It’s #FictionFriday in Connie’s Corner where I hope to share with you some of what I’m currently working on in my writers studio as well as reviews and text cuts from interesting books or articles that I’ve read. Much of what I have written personally, in the way of fiction, relates to children growing up and their individual play and exploration of who they are and who they will become. My first attempt at putting stories down on paper goes back to when my son Aaron was about four years old. We lived on a remote homestead property in the coast range mountains close to Tillamook, Oregon. Since there were no close neighborhood children to play with, Aaron became very good at creating his own friends and assorted adventures. That is where I first heard about, and then grew to love the Adventures of Danny, Duck and I and the amazing stories of the Pig-Loop-De-Doops-Stoops. In my rare moments of free time between animal chores, teaching piano lessons and just general family farm life, I would hand write out a series of adventure stories as relayed to me by Aaron after a long day of imaginative play. I dabbled in trying to get them published for several years and then the business of life took over and my manuscripts found a place in the back of the file cabinet…until recently. Maybe, just maybe, it’s time to take a fresh new look at these scribbles and with a new generation of an Aaron in my life (my grandson), I can begin to see about sharing these adventures with the world.
So for the first time ever in the public eye, here is an excerpt from Danny, Duck and I; The Desert Adventure by Connie Nice
“We set out early one summer morning. Danny, Duck and I. The birds sang us a happy morning song as we hiked through the tall green grass of the fields by our house. Our feet got a little wet from the dew that still clung to the slender blades of grass, but we didn’t care. We were looking for an adventure.
I hoped we wouldn’t be gone too long. Mom had said she was making tuna sandwiches for lunch. I love tuna sandwiches. Even a boy on an adventure has to come home for tuna sandwiches.”
You will have to come back and stay tuned to find out where they ended up and what sort of adventure they did find.
As for books I have read recently. At the writers’ retreat that I attended last weekend with Jennifer Lauck, she encouraged me to read a short children’s novel by Kate DiCamillo called The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. I immediately downloaded it to my Kindle and Sunday when I returned from the retreat I sat down and read this beautiful and engaging book. While this story is similar to The Velveteen Rabbit, it had a very different angle and I was immediately pulled into the story. At first I didn’t even like the china rabbit named Edward Tulane, but by the end of the book I found myself wanting to hold him, hug him, and love him. I think that while this book can be read by children a bit older (age 7-10, grade 2-5), I can’t wait to share The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane with my grandson on our next special Grandma day. I found a little youtube video someone created that gives you just a glimpse of what the story is about, put together with music by Jim Brickman (my favorite contemporary pianist and composer). Enjoy!
Now for me, I will get back to writing. Have a great #FictionFriday. Turn off the TV and computer and take time today to read a great book in your home.
[button link=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBXhBxil_6Y” type=”big” newwindow=”yes”] The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane[/button]
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