Cheryl Rainfield's Blog, page 120

Canadians – I just found out SCARS is soon going to be at your local Chapters/Indigo stores! (Not just their online stores.) Yay!! I'm so happy about that!

I also just visited my local Chapters/Indigo store, and asked–and sure enough, they had 2 that they'd ordered (that was a thrill for me), and they were talking about me coming in to do a signing (but ordering a lot more books first). It is lovely when bookstores encourage and promote us authors. I've found that especially true at indie...

A 6-book adventure series for girls 7 and up is in the works by Lee Weatherly (I LOVE her books! Think Missing Abby and Breakfast at Sadie's) and Linda Chapman (now I have to check her out – author of My Secret Unicorn series). The two of them will write together under the pen name L.A. Peters.

According to Cynopsis Kids, the series is about "Sophie, a 10-year-old tomboy and would-be stuntwoman, who is the guardian to the mysterious Shadow Woods and must outwit the creatures that live there ...

If you know much about me, you'll know not only am I a survivor of abuse and used self-harm to cope, but I'm also a lesbian and a feminist–and proud of both. Glad to be who I am–and glad to be speaking out in a world where there can be injustice and homophobia.

Kendra, my main character in Scars, just accepts her being queer as normal–which I intentionally wrote. While I think we've needed coming-out books in the past, I think it's more important now to show lesbians/gays as just part of...

I had such a fantastic time at ALA! So much good happened around Scars! I *loved* hearing from a number of librarians that they can't keep Scars in the library–that so many kids want it, that it's gone viral. Incredible! (beaming) And many people thanked me for writing the book. How lovely to hear! I also met a few parents whose children have used self-harm to cope, and teachers or librarians whose students had, and they were all moved by or very interested in Scars. I'm glad it reached...

The launch tonight was fantastic! I had such a wonderful time. People were wonderful, and celebrative, and just…lovely. I went from nervous (and a bit scared, especially of the public speaking) to excited and happy, seeing all the friendly faces come in, hearing the kind and lovely things people said. It felt so good that people celebrated with me! And really heard the things I had to say about self-harm. Really listened and cared.

And, even though I was nervous giving the speech on...

Today is the Toronto launch for SCARS! I'm so excited and nervous. (laughing) I've been practising my speech–I'm going to talk about self-harm, as well as about SCARS. And there will be some live music by the incredible singer Roveena–if you've never heard her before, check out this YouTube video of her on BT!

There will also be door prizes, food, and fun! Hope to see you there.

6:30 food, mingling, reception
7-9 program – talk on self-harm, SCARS, door prizes, food, music by Roveena, and...

Check out the Torontoist Q & A with me about SCARS! I think the interviewer, James Grainger, asked some thoughtful, intelligent questions.

I love watching short videos on reading–especially when they're done well. And this video, by Ocoee middle school, is great! They call it "Gotta Keep Reading"–a parody of I Gotta Feeling. I love it! Yay, Ocoee school!

What do you think?

Watch this funny video about action dolls for the Bronte Sisters. I love how it educates kids or whoever's watching that women can and did get published even in horribly misogynist times–all in an entertaining manner. I think I'd actually like one of the figures with the flying book. What do you think?

(Thank you Karen Krossing for the link.)

Kids voted James Patterson author of the year, and Peter Brown illustrator of the year, for the third annual Children's Choice Book Awards. I really like both of those authors/illustrators, so that's lovely to see. There are some other fantastic authors, too, including Suzanne Collins for the teen book award choice.

Over 115,000 children across the US voted for their favorite books, author, and illustrator at bookstores, school libraries, and at www.BookWeekOnline.com..

The Children's Choice ...