Friday, November 14, 2008

Barnes & Noble Reading / Signing was Awesome!!!





My reading & signing of Sparky last Saturday November 8th was AMAZING!  They went all out.  They had posters all over the store in the front of the store and downstairs where the kids section is.  They had my bio and photo at the front counter with my book right next to MICHELLE OBAMA's book at the main register!  Can't beat that, really...  The reading was really fun.  Afterwards everyone colored Sparky and I raffled off a FREE copy of my book!  I also donated a Sparky the Wonderfish book to the LA Children's Hospital.  Also, they asked if they could book me for readings at other Barnes & Noble locations and of course I said YES!!!  Here are some photos!
Talk soon,
Gillian & Sparky

Letter of thanks from Boys & Girls Club!


Hi-
I received a very nice thank you letter from the Executive Director of the Venice, CA Boys & Girls Club thanking me for my donation of a Sparky gift pack which included a signed copy of the book, also a baseball cap, T-shirt, book bag, and journal.  The letter said, "...thank you very much for your suport of our 3rd Annual Westside Champion of Youth Dinner & Silent Auction.  Your generous donation of a Sparky Gift Pack to our auction is acknowledged and greatly appreciated.  Your support will help us deliver exciting and educational programs to over 4000 youth each year...support such as yours is very meaningful and will help enable young people who need us most to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens."
Erikk O. Aldridge
Executive Director

Monday, November 3, 2008

Received Letter from Writers Digest Awards!


Hello-
16th Annual International Book Awards...
No, I didn't win the award but they really loved Sparky the Wonderfish: A story of how love creates magic.

Here is what they wrote.  "The illustrations in Sparky the Wonderfish are a knock-out.  They have a childlike charm and simplicity and a luminescence.  This is a very sweet story that will appeal to a wide range of young readers, many of whom have been nose-to-nose with the feeder fish tank at the pet shop.  and the fact that this is based on a true story only makes it more appealing.  The book is professionally presented with a very pleasing and eye-catching cover.  There is the right mix of active illustrations with text on the pages and the story has a good message about the pay-off of persistence. Great Job!"  "This category was highly competitive and this book was among the best submitted.  Keep up the wonderful work!"

Structure, Organization, Grammar ****
Cover Design *****

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Team Sparky, signing off for now...