SKYPING in NEW ZEALAND - with the PERFECT CLASS!

A New Zealand School - Auckland: 

Here in Oregon I have just finished an hour and quarter SKYPE session with the most charming and enthusiastic 10 and 11 year olds I have ever met – their teacher as well. 
I have scattered some Auckland pictures throughout, so you can see what a lovely city Auckland is. 

Walking tours of Auckland

The boys were reading my Taconi and Claude - Double Trouble, and the girls were reading The Revenge of Thelma Hill.  I talked about what makes a great book, the importance of hooking their reader, and powerful and active words. I offered sentence examples and what makes a great HOOK into a story. Baiting Your Writing HOOK so to speak. 

 The Kiwi Bird of New Zealand

They soaked this all up and asked lots of questions. Then I read to them from my latest young teen book, Down Under Calling.

The Aussie aboriginal artifacts I showed were a hit with the boys reading Taconi and Claude. And the idea of the Ghost in Thelma Hill being based on my Mom (even her name) pleased the girls reading it.  They were full of questions about each book. To top it off, they sang  a special song they created about me and my books + a lovely traditional Maori song.

Te Hana Te Ao Marama is Auckland's leading Maori cultural centre,
offering a comprehensive range of Maori cultural experiences and more.

Their teacher was as keen for the session to go well as were the kids.  A participating and enthusiastic teacher makes all the difference, and Harini Karan jumped in and played her part to perfection.

Tours of Auckland City

The whole experience left me thrilled and humbled, all at the same time.  This New Zealand Skype class visit was one of the highlights of my writing career.  The class rendered me speechless!!

 NOTE:
And you can do it all from the comfort of your own writing nook.  No travel, hotel bills, or suitcases to lug about. YEA!!  Skype Education is very helpful.  It also pays to court teacher sites world wide. Linkedin is a good place to begin your Skype campaign. Skype gives us a chance to visit schools that are not on the usual author circuit. These kids are SO appreciative and eager to partake. The same goes for the teachers. Private as well as public schools are keen to have Skype author visits.  Plus the US is a vast untapped source. I will also be writing a further blog about the nuts and bolts of organizing a Sky Visit.

These are the books this class is now reading:

The young people in this Auckland class are diving
into books, writing, and reading up a storm!




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Books for Kids - Skype Author Visits
http://www.matgotfinke.com

Download a FREE "Sneak Peek" inside ALL of my books

http://tinyurl.com/8qw44al

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"DOWN UNDER CALLING" - Back to my AUSSIE ROOTS -

I could never have done it without the skills
and talents of Awesome Agy Wilson

Done what you ask?

Published my latest young teen book.

 Kindle - soft cover coming

Agy not only did the cover, she also set it up for Kindle and CreateSpace.

This is the second young teen book Agy has done
the cover for and helped me publish. The first was
  my ghost mystery, "The Revenge of Thelma Hill."

Self-publishing is a new gig for me ( I have 11 traditionally published ), but I wanted to give
it a go, as they say.  Agy has struck some problems with the covers for the CreateSpace versions of both books but this will be mastered soon (knowing Agy), and available in soft cover, ASAP.

SYNOPSIS:  When a reluctant grandson in Oregon is pressured into writing to his grandma in Australia, wonderful things happen. Both have a need for love and reassurance as they deal with the problems in their daily lives. Back and forth the letters go: Andy shares the problems his dad's downsizing caused, and Grandma Rose shares past memories that astonish her grandson and his friend, Kelly.  Googling the weird and wonderful Aussie critters that visit Rose's garden becomes a hobby for Andy and Kelly.  Together they use their letters to shrink the Pacific Ocean into a puddle they can easily ford. 

  

I have to admit that writing this book took me back to my Aussie roots. Once I started, memories flooded in, warm, funny, and sometimes a little sad. In some ways Down Under Calling  is tribute to my mum. She was the heart of our home, and the stories Grandma Rose tells Andy in her letters are ones Mum told me when I was a child, or that Mum and I experienced together. Mom was an extremely shy lady. She wold never be able to tell you these stories herself.  So that left me to fill the gap, and offer her wonderful stories to a wider audience than she could ever have imagined.  I still miss her.

                                                                                                          Mum and Dad

I hope young teens will enjoy Grandma Rose's stories, and identify with Andy and Kelly about divorce and blended families, and the heartache of having a parent downsized, and then losing your home because of it. Down Under Calling brings together two generations, across an ocean and across time.  It shows that families who pull together with love and honesty can make it - no matter what.

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OTHER BOOKS by Margot on Amazon

The Revenge of Thelma Hill

Picture Books

Kangaroo Clues 

Mama Grizzly Bear

Ruthie and the Hippo's Fat Behind
Horatio Humble Beats the Big D

Rattlesnake Jam

http://www.margotfinke.com

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HALLOWEEN READING - Chills and Thrills!

                              

                Halloo

                        oo

                             oo

                                  oo
                                       ween. . . Is Coming!

                                                                                                                                                           

Dare to read

The Revenge of Thelma Hill

Kindle - Smashwords - Nook etc
http://tinyurl.com/bg9dtxt

Goosebumps Guaranteed!

READ

3x "Sneak Peeks" to tempt you. . .

The Gray Ghost returned to Frannie’s room immediately before the sun threw first light on Oregon’s Cascade Mountains. Moaning softly, the phantom hovered over Frannie. Fleshless fingers stroked her hair. Its wispy gray veils drifted in the air, smelling faintly of earth and damp.

“You and I will prevail, Frannie James. When our powers join, we will expose doers of past evil and ease troubled souls.” The ghostly figure channeled gentle and calming strength into the mind of the sleeping girl. “You must accept me first, Frannie dear.  Only then can our combined powers execute our will.”

As dawn’s rosy glow flooded Oregon’s Mt Hood with light, the Gray Ghost patted Frannie’s cheek. “Soon, Frannie dear.” The Ghost vanished in a whirl of diaphanous veils.

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Dressed in blue jeans, a ‘Save Our Whales’ tee shirt and sandals, Frannie headed for the kitchen. The bathroom was on her side of the upstairs landing. Dad and Jeff’s rooms were opposite. Piles of empty boxes cluttered up the landing at the top of the stairs.

Rock music pumped out of Jeff’s room. As she passed, Frannie caught a glimpse of her twin, still in under-shorts, squeezing zits in front of the mirror. I don’t have much in the boobs department, but at least I don’t have zits. Way gross! Wrinkling her nose, she headed downstairs to the living room.

Glancing over the banister, she could see the comfortable chairs on either side of the fireplace. A fat sofa snuggled under one window. The computer and printer, both still boxed, sat under the other window, waiting until her Dad had time to buy a desk.

The Oriental rug they’d brought from Iowa would make rainy Oregon winters cozy, while the shelves beside the fireplace held treasured books and ornaments. A wreath of plaster roses circled the ceiling’s central antique light fitting. Love the roses!

Jeff pushed past her, rattled down the stairs, and beat her to the kitchen. Frannie shrugged and followed slowly.

Stains smudged the front of Jeff’s tee shirt, and his face looked pale and pudgy. He scowled at his bowl of cereal, as if it were personally responsible for messing with his life.

Who said twins were always close? Huh. . . They never knew Jeff and me.

He looked up at her. “What about laundry? When can I expect some clean stuff to show up?”

Frannie ignored him.

Dad came into the kitchen in time to hear his son’s protest. “The laundry’s that little room to the left of the back door, in case you’ve forgotten.” He grinned. “You’ve two choices, Jeff, join a nudist colony or wash your own clothes.”

Frannie laughed. “Way to go, Dad.” She pointed to Jeff’s grubby top. "X marks the spot!" Giggles exploded out of her.

Red-faced, Jeff mumbled, "Smart-ass."

"No need for that, you two.”  He looked at Jeff. “Wash your own clothes and you won’t need to look like a reject from a grunge band.” He frowned. "And I don’t want to find those boxes still upstairs when I come home. Throw the empty ones in the garage. There has to be a recycling depot somewhere in Tigard." Coffee in hand, he went back upstairs.

Jeff grunted and stared into his empty bowl.

"Look, this move means a big promotion for Dad -- so drop the attitude, okay. I wasn't too keen on moving, either. You're not the only one bummed at leaving friends.”

"Yeah, well Dad had no right to make us move here. I don’t know anyone in Oregon. And I’m not likely to until school starts.”

Frannie wondered how this zit-infested excuse of a brother could be her twin? “Whatever! How about helping with the chores?”

Jeff scowled "Chores are for girls!”

Dodging the dishcloth she threw, his arm shot out and plucked it from the air. He slid from his chair, chanting, “Ya misse-e-e-ed!”

A hot gleam in her eye, Frannie wiped off Jeff’s smirk with a well-placed wet sponge. Jeff swung his arm, ready for a return throw.

“Stop it, you two, or there’ll be no pocket money this week. Good grief, can’t you two get along for five seconds. It’s like a wild rock concert around here – waiting for casualties.” Dad stood in the kitchen doorway.

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Then something took shape close to Frannie’s door. Thunder boomed overhead. Again the unknown force stole electrical energy from the lightening. This time Frannie saw it happen. Lightening bounced around her walls, glowing chains of energy that lit her room with an eerie blue glow.

Snick - the glass in her picture of Lady Gaga cracked. Frame askew, the singing idol dangled on the wall. Frannie screamed. She dived under the covers, trembling from head to toe. The camera fell off her nightstand and rolled under the bed. The sizzle of electrical power hummed throughout the room. Frannie dared a peek from under the comforter.

Like a pulled Christmas cracker, Thelma Hill materialized in a wild burst of pyrotechnic energy. Brilliant green light surrounded her. And golden light, a thousand sparklers strong, fizzed and crackled around the edges of her gown.

I DARE YOU TO READ
The Revenge of Thelma Hill

 

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Books for Kids - Manuscript Critiques

http://www.margotfinke.com