Taking Leaps! (September Theme) by Christine Brodien-Jones

1.      Leaping into book festivals and fun author events~ 

      My favorite way to connect with enthusiastic young readers!

      This September I took part in the awesome Warwick Children’s Book Festival at the elementary school in Warwick, NY.  Next I’ll be at the “Inside Story” event at the Odyssey Bookstore in South Hadley MA, where traditionally-published authors and illustrators will share the "inside story" behind their recent publications.  

2.      Leaping into a new manuscript~

The scariest part of writing: that blank page in front of you!  I’m working on a new middle-grade thriller fantasy set in Galicia, Spain – which means diving into Galician mythology, studying the art of gargoyle-carving and delving into all things Spanish and medieval.      

  

  

3.      Leaping into the pages of a well-loved book~

        Providing I could have a dæmon of my own, I’d happily spend a day with Lyra Belacqua, the feisty heroine of The Golden Compass, the first book in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials Trilogy. I’m willing to jump into the pages at any point: spying on the Jordan College scholars, traveling with the Gyptians on their narrow boat or journeying to the far north to confront witch clans and armored polar bears. Maybe Lyra would teach me how to read her mysterious alethiometer. How cool would that be?