Mazie Teddy Bear

In The Haunting, Ebram's little sister, Angela, has a large teddy bear she calls Mazie. I've looked online for a similar bear and not having found one, I've decided to make one. Here's Mazie's head without her ears or snout. I'm modifying a pattern I found on the Lion Brand Yarn website.

I'd like to bring Mazie along for book signings. Perhaps she'll be finished before my first one next month.

Giftigami Box

With Valentine's Day approaching next month, I thought I'd post a picture of a Valentine Giftigami Box. There's a picture of another box with a different theme posted on my website, http://www.estherlocascio.com/.

I encourage you to make and decorate your own box to use for collecting money for charity.

Donations are being accepted now by various organizations for Haiti earthquake relief. Contribute the coins in your Giftigami Box today!

Panel Discussion

Chuck and I attended a meeting where a panel of local librarians discussed their children's book needs and book selection process. I was struck by the strict rules governing their purchases that limit them to award winning books or books with stellar reviews by Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, etc., regardless of their local population needs.

Go to your local bookstore and support your local authors. You might find a gem that hasn't been discovered yet!

A Special Guest

Remy dropped Lily off the other day, hoping she could stay. We already have two dogs and hesitated on adding a noisy Quaker parrot to our family. She was beautiful, with fluffy green feathers and a touch of grey. She also had a trace of red feathers that had been clipped to keep her from flying away.

Smitty and Maggie helped us decide that we couldn't keep her. Smitty, our Miniature Schnauzer, ran and hid every time he heard Lily screech, shaking with fear. His sensitive ears make him go nuts at sounds like popping firecrackers, bursting balloons, and gum smacking.

Maggie, our chocolate Chihuahua, whined incessantly, trying to get into her cage to play with her (I think). Remy put Lily on Maggie's back once, and Lily didn't seem to mind. She jumped to the floor and Maggie held her by the tail feathers, licking her wet.

Lily stayed with us long enough to learn how to mimic the microwave's beeps. She started to relax and softly whistled a couple of notes Remy must have taught her before she moved in. If she remained here, no telling what else she would've picked up!

To my surprise, Remy got a call one day from a friend looking to buy a bird. He and his wife came over to check her out. Lily looked right at home, perched on the friend's shoulder. I said good-bye to Lily, feeling a twinge of sadness after they decided to keep her.

"Mom, do you think you could watch Lily when my friends have to go out of town?" Remy asked.
"I suppose..." Lily might be coming back, if only for a visit.

Happy New Year!

Chuck and I met with a columnist for Today's Catholic who's also a retired professor at my alma mater, St. Mary's University. He asked a question that I hadn't thought about before, will there be a lesson plan that schools can use along with my book? There isn't one now, but I think it's a great idea! I'm going to create one and list it as a teacher resource on my website.


Update: The Haunting can now be purchased from Barnes & Noble at a pre-order price of $9.44!