A Personal Rambling Review of Lean In - An Equal Myth To Having It All

             I said no to a publishing house. I’m crazy! What was I thinking? I’ve dreamed of the day that my series, The Ancient Realm finds a publishing house it can call home. And, I just let that dream go…

            Let me take you through key factors I thought about when making my decision and how Ms. Sandberg’s book made my blood boil during this process.

Factor #1: My sons: 1-year-old Finnegan and 3-year-old Wyatt.

My husband’s one piece of advice to me was do not base your decision off of the boys. He said, “If you need more hours to write to meet the publishing house’s deadlines, we will make it work.” 

I really appreciated my husband giving me this freedom – really I did – but it was still incredibly hard not to think about the boys when making my decision. Let me give you some background: this past year I became a mother of two boys, and it was the most challenging year I’ve had as a mother. Finn had horrible acid reflux and cried for at least one hour after every single feeding. I was averaging a maximum of five hours of sleep for ten straight months – I was delusional and miserable at best. I won’t even go into all the health issues we had with Wyatt during this year as well.

But now, now the sun is shinning! Finn is so happy and so easy. He’s this snuggle nugget. He’s my little buddy that fits perfectly in my arms and just smiles, smiles, smiles. Wyatt is finally medication free – he’s healthy – he’s growing – he’s firing up the jungle gym like a 3-year-old should! My time with my boys is now awesome, and just now when I’m not getting barfed on every five minutes, I’m going to put them in daycare and leave them… In just one year, both of them will be in preschool and then I will have plenty of time to write, but the publishing house was offering me a deal now, not in a year.

So I was excited to hear about the book Lean In, by Ms. Sheryl Sandberg. Knowing Ms. Sandberg is a working mom, I’d hope her words would glow with advice for me about my mixed feelings of giving up my boys’ young years to a daycare facility.

I will just tell you straight up, Ms. Sandberg completely alienated me. If her goal was to piss me off, she succeeded. I am riled up!

Okay first, Ms. Sandberg is making a fortune at her job – a fortune. She can hire the best help this world has to offer: a cook, a gardener, a nanny, a driver… When she leaves for work – she’s not packing up lunches, herding kids out the door, strapping kids into car seats, and rushing them off to daycare where the germ packed snot running down the kids’ faces is thicker than mayonnaise. When her kids were babies, I bet she was leaving the house solo with her kids still possibly in their pjs while her nanny was washing the dishes leftover from breakfast.

Ms. Sandberg stated when she feels bad about not being home with her kids, she thinks about the times her son got to fence with Mark Zuckerberg (Founder of Facebook) and how wonderful of an opportunity that was for him. Please, how is any normal working mom going to relate to that.

My personal favorite of Ms. Sandberg’s attempt to relate to other moms is when she went to a conference with her kids via the CEO of eBay’s private plane and how freaked she was the whole time because her kid had lice. Again – private plane, CEO of eBay… Yes, her kid had lice (mind you, I’ve had it three times and its not the end of the world), but come on! I’ve ridden on a private plane once in my life and let me tell you – it doesn’t matter if your kid has lice – it is out-of-this-world easier than flying commercial. Most moms in this situation would have been dealing with the extreme pain-in-the-ass head-ache of flying commercial: finding parking at the airport, checking in, security, waiting at the gate and waiting and waiting some more, flying packed like a sardine, arriving to wait some more for bags, catching a taxi – all with a kid with lice.

Don’t even get me started about the fact that her husband got to move his company closer to her job so it was easier on their family. Yes, that is very practical for Ryan and I. I will just ask the CEO of Boeing to move 90% of their unmanned aircraft industry to Washington DC so I can continue my first career (one I worked very hard at for five years) at the Security and Exchange Commission as an Investigator.

Ms. Sandberg, in a rambling chapter nine, makes a prophet’s claim that we cannot have it all and we need – no, must – stop attempting this impossible feat. Why thank you so much for this inspiring statement! Perfect, I thought, I couldn’t wait to stop trying to have it all. I desperately read on to see what she expected me to give up, and yes, I was greatly disappointed yet again. My favorite example – organizing the linen closet. Second favorite – volunteering at her kid’s school. First, I don’t have a linen closet. Second, great – lets just continue to leave the volunteering jobs at our kids’ schools to stay-at-home moms because they really have so much time, not.

Ms. Sandberg can pretend that she’s said something so important to us moms by telling us we can’t have it all, but she’s completely missed the point. (A) Let’s be real, Ms. Sandberg is still trying to have it all and she’s lying to herself and her readers when she tells you she’s not. And, (B) most of us just want two things (we gave up organizing linen closets long ago): to create the best family and to create the ultimate career for ourselves – we will happily give up almost everything else to achieve this feat.

Long story short, I stuck my tongue out at Ms. Sandberg’s book – yet another piece of literature that falls into the classic pitfall of having working moms facing off against non-working moms. However, I am slightly impressed – she dug deeper and pitted top female executives against young working women just setting out in their career. Yes, lets just continue to pit girls against girls – love it, not.

None-the-less, with a heavy heart I heeded my husband advice and did not base my decision off of our sons. My husband and I are extremely fortunate. In our small town there are a couple of in-home daycares that would have been great for Finn. Wyatt wasn’t an issue because he’s already in preschool.

Factor #2: My legal rights to my book

In the contract I was presented I signed my rights away completely - I no longer owned ANY rights to my book – a book I created, a book that I’d poured my heart and soul into for years – rights gone, completely gone. A common practice with writers and publishers, but one I’m not ready to accept. Could I be Leaning In by demanding more…? Did I just give Ms. Sandberg some credit?

Factor #3: Publisher’s costs above the line, mine below

I was going to receive 50% of the profits after the publisher’s expenses were deducted, but not after my expenses. I don’t make anything as an author – nothing – but currently my only cost is my time. To meet the publisher’s deadlines I would have had to incur at least $700 in daycare expenses a month. That adds up for our house, especially when I am not contributing to the bottom line.

Maybe this is where Ms. Sandberg would have told me to Lean In and ask for my expenses to also be deducted out of the profits before either the publisher or I get paid. But again, Ms. Sandberg alienated me here. When speaking up for herself, Ms. Sandberg used an example of when she was nine months pregnant she walked into the founder of Google’s office and demanded a parking space up front because she was too pregnant to walk from the back of the parking lot. I cheered with her in this example, but I found no personal relief. When I was nine months pregnant I was working in downtown Washington DC. I had gained 60 pounds on my small frame (picture below) and I could barely walk five feet without having the urge to pee, but I never had the option to walk into a CEO’s office and demand this. And in my current situation, I knew little me - a first time author - would merely burn the bridge with the publishing house for asking for this right. It wasn’t an option for me to Lean In.  

Factor #4: Commitment to the series

The Ancient Realm is a series of three books with the first one already available on Amazon. The publishers wanted to re-edit book 1 and re-publish it six months from now. Book 2 would be published six months later, and book 3 another six months. Ultimately, I told them I would agree to their contract as is if they guaranteed we could write out books 1-3 and publish them all at the same time. Currently young readers like to download all the author’s books in one sitting. They don't like to wait for the next one and often forget about the author if they do have to wait. The publishers said no.

I denied the contract over three weeks ago and I’m still wondering why. Having had a publishing house tell me my book was worth their time felt like a warm blanket had been wrapped around my shoulder and I was now a Star Bellied Sneetch being invited to sit at the campfire – I had been accepted – an industry professional believed in my writing. How did I turn my back on this? Easy, I told myself. You see, I had been there before, just in a different venue. When I was trying to make the U.S. Olympic Team in Whitewater Slalom the best coaches in the world told me every day they believed in me. But when I got into the start gate at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials and heard three, two, one, go, I was completely alone with only what I truly believed. I know this because everyone’s cheers and roars during my race runs did not get me on the Olympic Team. It was my self-doubts, and my self-doubts alone that prevented me from making it. The same is true today – the publishing house’s belief in my writing provides zero grantees. With a contract unevenly waited between publisher and author, I do feel confident in my decision to continue writing on my own.

Ultimately staying self-employed is the only avenue I have to create a working schedule that allows me to strive for my two ultimate goals: create the best family and create the ultimate career. Ms. Sandberg clearly implies that the reason why there are so few women at the top is because we don’t have the ambition to get there. F@*# you, Ms. Sandberg. No working mom, unless they are the boss or are self-employed can Lean In and create a working schedule where they will be able to thrive as a mom and a professional. Ms. Sandberg your book merely sells us an additional bullshit myth to the original myth that we can have it all. Until society realizes that when children’s school schedules do not meet working schedules (yes, it could be that simple), moms will not be able to lean in, and will continue to be torn apart – literally torn apart trying to be both moms and professionals and that is NOT healthy for society.

Bottom line: I gave Ms. Sandberg’s book five stars. Don’t get confused, she pissed me off, but she made me think. She made me think about the career I did give up to have children (future post). She presented horrid facts about how truly ripped apart a working mom is – how truly hard it is for any parent (both mom and dad) to climb the corporate ladder. And for the alone fact that Ms. Sandberg’s book truly inspired my 70-year-old mom, an original pioneer of Title IX and a gym teacher, I thank her for taking the time to write Lean In (despite all the help she has, I assure you, she is still stretched to a very unhealthy tension).

I do, however, encourage everyone to read Ms. Slaughter’s article in The Atlantic Journal, Why Women Still Can’t Have It All. I personally felt that Ms. Slaughter is the very first professional to talk to me as opposed to down at me. I found incredible wisdom, relief, and courage in her article. Thank you to my dear sister-in-law, Tara Bahn who sent me the article when I was frustrated with Ms. Sandberg’s book. Tara is one of the incredibly talented females in today’s environmental legal field and a mother of two very young children. She’s on the front lines every day fighting for her career and her family. Now that Lean In, the fairy-tale version of a working C.O.O./mom has been published, I hope someone like Tara will write their story about what its like to be a working mom in the trenches. 

One of my best friends, Brent Wiesel perfectly dubbed this bathing suit, the shower curtain:) This is me, weighing in at 180 - about 8 months pregnant.

To view Sarah's middle grade fiction book click here: Paperback and Kindle 

Mother's Day Cleanse

My series, The Ancient Realm has a lot of underwater scenes. Some of the new scenes I'm writing take place on the river bed floor. So this Mother's Day I felt like it was important to do some research by taking a dip in the river and touching the floor of the river bed.

Me Before:

Me after:

It should be noted that I felt great afterwards - perfect Mother's Day Cleanse - but it was so cold. I did not stay in long enough to dive down to the river bed floor. In my next life I will have super powers similar to the River Duchess and be able to comfortably swim in any river. (Safety Note: please do not jump into a river. I have spent my whole life on a river and know when it is safe enough to swim).

To view Sarah's middle grade fiction book click here: Paperback and Kindle 

Corbett Leith, Corby!

My amazing brother is my hero. He is the reason why I've climbed so many mountains, kayaked so many rivers, jumped off so many cliffs, and surfed endless waves. Everyone and anyone would tell you that Corby is all about adventure. You spend a day with Corby and no matter whether you are in the bowels of a city, the depths of a forest, or the top of a mountain you are in for an adventure. I love him. He is the best.

He is also the illustrator of my cover! He's a professional artist and specializes in large abstract oils. Visit a museum with him sometime - truly one of the best adventures you can go on. His ability to explain a painting and walk you through any gallery in the world is one of the greatest rides. Click here to watch a video that takes you into Corby's world in his own studio. Enjoy!

Here is a picture of my brother - he's the one of the bottom left. And yes, he's the one that just decided on a random day (actually the morning of my wedding) that we should do a water ski pyramid - that's Corby - any and every idea is up for grabs and worth pursuing. More importantly, to Corby every idea is achievable. When you stand next to him you think anything is possible.

To view Sarah's middle grade fiction book click here: Paperback and Kindle 

School Visit - Mid-Columbia Seventh Day Adventist School

I had a fabulous visit with the 1st-4th grade class of the Mid-Columbia Seventh Day Adventist School. We jumped up and down on one foot, we talked writing, we talked books, we had a blast. This is a rough outline of what I said - I try hard not to read from the paper, but with two little boys running around my feet these days I don't have as much time to practice my speeches.

I’ll start my personal adventures of when I was in 4^th grade. I was living in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. It was a really hard year for me. In the classroom I didn’t feel very good about myself. I was the worst in the class – the worst. In my class we had a chart with all our names on it. Every week we took a spelling test. If we got a hundred on our spelling test my teacher would put a star next to our names. All my classmates had at least four or five stars next to their names for getting a hundred on their spelling test, but not me. I never got a star. My chart stayed blank the whole year. During reading hour, when we finished our assignment we could go up to the teacher and get a candy sucker. I always finished last and by the time I got to pick a candy all the good flavors were gone. In the classroom I felt stupid, really stupid.

In 5^th grade we moved to Boston Massachusetts. I started at a new school, with a new teacher where I had to make new friends. On one of my first days in school my teacher asked me to read out loud in front of the whole class. I just sat at my desk and looked at the book because that was all I could do – I couldn’t read – I didn’t know how to read. I felt even more stupid. But, my teacher was wonderful. She took me aside and had me tested by a professional for learning disability. My results said that I was reading and spelling on a first grade level and was dyslexic – a common learning disability that affects people’s ability to LEARN. I was told that being dyslexic did not mean that I couldn’t read and spell – it meant that I had to learn how to read and spell differently. With this new knowledge my teacher and after school tutor taught me how to read and spell. I didn’t learn overnight. It was years of hard hard hard work, but by 8^th grade I finally caught up. I was finally reading and spelling on an eighth grade level. In high school I graduated near the top of my class and a member of the National Honor Society. In college I graduated near the top of my class with a near perfect grade point average of 3.98 and was awarded the highest academic honor available to an accounting major.

I am so proud to tell you that I am dyslexic. I believe it is the greatest gift I was given because it forced me to learn how to work really hard. If school had been easy for me I don’t know if I would have ever learned how to work really hard. And it’s through my hard work that I have found success. You see, starting at age of 13, I had the goal of making U.S. Olympic Team in the sport of Whitewater Slalom Kayaking. And through my hard work in sport I ended up on the US National Team, ranked second in the country, a world championship silver medalist, and the first alternate to two US Olympic Teams.

My point is this: our greatest weaknesses – mine being reading and spelling – we can all find something that will help us become better at whatever we set out to achieve.

I would have NEVER in a million years thought I would stand in front of you as an author. Even though I worked so hard to over come my dyslexia I am still really scared of words! Commas, nouns, adjectives – grammar in general SCARE me. But, I had a dream – I wanted to write a book, so I put aside my fears and worked really hard to write this little book. And again, if I hadn’t been dyslexic, if I hadn’t learned how to work really hard in school, I would have never been able to write this book.

So to sum up my personal adventures I truly believe that my greatest weakness in life – being dyslexic - truly became my greatest strength because it taught me how to work really hard. 

A huge thank you to Stacey at Mid-Colubmia SDA School. It is amazing teachers like you that help unlock the wonders in every book. Thank you - Thank you - Thank you!

To view Sarah's middle grade fiction book click here: Paperback and Kindle 

Corbett, OR Grade School Visit

Today I visited with all the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th graders at the Corbett, OR Grade School. I was so honored to be asked to visit their school. My heart absolutely MELTED when I saw so many kids holding my book. I was truly touched when one boy told me he loved King Torin and thought I should write 51 books about him! Another boy told me that he thought Torin should be nicer to Agnes because  it seemed like Torin liked Agnes... Very insightful kid!

I've spent so long writing The Ancient Realm and there were so many moments when I wondered why I am doing this... no one is ever going to read this book, much less like it. But those 30 minutes I spent with the Corbett, OR Grade School, made all the hard work I put into this book 100% worth it. Thank you Corbett, OR Grade School for making my dream come true by reading my book, telling me you loved it, and groaning when I told you I hadn't completed book 2 yet.

Below is the speech I gave (please excuse poor grammar - the best part about giving a speech is the written form doesn't have to be grammatically correct;):

Ever since I was a little girl I dreamed of going to the Olympics. In 5^th grade we had a career day and everyone dressed up as what they wanted to be in the future. I dressed up as an Olympic athlete.   

Starting in my freshman year in high school, I spent over ten years training in the sport of Whitewater Slalom Kayaking for a chance to compete in the Olympic Games. For most of my career I stayed ranked 2 in the US with multiple top ten finishes in the World.

I really really wish that I could sit up here and tell you how amazing it was to make the Olympic Team.  I wish I could tell you how unbelievable it was to walk into a huge stadium with all the best athletes in the world.  I wish I had a shinny Olympic Gold Medal that I could show you.  

But, I never won a gold medal and I never made the Olympic Team.  In Whitewater Slalom only one female athlete per country gets to race in the Olympics.  In 2000 I placed second at Olympic Trials – one spot away from the team.  Four years later in 2004 I placed second again at the Olympic Trials and again missed the Olympic Team by one spot.   

I retired from racing in 2004 having never fulfilled my childhood dream of making the Olympic Team. Every four years I am a little sad watching the summer Olympics on TV knowing I will never get to compete in such a special event.  BUT, I am living PROOF that it is far better to have dared, to have tried, to have gone after my dream and to have failed than to have never tried at all. At the end of the day I realized I that even though I was heart broken I didn’t make the Olympic Team, I was still incredibly happy and very thankful for the opportunity to train for ten years, travel around the world and racing against the best people in my sport.  

I’m currently trying to pursue a new dream – the dream of becoming a successful author. As you heard earlier, I recently published a The Ancient Realm an action and adventure book written for your age. But it is still yet to be determined if I am a good writer, it’s yet to be determined if The Ancient Realm will become a successful book – I only published it four months ago.   

It’s funny because this dream of trying to become a successful author is almost more of an impossible dream than of my first dream of trying to make the Olympic Team. 

When I was your age I was reading and writing on a 1^st grade level and the teachers didn’t know why. Finally right before I entered my 6^th grade year I was tested for learning disabilities and the results came back that I was dyslexic.  

I spent the rest of my middle and high school years working my tail off trying to catch up. And I did catch up – I went on to college to graduate amongst the top of my class with a 4.0 GPA. 

But even though I had done well in college, I’m still scared of reading and writing – dyslexics to do not think of words as their friends. But I love dreaming up stories, I love imagining characters, and I love the mission of my book – the mission to show readers how incredibly precious the Natural World is.  And I’m here today having a great time trying to become a successful author.

I might fail again – just like I didn’t make the Olympic Team – I might never become a successful author. But I know from experience, from my past failures, that happiness isn’t defined by our end results – its defined by all the time we spend trying to achieve our dreams, our goals.  

If the day comes when I have realized I will never become a successful author I will be a little sad, but I will be far happier having tried than having not tried and spent years wondering “What if – What if I could have become a successful author."   

If there is one thing I hope you take home from listening to me today it’s this:None of us should ever leave our dreams on a shelf for fear of failure.  We should all GO for them – no matter how impossible they seem.  None of us have any idea of what we are capable of until we try. And I promise – life really is about the journey not the destination – not the final result.  SO go for it and see what your capable of! 

To view Sarah's middle grade fiction book click here: Paperback and Kindle  

Website Updates in Process

I apologize for not posting on April 1^st! I am in the process of updating my website with new top 5s and outstanding reviews from leading environmental organizations like the one below from the outstanding Wyss Foundation:

Sarah Leith Bahn’s The Ancient Realm takes the reader on a magical adventure while addressing real environmental concerns. Much as the Brothers Grimm wrote fairy tales to teach children about the darker facets of human nature, Bahn uses this imaginative story to educate young readers about environmental threats—and the importance of fighting against them. 

The story begins in Nova Scotia, where 11 year-old Agnes Fordyce discovers that her strange new babysitter is a member of the Ancient Realm, a magical monarchy established to protect nature. Agnes accepts a position as its Bering Sea Princess, but quickly learns that being a princess is not all about castles and special powers.  Like the creatures of Narnia under the reign of the White Witch, the members of the Ancient Realm live in fear of King Ector, a terrifying figure with icicles for teeth, who seeks to take nature’s power for himself at any cost. Agnes agrees to face King Ector and stop his plan to destroy the world’s seas, rivers, forests, and oceans. Agnes’ resourcefulness and courage grow throughout her quest, which takes her from Denali to the Himalayas to the Indian Ocean.  Forced to acknowledge the destructive power of both nature and humankind, she grows to accept the Empress of Nature’s explanation: “we could never fully appreciate the goodness of this world if we didn’t have the example of darkness beside it.” Agnes returns to her normal world with this knowledge, more confident and mature than when she left it.  

Though it's ostensibly for children, The Ancient Realm’s message about nature will resonate with all who appreciate it: “love it, respect it, and don’t ever abuse it, and in turn, if you are ever in a time of great need, it will take care of you.” Wyss Foundation, a charitable foundation dedicated to land conservation in the intermountain west

Kirkus Review

I just received my first Kirkus Review- the world's toughest book critics. For those of you that don’t know – a Kirkus Review is one of the most important reviews an author receives. It can truly make or break your career.

I had just dropped my son off at pre-school and was taking this rare free moment to get a cup of coffee in downtown Hood River before I headed back home to delve into writing book 2 when I opened my email and saw that Kirkus Review had sent me my review.

I couldn’t decide if I even wanted to open the email. All my insecurities as a writer flooded my mind. The fact that when I entered fifth grade I was reading on a 1^st grade level – the fact that even now I struggle with words every day – the fact that I was nuts as a dyslexic to even think I could write a book.

My coffee arrived, I took a long sip, and opened the email. My eyes started flooding with tears even before I started reading the first word. I was so scared they would rip my story to shreds. But as I started reading, I started breathing. They LIKED it! The review isn’t completely glowing but I am THRILLED with it for two reasons: (1) they gave me hope that I have potential to make The Ancient Realm a great series, and (2) they gave me outstanding feedback on just how to do that. I’m not sure many authors use reviews as learning tools, but why not? If we are strong enough to accept constructive criticism, we have enormous amount of potential to make things better. One of my coaches, Maylon Hanold told me once, “The idea is that you can always make good be better and make better become your best and your best can get even better.”

Most authors edit their reviews to only reflect the positives, but I am honored to share both the good and the bad with all of you:

Kirkus Review:

Nature acts as a secret source of magic and mayhem for the young protagonist in Bahn’s debut novel. At the start of the book, 11-year-old Agnes Adelaide Fordyce leads a rather average, uneventful life. Having lost her mother at an early age, she lives with her father and twin older brothers in a remote fishing village in Nova Scotia. The amount of masculine influence in her life causes her to develop a tomboyish personality, but in spite of her active lifestyle and severe dislike of dresses, she still finds tales of princesses and castles appealing. Not only does this make her more relatable to a broader spectrum of young readers – from the prissiest of girls to the most adventurous of boys – it also puts her in the perfect state of mind when she encounters Octavia, a babysitter who is more than meets the eye. Octavia invites her to become Princess of the Bering Sea, one of the Guardians of the Ancient Realm responsible for protecting the natural world. As Agnes soon finds out, though, the greatest threat to the Earth comes from power-mad kings within the Ancient Realm itself. She finds this out remarkably soon, in fact. Within 24 hours, she becomes a princess, meets numerous new allies and enemies, faces life-threatening danger and must do all she can to prevent the collapse of the natural world. The narrative and structure of the book reflect this fast pacing. While Agnes has little problem accepting everything as it comes, readers who prefer easing into magical and mysterious realms may have difficulty adjusting. The greatest trouble lies in getting a grasp on several of the novel’s secondary characters, as some of the more complex aspects of their personalities get lost in the rush. Not that any of the characters are without potential, though. All of them – and the entire story, for that matter – are intriguing enough to sweep readers away through the end.

            Bahn presents a straightforward fantasy story plenty capable of engaging young readers, especially those with limited attention spans.

Please click here to see the review published on Kirkus's website!

To view Sarah's middle grade fiction book click here: Paperback and Kindle 

Young Middle Grade Readers, YES!

A fifth grade teacher in New Haven, CT wrote this about The Ancient Realm:

I am reading it to my class right now. We're only 2 chapters in, but when we finished reading today they begged to hear more! I read it right away and loved it! There is so much interest in fantasy right now with the Lightning Thief and Hunger Games series, but these books are just too difficult and complex for my students. I was so excited reading your book because I think it's perfect for a fifth grade read aloud.

I hear this time and time again from teachers and librarians. The current middle grade fiction trend is to publish big hard backs that adults might also might like, which often leads to dark, complicated, and difficult books. And although I do love Percy Jackson and Katniss Everdeen, these books would have been pretty challenging for me as a 5th grader. I would have ate them up in 8th, but not 4th. Publishers don't want to publish books for just 4th and 5th graders - young middle grade fiction readers. In my opinion that is a big mistake because these readers have exceptional minds and are ready to eat up great adventures. I am thrilled that my book, The Ancient Realm is helping fill the gap in the Young Middle Grade Fiction titles!

Monthly Goodness: Saying Thank you

Over the last five days over 7,500 people downloaded The Ancient Realm!

The Ancient Realm was ranked #1 in Children's Nature for ALL five days!

The Ancient Realm was ranked #1 in Children's Action and Action almost ALL five days (it never dropped out of the top 5)!

This is a HUGE feat for my little book. I want to dedicate this blog posting to all my family, friends and the Hood River Library that helped spread the word about The Ancient Realm. I might not have a big publishing firm that is backing me, but I've got a ton of supporters that have gone out of their way to spread the word. I could not have reached this incredible number of downloads without ALL of my supporters. Below I've included an outstanding book report written by Kayla - I am truly honored that Kayla choose The Ancient Realm for her book report! And I am very impressed by what she wrote.

Thank you again to all of my readers - I am truly honored to have The Ancient Realm on your shelf or in your e-reader.

To view Sarah's middle grade fiction book click here: Paperback and Kindle 

#1 Children's Action and Adventure Book on Kindle!

The Ancient Realm is ranked #1 today in Children's Action and Adventure! My little book is featured next to the Hunger Games! Crazy! I am so honored and thankful to have so many readers reading my book - thank you all so much. Check it out, # 1 Action and Adventure

The Ancient Realm will be free on Kindle till February 28th!

THANK YOU ALL!!!!

To view Sarah's middle grade fiction book click here: Paperback and Kindle 

Another Great Review!

I am so honored to receive reviews like this. To all my readers, thank you so much!

I would love to know how you got the idea and how you thought of Agnes, who is just perfect for the job.  The nature descriptions and the feeling of connection between various areas of our world are so necessary these days.  We all should be aware of what Nature can do and what we can do to help it, both the good and the bad, as Agnes explained to Torin.  I actually felt a bit sorry for him, he reminded me of the NY Times article about 8 year old kids who are attached to suicide bombs and then are told that they will not be hurt and that they will save their country. 

I hope for more stories to come.  The combination of Princes and Princesses and the message is brilliant! 

Lucy Bollman, Huletts Landing, NY

To view Sarah's middle grade fiction book click here: Paperback and Kindle 

A Great Review!

This post is out of character for this blog, but I couldn't help it! I am so excited about this review for The Ancient Realm that I had to share it. I didn't write The Ancient Realm to become a writer. I wrote The Ancient Realm to use a great story to show the world the planet and the concerns facing it.

“The Ancient Realm is a great book for teens that adds a mythological twist to the environmental problems our planet is facing. It is really interesting how the Guardians protect their own little part of the world. This page turning novel starts with eleven-year-old Agnes, a girl who lives on the shores of Nova Scotia. Her adventure starts with a mysterious babysitter that sets her world into a whirl by introducing her to the Ancient Realm. On her adventure, Agnes goes to many parts of the world, where the author greatly describes Agnes’ surroundings with precise detail. Another reason I liked this book is because it really puts to light some of the terrible things happening in our environment. An example of this is when the Japanese water Guardian died of mercury poisoning from her area that she guarded. Also, the large amount of characters in this book are all well developed and all have their special part of the story. The author additionally fully explains the world of the Guardians and their battle against the Mountain Kings. The author cleverly does this using Agnes’s inauguration into the Ancient Realm. This thrilling book is sure to please anyone looking for a nice tale of adventure. After reading this book my first thoughts were if there would be a sequel to this book. If there well be I will be gladly waiting for it! Having read this nicely crafted book, I would certainly recommend it to many of my friends.” 

Andrew Dubsky, twelve-years-old

To view Sarah's middle grade fiction book click here: Paperback and Kindle