On May 3, 2015, I was honored as one of three winners of the 2015 PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Children's Book Discovery Award at Simmons College in Boston. The other 2015 winners were so friendly, and their books were hilarious.
2015 PEN CBD award recipients (left to right) Sheryl DePaolo, The Child Star; Kristy Acevedo, Consider; Alice Caldwell, Sly as a Sheep
Then Karen Wulf, Executive Director of PEN New England, asked me to autograph the event poster. This was my first time signing anything as a professional author. So exciting!
Such a great night filled with new friends and experiences. It was the first time I had to read my writing in public. Yikes!
Here are some tips I learned for reading in public:
1. Print out pages double-spaced in a large font (I used size 18).
2. Use all caps on words or phrases for EMPHASIS.
3. Underline or highlight prepositional phrases.
4. Practice with a timer.
5. Organize pages in a binder. (I didn't do this, and the pages were awkward to hold in my shaking hands.)
Check out the award. It's BEAUTIFUL (and heavy!)
