>The Hunchback Books Arrive
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Lo and behold the day has finally arrived. Mr. Fed Ex pulled up and lugged a box of books into my house. The excitement was palpable. It was like Christmas and Halloween in August. Gosh, what could my publisher have sent me? My author's copies of my latest book? Could it be? With a snicker snack the tape on the box was cut and voila (that's French for "Woo hoo")--the contents were revealed.
Yes, 20 little copies of the Canadian version of The Hunchback Assignments all in paper over board, just like I was told they would be. They looked so orderly, so neat, so tidy, so ready to leap out at the world. This is my fourteenth book to be published and it's still just as much fun to open the box and peruse through the books. I was especially impressed by their spines. Look, a floating evil head on the spine. If that won't sell books, I'll eat my top hat!
Now to put them on my shelves and to send them off to the people I owe copies to. Oh, and to sit back and wait for the American version to arrive...
>Odd Victorian Factoid # 26: Bicycle Craze Emancipates Women!
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Odd Victorian Factoid#26
With the invention of the pneumatic tire, bicycles became especially popular in the 1890's (a time that is often referred to as "bicycle craze"). Women especially enjoyed the bicycle because it gave them freedom to move about on their own and, because corsets and ankle length skirts were not great bicycling clothing, they switched to more liberating bloomers (shocking, eh!).
>Jolted Study Guide--Made by students!
>Just received a wonderful package from a teacher at Macneil School in Regina.
As their teacher explained to me: "My grade seven students read your new book "Jolted" and really enjoyed it. As an assignment for your book, they studied novel studies produced and published for various other novels, and in pairs, or alone, they produced novel study guides for your book "Jolted". Our teacher librarian, and myself, then chose the best novel study, and rewarded the pair of students with a meal at MacDonalds, but the icing on the cake was the promise that I would send a copy of this novel study to you. (We also put copies of all of these novel studies in our school library for other students to use when reading your book.)" Wow, the whole study guide is wonderful and what a great project. And oddly enough a meal at Macdonalds is what I get paid when I hand in each one of my novels. If my publisher is particularly happy they will buy me a milkshake, too. I've heard rumours that some authors get paid money, but that can't be true, can it?
Anyway, good work!
>is so Ave, Caesar, rock te salutant
>has lost his Evil League card. Again.