Cool to Be Kind (from Jody Feldman)

Karma. 

Paying it forward. 

The Golden Rule.

What goes around comes around. 

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. 

Call it what you will, say it as you wish, but in the end it all comes down to:

Kindness

 In life in general, and in this writing life in particular, I have been surrounded by acts of kindness, both random and planned. Three often come to mind, especially because each occurred before my first book was published.

• An award-winning, book-to-movie author, in town for a school visit–someone I barely knew–had her school hosts include me in their dinner just to get me started meeting educators.
• Before a conference, another major award-winning author, who could have been a thousand other places and with dozens of established authors, sat and talked to me at great personal length about being part of this book world. 
• Even before that, long before I was under contract, two well-respected authors took me under their wings, and suddenly I was no longer lost or companionless at my first SCBWI Annual Conference in Los Angeles. 

 Do these authors remember their kindnesses? Doubt it. At least they probably don’t remember them with great clarity. Similarly, I hope I don’t remember a great majority of my own attempts at being kind. I hope, for all of us, it’s woven into the fabrics of our lives.

And yet, there are times, when it just feels right to make a conscious gesture. Like here and now.

In that spirit, I'm happy to offer you a chance to win a free Skype or in-person school visit.* If you’re a teacher, librarian, media specialist, school administrator, parent, or you just have fondness for a particular school, and your school would prepare for and welcome my visit, please enter below. I may just throw in a T-shirt and a book or two, also.

 

(*One winning school receives a full, 45-minute Skype visit; OR if possible by mutual agreement, an in-person school visit which must either be within a two-hour drive of St. Louis, in a city where I happen to be traveling, or with you covering travel expenses. Enter by December 21, 2015.)

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