!
Reminiscing about our school days brought to light why I still write real paper thank you notes. I know we're busy, but there are some things I still think are important. Thanks Mom!
Gail:
Favorite subject:
Band! Oh man. Band was the best class ever. And before you go labelling me as a band geek, remember this: What other class let you hang out with your friends, talk when you weren’t busy playing, and go on a trip for a week every year? Win, win, and win if you ask me.
Project/paper you were most proud of:
In my Grade 12 English class, we had two of the best projects (in my opinion) that I ever completed during my educational career. First – A retelling (through the medium of videotape) of Hamlet. We had to film the play, using only our 6 group members, and we had to keep our retelling down to less than 60 minutes, along with a director’s log of why we thought each line/character that we cut from our version was expendable. Later that year, for the same class, we had to write a huge essay (10,000 words, if I remember correctly) on an abstract noun of our choosing. I chose “morality”. It was epic.
In high school, did you have a senior ditch day? If so, what did you do on your senior ditch day? If not, how would you have spent senior ditch day?
My friends and I did. We called it “Friday afternoon”. Kidding aside, we had no official “senior ditch day” at my school, but those of us who took extra classes in grade 10 and 11 (I was done 12th grade Chemistry and Music by the middle of 11th grade) had a number of free periods, which were used to practise physics (at the pool hall), to enact economic policy (at the mall), and to do simple math (splitting a pizza between 5 people). We used our time wisely.
Favorite required reading book:
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. I really want to find some time to reread it, because I remember enjoying it when I had to read it the summer before 10th grade. On the opposite end of the spectrum, my LEAST favourite required reading book was probably "Not Wanted on the Voyage" by Timothy Findley. I should probably try rereading that one as well, to see if my tastes have changed any.
Favorite college memory:
Scheduling work group meetings for huge group projects for 11am, because that's what time the bar on campus opened. Shameful.
Tracey:
Project/paper you were most proud of:
My Capstone project which was my final project for my MBA program. Even though I worked on it in a group, it was a huge undertaking.
Favorite required reading book:
"The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Did you ever have a crush on a teacher?
My freshman year of high school I had the biggest crush on my Civics teacher. I even joined the track team that year because he was one of the coaches.
Subject I wish I had focused more on:
Science and Math.
In high school, did you have a senior ditch day? If so, what did you do on your senior ditch day? If not, how would you have spent senior ditch day?
On my senior ditch day I went to my first class, Algebra II, because I thought I wasn't doing well in the class. I planned to attend the class and then leave. When I sat down, my teacher asked me why I was in class so I explained why. He then looked at my grade and then told me what it was either an A or a B. Once I heard that I left the classroom and headed home and connected with two of my friends. During the first half of the day I grabbed a bite to eat with one friend and the second half of the day I went roller blading with another friend.
Cindy:
 |
| Cindy as a Brownie |
I look back at the first five years of elementary school with a great deal of fondness. I attended St. Lawrence Catholic School in Sayville, Long Island, New York. It was a big stretch for my family to afford sending me and my brother and sister to private school, because my father was a police officer and mom was a stay-at-home mother. But some how they got the money together and proudly sent us daily in our iron-crisp uniforms with our notebooks and brown lunch bags.
What I remember most vividly though, is opening up my lunch bag daily and finding a handwritten note. Every day, without fail, my mom would write a note to me on my napkin telling me to have a great day, or tell me something positive about myself. She never once forgot to do this. I wish I had those notes today. I can't remember exactly what they said, but I can recall the feeling they gave me. It was a sense of security, that I was protected.
I was recently in a stationery store and saw pre-written notes for parents to buy and put in their kids lunch bags. Perfect for the busy parents on the go!
Reminiscing about our school days brought to light why I still write real paper thank you notes. I know we're busy, but there are some things I still think are important. Thanks Mom!
Gail:
Band! Oh man. Band was the best class ever. And before you go labelling me as a band geek, remember this: What other class let you hang out with your friends, talk when you weren’t busy playing, and go on a trip for a week every year? Win, win, and win if you ask me.
Project/paper you were most proud of:
In my Grade 12 English class, we had two of the best projects (in my opinion) that I ever completed during my educational career. First – A retelling (through the medium of videotape) of Hamlet. We had to film the play, using only our 6 group members, and we had to keep our retelling down to less than 60 minutes, along with a director’s log of why we thought each line/character that we cut from our version was expendable. Later that year, for the same class, we had to write a huge essay (10,000 words, if I remember correctly) on an abstract noun of our choosing. I chose “morality”. It was epic.
In high school, did you have a senior ditch day? If so, what did you do on your senior ditch day? If not, how would you have spent senior ditch day?
My friends and I did. We called it “Friday afternoon”. Kidding aside, we had no official “senior ditch day” at my school, but those of us who took extra classes in grade 10 and 11 (I was done 12th grade Chemistry and Music by the middle of 11th grade) had a number of free periods, which were used to practise physics (at the pool hall), to enact economic policy (at the mall), and to do simple math (splitting a pizza between 5 people). We used our time wisely.
Favorite required reading book:
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. I really want to find some time to reread it, because I remember enjoying it when I had to read it the summer before 10th grade. On the opposite end of the spectrum, my LEAST favourite required reading book was probably "Not Wanted on the Voyage" by Timothy Findley. I should probably try rereading that one as well, to see if my tastes have changed any.
Favorite college memory:
Scheduling work group meetings for huge group projects for 11am, because that's what time the bar on campus opened. Shameful.
Tracey:
 |
| Tracey at her college graduation ceremony |
My Capstone project which was my final project for my MBA program. Even though I worked on it in a group, it was a huge undertaking.
Favorite required reading book:
"The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Did you ever have a crush on a teacher?
My freshman year of high school I had the biggest crush on my Civics teacher. I even joined the track team that year because he was one of the coaches.
Subject I wish I had focused more on:
Science and Math.
In high school, did you have a senior ditch day? If so, what did you do on your senior ditch day? If not, how would you have spent senior ditch day?
On my senior ditch day I went to my first class, Algebra II, because I thought I wasn't doing well in the class. I planned to attend the class and then leave. When I sat down, my teacher asked me why I was in class so I explained why. He then looked at my grade and then told me what it was either an A or a B. Once I heard that I left the classroom and headed home and connected with two of my friends. During the first half of the day I grabbed a bite to eat with one friend and the second half of the day I went roller blading with another friend.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)