Palouse Food Bank Welcomes Your Extra Produce

Hello Palouse Gardeners!

The Palouse Food Bank would love to receive any extra produce you might have from your garden for their food distribution this week.  You can bring it by the Community Center Tuesday, between 2:00 and 5:00, or Wednesday between 12:30 and 1:00.  Please call Amy Browse with any questions:  878-1251.  Thank you for supporting our local food bank!

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Thanks,
Mona Vanek, Editor The North Palouse Washington e-Newscast, www.palousenewscast.com

Author - Mother Encourages Her Children to Publish 1st Book

When I learned how this amazing mother helped her two young children publish a delightful book they'd written and illustrated I invited her to write a guest blog to share their inspiriting story.

 

"This summer I helped my children get published," by Rasana Atreya.

Since I’m a published author myself, it is quite common for us to do story telling/writing related activities. On a long car ride we might try a story-building exercise. The key is to make it sound like FUN.

We start off with a random sentence, the wackier the better. Something like, ‘the rat got into the autorickshaw’ (open three-wheeler Indian taxi.) The second person builds the story by adding just one line to it. The line has to be connected to what came before, and it has to move the story forward.

Each person gets a turn, then we circle back to the first person. The kids have learned to mine for lines that get them the most laughs. This has helped them in creative writing at school, as well. Given a prompt, they know how to take a story forward creatively.

 

My daughter’s journey to being a published author started when we were on a long train ride from Hyderabad to Chennai, India. Aamani, then six-years old, was done reading her books. Since I limit the amount of time my kids can play electronic games, she was bored.

 

Happily, I also carry notebooks and pencils on long trips, so I suggested she write stories. She agreed, but wanted writing prompts with two characters – one living thing and one non-living thing at a time. That’s how she ended up writing about the mosquito and the teapot; the window, the curtains and a person (technically that’s three characters, but we’ll let that go.)

 

Almost three years down the road my daughter decided it wasn’t fair that I was published, and she was not. So I decided to help them get published on Amazon. My eleven year-old wanted a shot at illustration so I downloaded paint.net and showed him the tutorials. Not only did he do the illustrations, but also designed the cover for the ebook.
 

My daughter’s stories have also gotten great reviews:

"The Mosquito and the Teapot" by Aamani Gurajada is an astonishing short book written and illustrated by two very young and very talented artists. The stories are short pieces in which usually two or three people, animals or things meet and resolve the conflicts between them. The simplicity of their form is disarming and there is a potentially very wise head behind the writing. The illustrations however are not second to the writing but a clear equal. I was amazed at their beauty and professionalism, not at all what I had expected from a young illustrator. They are simple, full of character and masterly executed."

 Joel Friedlander, a book cover designer, had this to say about the cover Sunaad Gurajada designed and created for "The Mosquito and the Teapot":

"Absolutely charming and appropriate. Tell him to keep going!" 

Our writing-illustrating-publishing experience has been a heady one. My daughter is tickled that she might possibly be the youngest author ever. And it has helped build my son’s confidence. After all, he’s now a professional illustrator.

 

If you’re looking to help your child self-publish, you might want to check out my blog post: FAQ. 
END
 

The ebook, The Mosquito and the Teapot,  is available on Amazon Kindle, and in the UK\Amazon at The Mosquito and the Teapot

 

Rasana Atreya is the author of Tell a Thousand Lies . Her novel was shortlisted for the 2012 Tibor Jones South Asia prize.

Guidance plus a wee bit of story-editing was Mom's contribution to her children's successful publishing endeavor:

"My daughter wrote seven stories, under 500 words total. My eleven year old illustrated the book, including the cover. I downloaded paint.net for my son. I then pointed him to the YouTube tutorials. He drew up the cover and did the illustrations."

As always, your comments are welcome, The Editor

 

Author and Essayist Gary Presley Picked for Best of the Net

Author and essayist, Gary Presley, received the following congratulation this morning from Blue Lyra Review:

"Congrats! Our staff overwhelmingly picked your work "Knife" to submit on behalf of Blue Lyra Review for Best of the Net  (via Sundress Publications )."

Gary Presley is author of "Seven Wheelchairs: A Life Beyond Polio," a memoir published by the University of Iowa Press, that tells about his life as a paraplegic since he was given a vaccination intended to prevent polio, at age 17.

His essays appear in a variety of publications including Notre Dame Magazine, Salon and New York Times. Presley also writes  book reviews for Internet Review of Books,  and also posts material on writing, disability, and other issues on his own blog.
 

Seven Wheelchairs:Life Beyond Polio [Kindle and Hardcover at Amazon] and at Barnes and Noble [Hardcopy]
 

Congratulations to Edith Parzefall! Her book, "Strays of Rio" placed 3rd and won the Bronze Medal in the thriller category of Dan Poynter's 2013 Global Ebook Awards.
 

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JROTC at Sequoyah High School in Soddy-Daisy, Tenn., Wins Marine Moms-Bethesda Annual Quilt Raffle

CONGRATULATIONS to the winner of Marine Moms-Bethesda's annual quilt raffle, the JROTC at Sequoyah High School, Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee! An anonymous "Elf" bought tickets on their behalf.

Soddy-Daisy, a bedroom community of nearby Chattanooga, in Hamilton County, with a population in 2000 census of 11,530 is part of the Chattanooga, Tennessee-Georgia Metropolitan statistical area. The Sequoyah Nuclear Generating Station is located there.

The quilt, "Tranquility", was donated by Bayside Quilters of the Eastern Shore, in Easton, MD. Chris, Kris and Jo from Bayside Quilters held two raffles locally, other tickets were sold individually, and "Elfs" from across the U.S.A. participated through an online campaign.

The raffle brought in $883.00 and 100% of the proceeds will benefit wounded, injured and ill Marines, Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Coast Guardsmen and their families through Marine Moms- Bethesda monthly luncheons at Walter Reed Hospital.

Marine Moms-Bethesda said, "Tremendous THANKS to everyone who participated and helped to make this year's quilt raffle a success! The Marines, Soldiers and Sailors we served at Mercy Hall on August 15th were very touched that so many people from across the country help support the luncheons. And they loved the food! With Grateful Thanks for Your Support," Marine Moms-Bethesda

Updated Raffle Page 
Luncheon Page 
 

Many Churches on the North Palouse Have Websites

Many churches on the north Palouse have developed webpages which not only provide religious choices, but also herald events in each of the communities represented that have a positive impact on residents and their children.

ENDICOT: Trinity Lutheran Church

FAIRFIELD: Zion Lutheran Church 

FARMINGTON: Farmington Seventh Day Adventist

GARFIELD: Garfield Community Church

ROCKFORD: Rockford United Methodist

ROSALIA: Rosalia Assembly of God

TEKOA: Tekoa's Churches

VALLEYFORD: Valleyford Community Church

Please send your church information to the Editor to be included on the CHURCH page.


 

Reception at Artisans at the Dahmen Barn August 4, 2013 for Artist Gary Brogan

"Rural Life to Coastal Reminisces", paintings by Gary Brogan of Lewiston, Idaho forms the August exhibit at Artisans at the Dahmen Barn.

An opening reception for Brogan is scheduled for Sunday, August 4, 2013, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Artisans at the Dahmen Barn in Uniontown, Washington.

Gary was born in San Francisco and moved to Lewiston, Idaho, in 2012. The exhibit features oil, acrylic and pastel paintings from the rural lifestyle to B-17s and wooden boats and includes landscapes of the Tammany farm area.

 

The exhibit continues through August 25.

Artisans at the Dahmen Barn is a non-profit creativity center on highway 195 in Uniontown in the big white barn behind the famous iron wheel fence.  The three storey facility is fully handicap accessible and has no daily admission fee.  It is open Thursday through Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm.  Information:  www.artisanbarn.org or 509-229-3414.