Angels, Analogies, and Anthologies

I’ve known Robyn Campbell for several years. We first met each other through blogging and then she joined my online writing support group. Over the years, I’ve learned about her son who has Sturge-Weber syndrome. He’s constantly dealing with scary symptoms, tests, more tests. And she’s constantly dealing with making decisions between something with bad side effects and something else with bad side effects, or worse. As a parent, we want to fix our children. 

What do you do when there is no fix?

Recently, Robyn decided to put together an anthology to raise $ for the foundation Sturge-Weber Foundation that provides hope for the families of children who suffer from this disease. I wanted to be a part of it. 

To find out more, read Robyn’s post HERE.

As everyone wrote and revised and shared what they wrote, I started a stressful teaching job. I felt like I wasn’t helping as much with the anthology as I could have. Even with my busy schedule, I critiqued and was impressed by quite a few authors’ pieces. The energy from everyone amazed me.

Finally the time arrived for the cover reveal.

At the same time, I began dealing with someone who had a personal crisis. I thought of Robyn and her son many times over these weeks. I, too, often felt powerless to help and felt like I had no idea if any decision I made was actually the right decision. So much of my energy was turned inward.

I missed the cover reveal.

Slowly, the personal crisis seems to be ending. So here I am.

I want to get the word out that there's a wonderful anthology for children at a reasonable price in both  Paperback and Kindle. 

There’s some nice artwork in there too. As you think about supporting charities as the year ends, please buy this anthology and/or DONATE.

The Kissed by an Angel anthology includes 10 stories and one poem featuring children who are gifted or have special powers. Some are ordinary people, others are extraordinary, and several aren’t what they seem to be. Read on and be enchanted. Wander with us onto a magical island ship, uncover an amazing secret, and solve a very fishy mystery. Discover a World War II codebreaker, captivating garden, time machine, undercover agents, bug master, plus more. And meet a special boy who was kissed by an angel. This anthology benefits the Sturge-Weber Foundation. Children who have Sturge-Weber are born with a port wine birthmark, which varies in color and size, and stays with them their whole lives. “You were kissed by an angel” is how author Robyn Campbell explained to her son Christopher, who suffers from Sturge-Weber syndrome, about his tell-tale birthmark. He is the creative genius who helped choose some of the names of the characters, and he is our inspiration.

Pssst... my story has the magical island ship!

Amazon purchase details  HERE.

Thank you for your support. 

P.S.  For a thorough post by our editor, Lynn Kelly, click  HERE.

Charms!

I'm sorry I've been AWOL. School made life extra hectic, but I'm off for a month, so YaY! 

This summer, writer Robyn Campbell told me about the Charms Project that Sally Odgers  put together. The anthology wasn't about profit, but for the love of creating stories. 

When I mentioned that Lenny Lee would be part of the project to my daughter, Mia, she asked if she could write a story. Though Mia would be the youngest contributor, Sally agreed. Mia chose a wolf charm as her inspiration and wrote her story. After a little cajoling, she accepted some of my feedback and revised a few times. Then  Sharon Mayhew  offered her more feedback. Soon her story was done.

Mia is proud that even though she’s the youngest author, her story was gory enough to have to be included in the 3^rd volume, suitable for older readers.

Mia’s piece is called “The Pursuit.” Here’s her bio:

I chose the wolf charm because I love animals. Wolves speak to me, maybe because dogs are one of my favorite animals. A Husky, which resembles a wolf, is my favorite dog. My wolf story for the Charms anthology has fantasy in it. Those are the types of stories I tend to read the most.

I’ve always liked to write. When I’m an adult, I want to be an engineer or do something related to science, but I hope to write at least part time.

           

I’m a sixth-grader who takes ballet and Taekwondo lessons. Since I have learned how to be strong and defend myself, I like to create characters that are tough. I don’t like damsels in distress!

           

My piece is called “First Star.” Here’s what I say about it in my bio:

I chose the star charm because as a child, I believed in the power of wishing upon the first star. As I got older, I realized that wishes came true with hard work and determination. But I still love gazing at the night’s sky. My favorite constellation is Orion’s Belt. 

If I could fulfill one wish for myself, it would be to make a living writing for children and teens full time. With continued hard work and perseverance, I hope I achieve it.

This story is dedicated to my sister, Kathleen, who helped me capture the big sister-little sister dynamic in this story. (Tess/Kate and Theresa/Kathleen, get it?)

The books are available in 3 volumes. Here’s the premise:

Hannah, Josh, Immy and Ashton met when their parents formed the syndicate to restore an old house and reinvent it as a boutique hotel. While the adults worked downstairs, the children found a mysterious treasure in the attic; a crock of charms. Every charm had a story.

Volume One tells the story of the first week in the attic, and offers stories for younger readers. (Susan Leonard Hill is in Volume 2.) Volume Two contains stories, poems and pictures most suitable for mid-grade readers. (Sharon and Robyn are in volume 2.)

In this third volume of Charms, the crock and the children are back. A problem threatens the syndicate and there are new adventures as Josh and Hannah go beyond the curtain to enter the world of the stories. Charms is a collection of stories, poems and illustrations by a wide variety of contributors. It is also a fantasy novel

in three volumes, though each can stand alone. Volume Three contains stories, poems and pictures most suitable for older readers. (Mia, Lenny, and I are in Volume 3.)

It was fun to write and critique these stories with a bunch of my favorite writing friends and my daughter. I hope you enjoy our pieces!

You can only get a copy by contacting 

one of the writers who is in the book. 

(So if you want a copy you'll have to let me 

know and I'll sell it at cost plus shipping.)

If you’re interested, email me at tmilstein at gmail dot com. Cost is $13.18 + shipping.

Sharon is having a giveaway to win Volume 2 on her blog.  Please visit!