Local Author. This past weekend, I took part in a special event at Barnard Elementary here in San Diego. With “Writers in Wonderland,” parents and teachers invited kids to play with words in so many fun ways. Flamingo Croquet. Parts-of-Speech Twister.  Author Quest. A raffle with wonderful books as prizes. Booths for creating poetry, flash fiction, and comics. And of course, local authors like me, who were ready to answer questions about being writers. I was so happy to have print editions of the Byways books ready in time!

L E E D R A W A. One item I was asked to prepare was an activity sheet for students to work on when they dropped by my booth. Mine included a U. S. state word scramble … and a place for kids to design a seal like the ones carried by the Byways brothers. (What would you put on yours?)

What Big Ears You Have. It was fun to see so many of the students dressed up as favorite characters from books. Alice in Wonderland. Harry Potter. Ninja Turtles. Assorted Jedi. And I enjoyed introducing them to the Byways brothers. (In this snapshot, I’m telling them about Zane, who can shift into wolf form.)

The Perfect Seal. I signed plenty of books. Most memorable was the set that went to a young man named Griffin. I’d brought along Jovan’s seal for show-and-tell … along with an ink pad. So I was able to add a griffin stamp to Griffin’s copy of Byways Book #3, Over the Bridge: A Zane Johns Adventure. I do hope all the kids at Barnard Elementary enjoy the stories they chose!

These kinds of events are every kind of fun. Hoping to do many more at schools and libraries in the new year. : )