Mondesa to USA, USA to Mondesa
September 8, 2010 by Karey
Filed under Default, Karey's Blog
I have a story to tell you: A delightful email showed up in my inbox this morning from my South Aftrican friend, Sue, whom I met for the first time in August when she flew out from Namibia for her daughter Angela’s wedding. Sue works at an after school program in Namibia, called Mondesa Youth Opportunities. I’ve known Angela since the day she arrived from South Africa four or five years ago, when my husband and I picked her up at the airport after an impossibly long flight in the middle of January and 17 degree weather. She had come to run for BYU after he recruited her at the World Juniors in Beijing. How can it be it was that long ago? My my.
Well, since Angela and her team mates spent so much time at airports during competion, she got her running teammates to knit scarves for her mother’s learners (or students) at Mondesa Youth Opportunities, and that blossomed into letters and emails going back and forth between the athletes and learners at the school.
Before Sue left the states to head home, I gifted her and the MYO school library with several copies and audiobooks of Secret Speakers and the Search for Selador’s Gate, along with a few handmade posters I’d made for the students. Today’s email showing the scarves shows the posters I made in the background, which made me feel like cheering. I feel such a love for those students, and I hope they feel it through the little posters I made. It’s the best I felt I could do without being there in person.
Who got the Highest Bid at Writing for Charity?
September 8, 2010 by Karey
Filed under Default, Karey's Blog
A few weeks ago Secret Speakers was up for auction at Writing for Charity through CLAU, the Children’s Literature Association of Utah. I had a wonderful time sitting in the audience watching Shannon Hale and Brandon Mull’s hilarious banter on stage, and then a skit from a company I wish I could remember the name of. The highlight of the day for me was meeting Rick Walton for the first time. What a gem of a human being. I’m really looking forward to helping out in whatever way is best to help place books in schools that rate on the lowest socio-economic scale here in my fair state of Utah. I felt really sad when I heard someone say that there are many children who don’t even own one book. That has got to change, does it not? I mean, criminently, do we live in a civilized society or not my friends?
I had to leave early, so I’m curious about who got the soft, furry blue blanket and book? If you’re the lucky person who got that furry, soft blue blanket then know I’m dreaming about getting one myself! It matches the blue butterfly on the cover of Secret Speakers so well, too! You can see the book peeking out of the blue basket a bit if you look closely.
“Literally” Cooking with Jamie Oliver
July 17, 2010 by Karey
Filed under Karey's Blog
Pop Quiz: What word does Jamie Oliver use the most on his show? (Read to the end for the answer.) So, my 16 year-old son Quinn and I have been spending the hot summer days–literally–by cooking à la Jamie Oliver while my husband Patrick is insanely busy with his Cross Country and Distance Running camps for kids at BYU. My twin sister, Gwennie, is on board, too. I told her about Jamie’s show, “Jamie at Home,” and now we both (plus Quinn sometimes) watch it like two kids gobbling slushies on a hot summer day. Two days ago Quinn and I made his Posh Cheese Toast (quietly known as Welsh Rarebit, cough, cough, whatever that is).
We’ve chosen which of Jamie Oliver’s recipes to cook out of necessity–literally–based on what we have in the pantry or garden since we’re on a zero-spending budget. So for the posh cheese toast we literally had to substitute cottage cheese for the crème frâiche–horrors!–and roasted red peppers out of a jar (double horrors) since we didn’t have any on hand. (I bought a whole flat of the jars on sale for $1.95 a jar, which, when you see how big the jar is, it was a bargain.) For the cheddar cheese, we used up the last of several slices of Vermont cheddar that we chopped up fine. The rest was literally à la Jamie. Quinn gave it the thumbs up and they were delicious. Love on the table. Take a peek at the pictures! Pop Quiz answer: Literally.
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What are the Books That Changed Your World?
July 15, 2010 by Karey
Filed under Karey's Blog
Several weeks ago, the Twitter sphere was all abuzz with Susan Orlean’s hashtag #booksthatchangedmyworld. The New York Times, The New Yorker, and the National Post in Canada sat up and are taking notice. Me? No question: To Kill A Mockingbird. Atticus and Scout still remain my favorite characters in all fiction. His lack of prejudice, his love, and Scout’s spunkiness and curiosity for life, as well as her strong sense of self but eventual awakening to Boo’s true nature? Wow. My husband and I bought a copy on a recent trip to Scotland and took turns reading it outloud. When we got home, we watched the movie adaptation and loved the story all over again. What books changed your world and why?
Check out the Secret Speakers Audiobook
June 29, 2010 by Karey
Filed under Karey's Blog
You’re in for a treat as Simon Vance (Booklist’s Voice of Choice) brings Fair O’Nelli’s journey to life in a way I hadn’t even imagined while writing her story. If I can brag on him just a bit more, Simon was also named to Audiofile Magazine Golden Voice status, June 2009. Just so you know, if you don’t already, that’s the equivalent of the Hall of Fame for narrators if there was such a thing. Congratulations, Simon.
Secret Speakers Earns Starred Review from School Library Journal
June 28, 2010 by Karey
Filed under Karey's Blog
I hope you’ll celebrate some good news with me: just before my son’s wedding, I found out that Secret Speakers and the Search for Selador’s Gate received a starred review from the School Library Journal in this month’s June issue. Since it’s an underground, character-building novel more akin to a fictional version of Half the Sky, when I saw comparisons to C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien my heart took on a life of its own.
I hesitate to mention this, but I’ve never read the Lord of the Rings, so that was a shock, and an honor. I could hardly sleep a wink, which might account for the fact I nearly passed out during the wedding photos that day. I’d enjoy knowing what your thoughts are. The full review is below, but here are a few snippets–and please tweet this!
“. . . enough magic, adventure, and intrigue to satisfy even the most die-hard fantasy fans.”
“. . . a rich, detailed fantasy world that is unique . . . with charming, whimsical touches.”
“Readers familiar with C.S. Lewis’s “Narnia Chronicles” will spot the religious symbolism scattered throughout the book . . . “
“. . . the epic nature of Fair’s quest will remind others of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings novels.”
KINGWORTH, K. S. R. Secret Speakers and the Search for Selador’s Gate. illus. by author. 475p. Rawle & Windsor. 2010. pap. $15.99. ISBN 978-0-9801303-5-5.
Gr 8 Up—This imaginative fantasy centers on Fair O’Nelli, who has spent the last nine years living in a cellar with her dog, Sauveren, to avoid discovery and possibly the same fate as her missing father and younger brother. She is released from hiding when she turns 13 and accepts a task from Thelras, Mother Queen of Light, to journey to the unknown Selador’s Gate in search of a mysterious individual named Selador. Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, Fair travels in the company of her dog and three guardians. Along the way, they encounter enough magic, adventure, and intrigue to satisfy even the most die-hard fantasy fans. The book culminates in a confrontation between Fair and Harrold King, the evil ruler of Cloven Grave, and his sidekick Pewgen Flype, who is responsible for the enslavement of children in the caves of Osden Shorn. A likable heroine, Fair discovers courage, conviction, and friendship in her search for Selador. Readers familiar with C.S. Lewis’s “Narnia Chronicles” will spot the religious symbolism scattered throughout the book, while the epic nature of Fair’s quest will remind others of J. R. R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” novels. Although Kingworth may borrow elements from these beloved stories, she has created a rich, detailed fantasy world that is unique and as vivid as all of them with charming, whimsical touches. Secret Speakers was originally released in serial form as a cell-phone novel at TextNovel.com, where it was wildly popular.
June Events, Signings, Audiobook News
This post gives you dates when and where I’ll be doing signings, news about the audiobook, and the homeschooling convention I’ll be at on June 12 at the Salt Palace. If you want to get the audiobook on CD directly from my husband and me, call 801-362-1549. Ask for Patrick. It’s 8 CD’s, 10.25 hours of listening time, and narrated by the amazing British talent, Simon Vance.
JUNE EVENTS 2010:
AUDIOBOOK: Available on iTunes and Audible June 9th. Available from @ KareyShane on CD now!
SATURDAY, JUNE 12: Utah Homeschooling Education Association Convention
I’ll be signing copies of Secret Speakers at BOOTH 52. You’ll also be able to purchase the CD version of the audiobook.
COSTCO SIGNINGS:
OREM COSTCO
Thursday, June 3–1:00-7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, June 9–1:00-7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, June 16–1:00-7:00 p.m.
LEHI COSTCO
Saturday, June 5–1:00-7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, June 15–1:00-7:00 p.m.
Friday, June 25–1:00-7:00 p.m.
MURRAY COSTCO
Tuesday, June 8–1:00-7:00 p.m.
Saturday, June 12–1:00-7:00 p.m.
Thursday, June 17–1:00-7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, June 30–1:00-7:00 p.m.
SANDY COSTCO
Monday, June 7–1:00-7:00 p.m.
Friday, June 11–1:00-7:00 p.m.
Monday, June 14–1:00-7:00 p.m.
One Million Butterflies Contest
June 3, 2010 by Karey
Filed under Karey's Blog
Make as many handmade butterflies as you can this summer!
Butterflies are starting to come in from some really special people for One Million Butterflies. It’s my little way of doing something big to celebrate global education for girls. My goal is to collect one million butterflies by 2012 that will all become part of One. Very. Big. Butterfly mural. Check out all the butterfly pictures at OneMillionButterflies.org! There’s a contest giveaway, and if you want to do it, too, there’s an address on the home page that tells you where to send them. Make as many as you can this summer!
Making the Most of Life
June 1, 2010 by Karey
Filed under Karey's Blog
I don’t know if this will mean anything to you, but this email from an anonymous school secretary came just at the right time for me. Publishing a book like Secret Speakers–or any book for that matter–comes with its stresses, and if you have stresses of your own, read her message:
A lecturer when explaining coping with stress to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, “How heavy is this glass of water?” Answers called out ranging from 20g to 500 g.
The lecturer replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you’ll have to call an ambulance. In each case, it’s the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.”
He continued, “And that’s the way it is with stress. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won’t be able to carry on. As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we’re refreshed, we can carry on with the burden.”
“So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don’t carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you’re carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can.”
So, my friend, put down anything that may be a burden to you right now. Don’t pick it up again until after you’ve rested a while. (Karey’s note: “May we remember to put our burdens down on the Lord, and not just put them down. In my own way of understanding things, if we just put them down, they’re still waiting for us to pick up alone. I feel a lot more peace knowing the Lord is carrying part of it for me, if not all. And that only happens when I remember to put my burdens down on Him.”)
Here are some great ways of dealing with the burdens of life:
* Accept that some days you’re the pigeon, And some days you’re the statue.
* Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
* Always wear stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.
* Drive carefully. It’s not only cars that can be “recalled” by their maker.
* If you can’t be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
* If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
* It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to be kind to others.
* Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won’t have a leg to stand on.
* Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance.
* When everything’s coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane.
* Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
* You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.
* Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
* We could learn a lot from crayons . . . some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.
*A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
