Missed you all!

Been away for a while and a bit out of touch.  The nasty flu that has been going around hit my house full force. All four of us took turns being sick, we like to share, but we are all better now!

I am currently working on a third book, with the working title, Nightmares and Ivory. ""Nightmares and Ivory," is centered around Calbert's brother Jason and is full of action, comedy, danger, suspense, fear and the beings of first love and is geared toward YA.  Nightmares and Ivory is due out in the spring of 2013.

Calbert: The Third-Grade Cowboy/Facing the Bully  is being developed into a series of books dealing with a variety of social issues facing young students, with a dab of humor here and there.

The series is called, "The Adventures of Calbert." Volume One t is already available on NOOK, "Facing the Bully," and yes, it is the same book as "Calbert: The Third-Grade Cowboy." Volume two is scheduled to be out early summer 2013.

New Addition to our family

Calbert continues to have one adventure after another.  Today it just happens to the case of the missing gloves. =)  I am starting a series entitled 'The Adventures of Calbert,' the first in the series is "Facing the Bully."  After a little re-tweaking Calbert: The Third-Grade Cowboy (Facing the Bully), it has been released as Facing the Bully (The Adventures of Calbert).  Here's a little look at the new guy!

Why Do Bullies Act That Way?

Following is from the wonderful web-site http://kidshealth.org Check it out, it has wonderful information and advice for kids, parents and teachers. 

"Some bullies are looking for attention. They might think bullying is a way to be popular or to get what they want. Most bullies are trying to make themselves feel more important. When they pick on someone else, it can make them feel big and powerful."

"Some bullies come from families where everyone is angry and shouting all the time. They may think that being angry, calling names, and pushing people around is a normal way to act. Some bullies are copying what they've seen someone else do. Some have been bullied themselves."

"Sometimes bullies know that what they are doing or saying hurts other people. But other bullies may not really know how hurtful their actions can be. Most bullies don't understand or care about the feelings of others"

"Bullies often pick on someone they think they can have power over. They might pick on kids who get upset easily or who have trouble sticking up for themselves. Getting a big reaction out of someone can make bullies feel like they have the power they want. Sometimes bullies pick on someone who is smarter than they are or different from them in some way. Sometimes bullies just pick on a kid for no reason at all."

Bully and Victum Trapped Together!

Calbert and Ernie enter the storage room.  The door closes behind them.  Suddenly, the fire alarm starts blaring and the boys realize they are trapped in the storage room, as the school burns around them.  There is only one way out, though a small window high in the room.  Ernie lifts Calbert up and pushes him out through the window.  As Calbert runs from the burning building, Ernie wonders if the boy, he has mistreated so badly, will continue to run to safety or will he come back to get me?

Calbert: The Third-Grade Cowboy (Facing the Bully)

Through the Eyes of a Child!

This story is told through the eyes of a third grader named Calbert.  He must face Ernie everyday at school.  Until the day comes when a teacher, not knowing about the relationship between the two boys, sends them on an errand to the storage room.  Calbert: The-Third Grade Cowboy (Facing the Bully)

How would you Feel?

How would you feel if the boy you bullied, day in and day out, would untimely decide if you would live or die?  Calbert: The Third-Grade Cowboy (Facing the Bully)

Off to the Big Apple

I will be heading to New York City early Friday morning for a two day conference/pitch.  I will be speaking to producers and agents about Calbert and Facing the Bully.  Very exciting.  I have never been to New York and am very grateful to have this opportunity!  Never know what might become of the trip, I will also have the opportunity to meet other authors, which I think is pretty cool. =) 

Bullying goes to Far!

Facing the Bully!

FEAR sets in for CALBERT as his Bully appears!

“Hey, look there!”  I say as some bad guys come into view from the cornfield.  I sink lower in the tree so that the outlaws can’t see me.  I pull my pistol from its holster, and bang bang bang, I got him.  He won’t be bothering anybody anymore.

Hey, Jason and Ethan are making a fort. “Wait a minute.  I’m coming over to play with you.”  Jason loves to build teepees and shelters.  He is two years older than I am and knows all about those kinds of things.  “Hey, Jason, do you remember the time we made an oven outside using a rock?  I hope we get to do that again.  It was so cool!”

“Sure, but next time, we are going to

have to wash the rock off first.  The dirt made them a little crunchy from the last time.”  Jason laughs.

Jason is being too bossy and Ethan keeps tearing down my part of the fort.  “I’m not playing with you guys anymore.”  I tell Jason.

“Go ahead ‘Shorty’.”  Jason replies

“My legs may be short, but I can run faster than you,” I tell Jason.  The new shoes got last weekend make me even faster.

There go our two dogs barking again, I wonder what they are after this time.  Maybe they have cornered an animal, or just maybe something is going on I need to take care of with my six-shooters.  “Nolan, Star!”  I yell as I start walking toward the dogs.

I am almost at the gate when I see the very familiar red bike coming toward the house.  It’s Ernie.  I think he is the meanest kid in the third grade. My stomach’s starting to get that funny feeling I always get whenever he is around.  My heart is racing, and my hands are beginning to sweat.  I wonder what he is doing at my house.  But I feel brave because Ernie never picks on me when

my Mom is around.  She's one of the teachers at our school.

          Slowly, I begin walking up to the gate. In my loudest, toughest voice, I shout, “Who’s there?”  The kid doesn’t answer me.  I can’t see Ernie’s face very well, but I am pretty sure that is his bike.  The rider on the bike has on a light-blue jacket with the hood up over his head.  I can’t remember ever seeing Ernie with a light-blue jacket.

“What do you want?”  I ask in my toughest cowboy voice.  “Why did you come to my house?”  But this time, I say it under my breath so he can’t hear.

What does Ernie really need?

Thought-provoking and entertaining as well, Calbert: The Third-Grade Cowboy tackles a timely and serious subject of school bullying to which parents of children and children themselves can actually relate with. Calbert’s story will awaken the minds of the readers to an alarming situation that continues to exist not only in the school system but generally, in today’s society. Furthermore, it represents to readers an arresting story that depicts two contrasting personalities in Calbert, an adopted child showered with love by his family and friendship by his peers and Ernie, a child longing for love from his family and friendship from others but doesn’t get one therefore ends up being the school bully.

A Cowboys Work is Never Done...Chapter 1

         “Bang bang bang!”  I shout.  I pull my six-shooters out of my holster and dart around the corner to my older brother’s bedroom.  “Take that!”  I say, pointing my pistol at imaginary bad guys.”  Jason yells at me, “Get lost, kid!”

“Kid!  Who are you calling a kid?  I am Calbert, the toughest cowboy in the Third

grade,”   yell back at him.  “Even my name    means ‘cowboy,’ so there.”

 I move into the kitchen.  You never know what kind of outlaw may have stopped in for a bite.  Especially if they had fresh baked chocolate chip cookies on their minds.  “Bang bang bang!”  I shoot again, only to find my little brother staring back at me.  He's the real “kid” around here.  Ethan is two years younger than I am and very annoying.

Ethan just looks at me and says, “Calbert, Calbert, Calbert, will you play with me?”

“If you'll play cowboys,” I say.

“No way,” Ethan replies and then hops out of the kitchen.

I sure don’t know what Mom was thinking when she adopted Ethan along with Jason and me.  We have always been brothers, but this was our chance to get rid of him—wish we could give him back!  Actually, I do kind of like him, but I’m not going tell him that!

 “Yay, it's Saturday,” I yell as I run outside.  My teacher likes me, and I have lots of friends, but there is this one kid that likes to pick on me sometimes. On Saturdays, I don’t have to worry about Ernie at all, just about having fun.

I love to play “shoot ’em up” games like cowboy games.  My black cowboy hat fits me just perfectly, except for the flat part on top. Thanks a lot, Ethan!

Live or Die...by way of the Bully

But, when Calbert and Ernie found themselves trapped together in a fire at the school building during a dress rehearsal for a school program, they must find a way to work together to escape with their lives.  Will Calbert and Ernie be able to put aside their differences, in order to survive? Or will they end up being burn into ashes?

Why does Ernie Bully Calbert?

Calbert wonders why he is Ernie’s favorite victim at school. He learns from Roland, his trusted friend that Ernie’s dad died a couple of years ago, and Chuck, his step dad doesn’t really like him mostly because Ernie  looks like his real dad, and he has the same name as him. It makes Chuck jealous of Ernie’s dad. Sometimes he gets really mad at Ernie for no reason. He doesn’t have any true friends except for Munch, his pet dog.

The Bully

Calbert: The Third--Grade Cowboy  tells the story of an average school boy named Calbert who is fond of playing a cowboy with his buddy Roland during the weekends but is afraid to go to school during weekdays because he always must find a way to face down Ernie, the certified school bully. Ernie makes life unbearable for Calbert in many ways, but he especially enjoys picking on him for being an adopted child. He always makes fun of Calbert for being adopted and says that neither Calbert’s birth mom nor his adoptive mom wanted him and his brothers.

New York here I Come!

Yesterday, I was invited to the Big Apple to present Calbert: The Third-Grade Cowboy.  I have tentatively accepted, because this small town women is very nervous about not only going to New York City for the first time,  but also presenting my book to professionals in the field.  However, nothing ventured is nothing gained!  So, I will be heading to New York next month for two days. 

Calbert vs. The Bully!

Thought-provoking and entertaining as well, Calbert: The Third-Grade Cowboy tackles a timely and serious subject of school bullying to which parents of children and children themselves can actually relate with. Go and grab this arresting read!

Calbert: The Third-Grade Cowboy: Facing the Bully

 Buy the Book

Bullying is Always a Big Deal!!

The boys and I are back at school.  They are there as students and I'm there as a teacher.  We have been back now for an entire week.  We seem to start earlier and earlier every year, but we are off to a great start.  I have noticed that the kids are starting to "stake their claim" and the attention once again has been turned to bullying.  However, a bright and hopeful spot, is that the children in my school who have read my book have been coming to me when they are faced with bullies.  The trust we had before seems even stronger now.  I am very proud of all my students and wish them all a bully free year!

Calbert: The Third-Grade Cowboy/Facing the Bully

Back to School Time!

Time has come for my boys to be enrolled in school and for all of us to venture out for school supplies.  The boys are very excited, however all I see is $$ flying out the door.  We are all excited and hopeful for the new year.  I am a teacher at my kids school, so playing the teacher/parent roles are sometimes tricky.  Now comes the time for all students to start heading back to school, this includes bullies and would be bullies.  It's the time of year kids that are being bullied are afraid to go back to school.  School bullying is a problem, no matter where you liver or where you are from, someone in your life is facing bullying in some form.  Be close to your kids, watch for changes that might indicate they are having a problem with a bully.  Have wonderful start to the new school year!

Mission Disney World!

I am using all the funds from my books to take my boys to Disney World.  A bit like killing two birds with one stone, I love to write and could get a vacation out of it too!  How cool would that be?  Working my third book, but this one is going to take some time, in chapter 4 but have barely scratched the surface of this book.  This book is about Jason, Calbert's older brother.  That is Calbert of Calbert: The Third-Grade Cowboy/Facing the Bully!  My new web-site is up and running.  Check it out!
http://www.calbertthethirdgradecowboy.com/