Friday, July 31, 2009

Book Edits

My manuscript was in the editing phase in July, and just yesterday it was returned for improvements. There's a lot to do before the book hits the market!

In the first chapter, readers will learn that the Casas-Treski children grew up in Iowa City, Iowa. As a former military family, one of our assignments was next door to Omaha, Nebraska. We think fondly of the Midwest; it's a great part of the country for raising a family.

The children's maternal grandparents, fluent in Spanish, hail from Mexico. But the children themselves don't know much Spanish. Neither do my kids.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Book for Middle School Students

I've written my first children's book titled, Shroudas: Book 1, Ebram's Story. It's a fictional work with parallels to real personal experiences. The main character is Ebram Casas-Treski, a lively sixth grader who signs up for band so he can learn how to play the saxophone. As part of a musical family (who play trumpet, baritone, trombone, piccolo, guitar, piano, drums, clarinet, and saxophone), it was only natural for Ebram to be a musician, too.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Musical Family

We are a family of 6: Mom, Dad (Chuck) and four kids--Remy, Chris, Matt, and Sarah. Remy and Chris are local college students, Matt is in high school, and Sarah is in middle school.

A couple of years ago, Sarah was assigned a school project to make a visual symbol of our family to share with the class. She crafted a mobile with pictures of various musical instruments hanging on strings. It's definitely a symbol that fits us well!