#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 

WhippleHill's Skype Interview: Dyslexia and Writing

I was honored to do an interview with WhippleHill Communications  about my years at Proctor Academy and being a dyslexic writer. Please click here to see it!

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

Sunday Goodness: THE MUSTN'TS

You cannot go wrong with Shel Silverstein, especially this one:

LISTEN TO THE MUSTN’TS

Listen to the MUSTN’TS, child,
Listen to the DON’TS
Listen to the SHOULDN’TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WON’TS
Listen to the NEVER HAVES
Then listen close to me –
Anything can happen, child,
ANYTHING can be.
Shel Silverstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends, Harper and Row 1974 

When I set out to write The Ancient Realm there were so many “MUSTN’TS” in my mind:

Dyslexics “DON’T” write…

So when I went to college, I studied Accounting—a major that requires a minimum amount of writing.

It’s next to “IMPOSSIBLE” to become a successful author…

So I gave up my dreams of wanting to write a book and went to work at the Securities and Exchange Commission.

You “WON’T” get published in this market…

So I let my book that I poured my heart and soul into sit on my desk and collect dust for five years.

I am guilty of listening to, and much worse, believing in the “MUSTN’TS.”

So many times we blame society for creating the “MUSTN’TS,” or even our parents, teachers, or peers. But more times than not, we have created the “MUSTN’TS” in our own heads. The “MUSTN’TS” are our own fears that act as roadblocks on our pursuit of our true passions.

When I decided to publish The Ancient Realm I made the choice to shove the “MUSTN’TS” out of mind. It is still yet to be determined if I am any good at writing. I am not a successful author yet. And to get published, I had to do everything myself. But for one of the first times in my life, I didn’t listen to the “MUSTN’TS” and instead created the “ANYTHING” is possible if you believe it is—a much happier mindset.

I still get scared that I’ve made a fool of myself – that The Ancient Realm will never become a successful book – that I have wasted years of my life pursing a dream I have no chance of ever succeeding at. But being scared is a far better feeling than being frustrated every time I saw The Ancient Realm collecting dust on my desk.

Do me a favor, listen to the ANYTHINGS and together with me we can work our butts off at trying to succeed. 

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 

Sunday Goodness: Best Advice I've Ever Read

The best advice I ever read was Oh, the Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss. Here are some of my favorite excerpts:

You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed.
You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don’t
Because, sometimes, you won’t
I’m sorry to say so
but, sadly, it’s true
that Bang-ups
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.
You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You’ll be left in a lurch…

All Alone!Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you’ll be quite a lot.

And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance
you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on…

But on you will go
though your enemies prowl...
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.

On and on you will hike.
And I know you’ll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are…

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 ¾ percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS.  

Dr. Suess, Oh the Places You'll Go, www.randomhouse.com/kids, www.suessville.com  

Why do I love this? Because Dr. Suess points out in the cleverest of ways that we will all succeed and we will all fail to only succeed again and to fail again – this is the process of life and there is no avoiding it. But ultimately, he guarantees us a 98 ¾ percent success rate.

It’s so easy to listen to the critics in our life – the people that poo-poo our every move and decision – the people who would never give us more than a 10% success rate. I challenge you to do this – take the power away from the critics by stop listening to them, and instead, listen to Dr. Suess.

Have a great week. Thank you to everyone who has been reading The Ancient Realm. I am honored to have so many incredible readers. 

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 

Age Doesn't Matter

“Age is something that doesn’t matter, unless you are a cheese.” Billy Burke

I love this quote because at any age we have the ability to think of the next great idea that can solve the world’s greatest problems. And when it comes to the problem of the “plastic soup” of waste floating in our oceans that is the size of TWO continental United States, age truly does not matter.

If you are nine you can make a difference, if you are 70 you can make a difference. We need leaders in every single age group to take on the challenge of eradicating the “plastic soup” of waste.

Remember the first Lady Michelle Obama’s speech I posted on December 20, 2011.

“…leadership is not limited only to those of a certain age or status.  And that kind of leadership is not just about dramatic events that change the course of history in an instant. Instead, true leadership often happens with the smallest acts, in the most unexpected places, by the most unlikely individuals…” Original speech click here.

Today I make an aisle 9 pledge. In my local grocery store aisle 9 is where you can buy plastic storage bags. I will never go down aisle 9 again. We are all capable of small actions that together make a huge difference.

For more information on the “plastic soup” waste, please click here for an incredibly informative and gut wrenching article written by Jon Trujillo. Warning, this article is not for the faint hearted - its brutal and honest.

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