Many of you may know the sad tale of Stanley, from a book by Jeff Brown called Flat Stanley. Stanley was a boy who is flattened but not injured by a falling bulletin board. Now that he is very thin he can travel all over through the mail.

Alaina in Pennsylvania asked that Flat Stanley visit me, and of course, I was happy to show him the sights. Here is Stanley at Jamestown where the first permanent English settlement was established in 1607.
Stanley visited James Fort and
the Native American village.

Stanley had fun in Williamsburg.

Colonial people welcomed him warmly.

And he met two lovely girls and their dolls.

and the Governor’s Palace.

Stanley even got o sit with Mr. Thomas Jefferson who was writing the Declaration of Independence.

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At the Gathering of the American Pilgrims on the Camino I co-chaired a question and answer session. This bear wanted to learn about trekking too.

We are having yet another snowy day in Williamsburg. Usually we see only one or two flakes all winter, but this year we have gotten one snowstorm after another. My amaryllis plant hasn’t minded the snow, producing four huge, gorgeous bunches of blossom. I’m not much of a horticulturist, but I gather that usually you can expect only one blossom from the plant. I hope this splash of red cheers you on a dark day.

We have missed the heavy snows north of Williamsburg. But we still had blizzard conditions this morning.

One of my readers, Mary from Harrisburg, PA, sent me a picture for Christmas. How very special! I am blessed!

Author Suzanne Adair and her family visited Colonial Williamsburg this weekend. Check out her books at: www.suzanneadair.com

Last week we had a convergence of Hurricane Ida and a Northeaster(a severe storm that usually brings lots of rain, wind, and high tides) in Virginia. It is being called Nor-Ida.

Yesterday when I arrived at Crittenden Middle School, I saw something VERY interesting going on. I had to explore.

I learned that these young women have been learning to knit since school began this fall. They are making scarves for themselves and for charity. They’ll next learn how to make hats.

I learned all about their project from Sabrina Carnesi, Media Specialist, who is teaching them this life skill. What beautiful yarns! What a great project!

For more than year I’ve been an e-mailing with a reader from Pennsylvania. Mary is an avid reader and writer, and she often sends me her stories to read.

Mary and her friends walk back in time as they leave the Visitor’s Center to visit the Historic Village.

A Colonial Williamsburg interpreter shows them a colonial doll in the Wythe House.

Avi is one of kids’ favorite authors. He has written 70 books and won many awards including the prestigious Newbery Medal. He came to Williamsburg this weekend to receive the Beacon of Freedom Award for his novel Iron Thunder.

The Beacon of Freedom Award is a child-chosen award supported by a generous donation from the Disabled American Veterans. Local kids read five or six books chosen by a committee and vote on their favorite. So kids, if you haven’t read Avi, please make it a priority to do so. You can visit his website at: http://www.avi-writer.com/

Friday evening at the award presentation, Avi spoke at the Williamsburg Regional Library. He had valuable things to share with kids and other writers.

As a student, Avi was a lousy writer. Kids, there is hope for you even if you find writing challenging.

Avi stressed that each of his books goes through as many as 60 or 70 revisions. He explained that if you see something that looks easy, for example like someone playing tennis well, it is the result of lots of hard work. It is the same with writing.

A student asked Avi what was the favorite book he had written. He replied that is is always the book he is working on. He has to believe that it is his best work. There is a lesson here for us all. You must believe in what you write and strive to make it your best work.

Being able to go to dinner with Avi was very special. Not only is he a good writer, but I found him to be lively and likable, humble and humorous, knowledgeable and kind.

I was delighted to learn that he, like yours truly, can’t spell and relies on spell check.

We’ve been getting ready for our third pilgrimage. We leave next week for Paris and we will walk over the Pyrenees (Mountains between France and Spain) starting on September 1, my birthday. We’ll walk 30 days, ending our trek at Leon, Spain where we began our first pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago in 2007.

Pilgrims have been wearing scallop shells to identify them as pilgrims for over 1200 years. The pilgrim shells my husband and I wear are five-million year-old Virginia fossils, named for Thomas Jefferson.

My son and daughter-in-law sent me pants for my birthday. The pants, shown above, are blue and white with tiny scallop shells embroidered on them.

Sometimes my riches amaze me.

On my recent trip to New Hampshire, I attended a concert held in a traditional New England bandstand. Many years ago it was common for small towns to have a bandstand, usually in the center of the town for summer concerts.

For more than 20 years, every week in the summer, my friend and former colleague Angela Robinson has arranged free public concerts in the small town of Henniker.

The concerts were so successful that the “town” decided that they needed a bandstand. Angela Robinson was not pleased with the proposed location of the bandstand and complained loudly to everyone in town. Then she found out that it was NOT the town building the bandstand. Her husband was building it in her honor.

So when I visited my friend I planned my visit so that I could attend one of “her” concerts. It was very special.

When I was a kid when someone was beaten badly at a game, we said he or she was “skunked.”

Recently, we stopped for ice cream at an ice cream store near our neighborhood. And to my great surprise, i saw two skunks traipsing around the tables behind the store. They were quite tame and very beautiful and they obviously liked ice cream since they were foraging for bits of cone or dropped ice cream.

I couldn’t help but feel that the poor critters had been “skunked” that is, in this case their habitat destroyed by a new housing development. They were beaten and doing their best to survive in spite of it.

We are again training for another pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago. This year we’ll start in France and go over the Pyrenees to Leon, Spain where we started our first pilgrimage in 2007.

The picture is of my husband, Otis, crossing a stream on the 14.36 miles hike we took on Tuesday around Charlottesville, VA on our 30th wedding anniversary. We both carried nearly 20 lbs. in our packs. After our hike, we joined friends for dinner at the Boar’s Head Inn.

See these red tomatoes. They are fake!!!!

One of the real joys of being a writer is meeting readers. Today I met Christopher from New Orleans. He and his family are visiting Williamsburg from New Orleans. I look forward to hearing from Christopher after he has read Divided Loyalties.

A new housing development adjoining our neighborhood has destroyed the habitats of many animals. The builders clear cut the area and the woods disappeared. As a result, we have had an invasion of critters. My flowers have never looked worse. Hungry rabbits have eaten things they never touched before, dahlias and even marigolds.

We have two fenced vegetable plots. But the fences haven’t kept out the squirrels. They got our first ripe tomatoes. So we have placed an animal-friendly trap in the garden. We’ve caught three squirrels and relocated them. Now I’ve covered nearly ripe tomatoes with brown paper lunch bags. So far the score is squirrels four tomatoes, Haislips one tomato.

Our trash bin was overturned the other morning and we suspect a raccoon.

We have a wildlife camera which we have set up in the yard. It is activated by motion. Our string beans, growing up the side of one of our gardens, have been ravaged by deer.

Writing is all about having readers enjoy what you have written. Today I got this email and I was thrilled!

Ms. Haislip, I am the girl who stood in front of your signing table in the Williamsburg Visitors Center and read half of the book,Divided Loyalties, before deciding to buy it. As soon as I got back home from Williamsburg I read your book. It was awesome! I’m usually not that interested in history, but I love your book. It summed up the whole idea of the struggles that people where going through at that time with the war and was appealing to me since it was not just a history textbook type of thing, but a fun story about a boy and his family. I can’t wait to read more of your books soon!
-Laura

My newest book is called Lili’s Gift, and it’s about two kids that become orphans during the Civil War. And I’ve felt a bit like the book is an orphan, too since I haven’t heard from many readers about it. As a result, I was delighted to get this email today:

Hello, My name is Anna Lee and I am now in 7th grade. I just read one of your books: Lily’s gift. It was excellent!This book was one of the best books I have ever read. You really combined fiction and history together and created an adventurous story. I am so glad I read your book. Thank you so much, Anna Lee

What a nice note!

I was invited to a party to honor the participants in the Mother Goose Program. Seven young readers won second place in the Williamsburg competition. Congratulations readers!

Here are the kids and Media Specialist, Viky Pedigo.

Each student got a signed copy of Lili’s Gift, my latest book.

It’s always fun to go to Rawls Byrd!!!!

The Dodger game was great fun, especially since the Dodgers came from behind to win.

A trip to California would be incomplete without visiting one of the California Missions. At the Santa Barbara Mission there were many chalk drawings by kids on the pavement in front of the Mission.

Photographs inside the Mission thank the firefighters for their efforts during the recent fire.

Jugglers on stilts were only part of the street show in Hollywood.

We went to see the La Brea Tar Pits where prehistoric animals had become trapped and their fossils preserved. The museum was full of kids and these two girls were playing a hand game.

Huntington Library is a terrific place to visit. I particularly was interested in seeing a famous manuscript of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. When I first went to the British Museum in London, I wanted to see Magna Carta. Can you guess I have spent many years in love with Medieval and renaissance history?

The Aquarium in Long Beach was filled with amazing things to see.

It is never supposed to rain in Southern California, but we actually had a rainy morning, and the next day the sky was unusually clear. We went to the Getty Museum where we had spectacular views of Los Angeles and also enjoyed the art collection, flowers, and architecture. Here is a view of downtown Los Angeles as seen from the Getty Museum.

The world is filled with so many wonderful things, we all should be as happy as kings.

A reader sent me the letter below and make me a flashing gold star. I couldn’t copy the star onto my website, but I was thrilled to get it. Thanks Jimmy!

AWESOME!!!
I love your book. It kept me pulled in almost 24/7. This email took a while because I lost the book while I was in the middle of reading it. But I love the book.
The book was so life-like. When Eddie put the leech on Luca after they tied him up, I was holding my breath in suspense. As well once Madre was showing Luca around the hospital, I almost felt as if Madre was showing me around with Luca.
Thanks for giving a really good book to read. Hope you can respond soon. Keep making books!!!

– –James

I snapped a photograph on Saturday of this huge snapping turtle. He had just crossed the road and his tail was still on the highway. Thursday while hiking at Green Springs I walked within a yard or so of a copperhead snake. I didn’t have my camera, but I did stop to examine that fearsome fellow. And I’m glad that he wasn’t on the path. Never a dull moment!

It was delightful to get together yesterday with one of my readers. Hunter was up to my shoulders the last time I saw him. He is now almost six feet tall and sixteen years old. Hunter asked to be a character in one of my books and in order to write about him I had to get to know him well. The name Hunter was not popular in the 1930s, the time the character lived. So Hunter chose the name “Ben.” Ever since, he has been Hunter/Ben. The book starring Ben is still unpublished, but I remain hopeful.

Thank you Hunter/Ben for keeping in touch. It was great to see you!

It has been amazing to me as an author and very gratifying that readers feel close enough to me after reading my books to send me a gift. I have received other gifts from readers, a lovely bracelet and a darling skate pendant, and today I received a very special gift. It was a photo album made for me by Tristen.

Tristen even had her teacher and classmates sign the back of the book. How very special!!!!

Needless to say I was thrilled! Tristen copied photos from my website to make me the photo album. How thoughtful of her. I’ll treasure it always.

One of the nicest things about being a children’s author is getting hugs from readers!

If you look very closely, you will see Flat Stanley just above the “a” in Williamsburg. Kids, if you are unfamiliar with Flat Stanley and the Flat Stanley project, check it out:
:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Stanley

I loved seeing this. What a poignant reminder of how important children’s books are to young readers. A reader’s grandparents took Flat Stanley on a tour of Williamsburg.

On Friday and Saturday, I attended the Christopher Newport University Writers’ Conference. I enjoyed the chance to meet with other writers and learn new things.

Last year I won a first prize for the pages of a children’s novel that I submitted to the annual writing contest. This year I won a third prize for the first pages of an adult novel. Now all I have to do is write the rest of the novel. The bottom line is that I keep trying to become a better writer.

Sunday I met with readers at a book signing at Colonial Williamsburg. Sarah from near San Francisco above convinced her parents that she should have all four of my books for kids.

Danny from Orlando got a book for himself and also for his teacher Will Ogle.

After my visit to Langley Elementary, Tristen, one of the students made me a movie.

I made you the coolest movie using Marty’s Movie Maker at http://www.beaconstreetgirls.com. You’re really going to love it!
Your friend, Tristen Nguyen

Just copy and paste or type the following web address into your website browser line:http://www.beaconstreetgirls.com/games/martys-games/moviemaker-saved?id=d3a1ac97f6cde9f8e3404e514dd9d5dc

It is always a joy to meet readers. The two classes at Langley Elementary that read Lottie’s Courage were an attentive audience. The students asked great questions!

I signed books for enthusiastic readers!

Thanks to Kari Stohler, Fifth Grade Teacher par excellence, who hosted my visit to Langley.

They get bolder and bolder as their habitat continues to shrink. Here are two deer in our back yard one afternoon this week. They have eaten all but the very tops of my azaleas and my mock orange bush. I have given up on trying to grow day lilies and impatiens.

On December 9, I met with a group of donors to Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania who were visiting the Historic Triangle. Some of the members of the group are on the board of White Mane Publishing Company, the publisher of my historical novels. The board members from White Mane generously arranged that everyone on the trip would receive a copy of Lottie’s Courage, my award-winning novel. I was invited to speak at the luncheon and sign books.

I enjoyed meeting with members of the group and learning about the valuable support they give to education.

Eighth graders at James Blair Middle School in Williamsburg are writing stories. I visited the school on Tuesday and talked to them about writing. I’ll be returning next week to check their drafts and again to see the final products. I stressed that good writing is specific and writers should show rather than tell.

We discussed the necessity for stories to have action. I recommended that they put their characters in a dangerous situation and then get them out of it.

Today I visited Crittenden Middle School in Newport News. I hope students learned something from my presentation on writing skills. It was a big group, more than 120 kids. And it is hard to have an interact presentation with so many students. However, I found the students to be welcoming, interested, and responsive. Well done Crittenden students!

Students, when you write, I hope you remember to be specific, use strong topic sentences, and don’t forget the 5 W’s.

The presentation took place in the Crittenden Library. I couldn’t get every one’s picture, but I captured a few group photos.

You didn’t find your picture, above. Sorry! Below is a familiar face. Media Specialist Sabrina Carnesi and the student who interviewed me on video after the presentation.

Thanks, Ms. Carnesi for inviting me to Crittendon. It is a great school to visit.

We are having a light rain here in Williamsburg this election day. Even in the rain our street is so colorful, I want to share autumn’s splendor with those of you who do not have a fall display.

Celebrate fall!

Kids, do you think you could write a novel in the month of November? If the idea is intriguing, there is a program for you. Check it out.

http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/whatisnanowrimo

I wanted my readers to know that I am still learning. This picture of Professor Jack Willis I took during a class I am taking on Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. I’ve taken a number of excellent classes before with Professor Willis who combines his great learning with a wonderful sense of humor.

In addition to my class with Professor Willis, I’m studying French conversation two hours each week. When I was in France, I so enjoyed being able to communicate a little with the people I met that I am determined to improve my French language skills.

I’ve been corresponding with Mary, one of my readers. She has published an article about the Star Barn, an historic site in Pennsylania. To see Mary and read her wonderful history, check out this link.
http://www.thestarbarn.com/FeaturedStories.aspx

One of the wonderful things about being an author is that you never know who is reading what you have written. I’m always thrilled when Lottie travels to far off locations. I’ve copied an e-mail I received today:

Colorado teacher and writer, Mark Wilensky, has written The Elementary Common Sense of Thomas Paine. His book makes accessible one of the most important documents of the Revolutionary War period. Check out this interactive work at : www.newcommonsensebook.com

We have returned from our wonderful 30-day pilgrimage in France on the Chemin de Saint Jacques. And we are recovering from our more than 30 hour flight from Toulouse to Richmond.
Last year we trekked in Spain from Leon to Santiago de Compostela, the end of the 1200 mile pilgrim route. This year we began at Le Puy-en-Velay, France, one of the medieval starting points for the Chemin.

We enjoyed meeting pilgrims from all over, the delicious cheese and pastries, the bible stories in stone on the medieval cathedrals, tiny, quaint villages, Roman ruins, painted churches, fields of flowers, cute little cars, and much much more. A very special memory is the kindness shown to us on a number of occasions by the French people.

We took over 1000 photos. I have created a slide show with sixty of them for those of you that are interested. The pictures give a sample of the riches we experienced on the Chemin.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27952030@N07/show/

My husband and I are spending a month in France walking with backpacks along a 1200 year old pilgrim route.

Last year we did the end of the route in Spain, walking to Compostela. This year we have started at Le Puy, France, an historic starting place for pilgrims.

France is very beautiful, but we are having much rain which makes walking difficult.

Today we are visiting the historic city of Cahors.

I arrived home yesterday afternoon from my yoga class to find that UPS had delivered Lili’s Gift. Needless to say, it is a thrill to hold a book you have written in your hands. The book looks great! The cover artist, Wes Lowe, did an excellent job capturing Lili.

The publication of Lili’s Gift has taken almost three years . The average children’s book takes two to four years to appear. So kids, don’t be discouraged in this age of instant messaging and the Internet if you don’t immediately see the results of your writing.

Today I was one of five poets reading their poetry at the James City Library. Every year I hopefully enter the Poetry Society of Virginia’s Annual Poetry Contest and in the last couple of years I’ve gleaned a Second Honorable Mention, a Third Honorable Mention, and once a citation. (Whatever that means!) This year I won a third prize. There were over 1800 submissions in 30 categories.

I received two e-mails today from Ms. Starr’s Fabulous 5th Graders at Meldrige Elementary in Concord Township, Ohio. They are reading Divided Loyalties, and they sent me a few questions about the book. They have learned about “necessaries” and I have learned about a great site that publishes kids’ writing. This link will take you to stories written by Ms. Starr’s kids.

http://www.kidpub.com/node/57726

Today I was coming out of Farm Fresh, a local supermarket, pushing my grocery cart when I was thrilled to meet Anna. She is a first grader who had read Lottie’s Courage EIGHT times. It is her favorite book. Anna’s mom recognized me from years ago when I taught with her in the history department at the College of William and Mary.

Thank you Anna for making my day!

Until I met Anna, Aaron held the record. He read Lottie’s Courage FIVE times.

I have been working very hard during the last months on my writing. It is time-consuming, lonely work. Sometimes I wonder if I am wasting my time. Today, thanks to Anna, I was reminded again how great it is to write something that kids enjoy.

One of my readers in Western Virginia who is very involved in theater asked for permission to write a musical based on my first book, Lottie’s Courage. Of course, I agreed. What a great idea!

The first scene is completed! I am looking forward to seeing it.

One of my readers who is a fifth-grade student in Northern Virginia writes to me and she always includes wonderful drawings like this one. It was so neat I wanted to share it with my other readers.

My son, Alex, was home for Easter and he was able to “fix” my website. I haven’t been able to load pictures for more than a month.

How great to have in-house tech support!

My niece Pam is halfway through with radiation for breast cancer today. Congratulations and best wishes.

The Poetry Society of Virginia again is offering kids cash prizes for winning poems. The deadline for the annual contest is January 19, 2008 (Edgar Allen Poe’s birthday).

It costs nothing to enter a poem. Check out the categories and guidelines at:

http://www.poetrysocietyofvirginia.org/sys-tmpl/2008studentcontest/

I have managed to write 50,047 words in the last month. The challenge was to write 50,000 in the month of November. And I have finished two days before the deadline on Friday. I found the challenge exhausting, particularly toward the end when I seemed to run out of story.

Getting a first draft on paper is the merest beginning to producing a novel. I am always amazed when people assume that the first draft is the novel. Much, much more work will be needed before the draft becomes the novel. But the first draft is a start.

I am glad that I took part in the challenge. We can all do more than we think we can.

A recent study by the National Endowment for the Arts has concluded that most Americans are reading less.

The study mentions that “literary” readers are more likely to exercise, visit museums, keep up with current events, vote in presidential elections, and perform volunteer work.

Hurrah for readers! Readers are leaders!