Tag: Writing

LET’S GO!

On By Sue AgauasIn Fun Posts, Life Lessons, Post of the Month1 Comment

Hey! Wait for me, 2023!

While I was still singing Auld Lang Syne, January 2023 started its journey toward December!

Hey, wait up, I call out to the New Year! I didn’t figure out my goals, plans, and dreams, yet, for the next 12 months. 

2023 isn’t listening.
2023 is almost stepping into February.
How did that happen? 

This 2023 is a tricky fellow, I mumble.
I snatch up my creative self, 

As my thoughts swivel to 2022’s unfinished “to do” list.

I reflect, 2022 had some rocky stretches. 

Last year’s paths weren’t always flourishing! 

I ran into some dead ends! 

And my creative babies weren’t always beautiful. 

2023 ignored my whining, deliberately advancing.

Finally, I shouted in frustration, “2023, you just keep going!”

Did I note a flicker of hesitation in the new year’s step? Was that a wink I detected in the twinkle of new year’s eye?

Aha! I get it!
I remember, now!
How many times must I relearn this lesson? It’s impossible to go forward if I’m always looking back! 

2023 offers me a daily invitation:
JUST START! 


So, with toes to the line and setting eyes forward, 

Go!

Meet a DEAD END?

Don’t stop.
Don’t bother to despair.

Look for the DETOUR,


and keep moving forward.

Thanks, 2023, you’ve got the right idea.
Keep… moving… forward…

What exciting possibilities await, if I dare to accept 2023’s challenge?

So, Let’s Go!

Wishing you a delightfully adventurous journey through 2023!
JUST START!

The Wonderful Challenges of November

On By Sue AgauasIn Fun Posts, Life Lessons, Post of the Month, Writing1 Comment

The eye records the trees waving and relinquishing the last of their brilliant fall foliage.

Squirrels scamper across lawns, vigorously tamping nuts into the earth.

Geese gather under apple trees gobbling up the sweet goodness of unclaimed fruit.

Flocks of red chested robins flit through treetops as they pass through the neighborhood chirping a final farewell on their flight to southern warmth. 

Dropping temperatures hint at advancing winter whiteness. 

From experience we remember. 
A season is closing, another arising.

The eye sees, but the heart must choose. 

I’m accepting two November challenges.

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) begins November 1.

Along with writers all over the world, I accept the personal challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in thirty days. 
Ridiculous? Yes!
Difficult? Yes!
But a challenge that holds many benefits with its struggles.

November is also National Gratitude Month.  

Thanksgiving Day is November’s most famous day for giving thanks. 
This year, I’m challenging myself to practice thankfulness every day in November.
An interruption before getting busy with “important” things?
Definitely.
A bother to recite the obvious?
Possibly.But choosing to see blessings, whatever size, will bring to profit my heart.

I hope you join with me in the “Thankful Challenge” for November.

Sterling Heights Local Author Book Sale: A Fun Summer Event For All

On By Sue AgauasIn Author Events, Author Fair1 Comment

I was excited to be one of the authors at the Local Author Book Sale hosted by the Sterling Heights Public Library during the weekend of SterlingFest on July 30, 2022. We had a wonderful time and it was so nice to connect with both readers as well as other local authors.

The Sterling Heights Public Library did a wonderful job of putting the event together. I would like to offer special thanks to Terry Hojnacki, author and volunteer event coordinator for the Local Author Book Sale. She made sure everything went smoothly and that the event was a great success.

Plenty of smiles and engaging conversations occurred on this beautiful summer day as I met with readers of all ages. It was exciting to share my book, Grandma’s Sock Drawer, with people and to sell signed copies.

I also shared pictures of Evert, a character that’s a shrew, from my upcoming book that will be published in 2023. I’m so excited to share this adventure with young readers!

We also had coloring sheets, a word search, candy, and lots of fun items at our table. My husband came along to help set things up and to cheer me on. We both enjoyed meeting people on such a lovely summer day.

Please watch my calendar and sign up for my newsletter for details of upcoming book signings and author visits. In the meanwhile, enjoy this beautiful summer weather and happy reading!

National Day of Joy

On By Sue AgauasIn Fun Posts, Life LessonsLeave a comment

When I heard June had a National Day of Joy, my thoughts sprang immediately to summertime fun of childhood.

Endless hours playing outside with friends. 

Favorite sweet treats. 

Tranquil times, lost in nature and a good book.

Music of my own making.

Fancy feet flying to the rhythm of my heart.

Roasting marshmallows at night by the glimmer of fireflies over dimming campfire embers.

But the Comfort Keepers had something more in mind when they created this day in 2019. These dedicated caregivers for seniors encouraged all to experience the simple joys that are present, even in hard times, if we take the time to look. Like a ready smile,

that turns easily into contagious laughter.

The Comfort Keepers urge us to see and love the family that surrounds us every day.

On this National Day of Joy, let’s remember that a simple kindness may mean more than we will ever know.

Marvelous May

On By Sue AgauasIn Life Lessons, Post of the MonthLeave a comment

During my many years as a student, then continuing throughout my teaching career,
the end of May has always triggered an excitement within me.

Michigan cold is finally being shaken loose. 
Summertime warmth is taking its place.

Memorial Day, especially, marked the countdown to the anticipated freedom from school.

Freedom from routine, homework, tests, and all other mental gymnastics required to prove a year of academic success.

Memorial Day was the holiday that opened the door to glimpse the approach of a much needed vacation.

It was a celebration of the arrival of summer and another school year’s completion.

It was the springboard to dive into summer fun.

It promised time with family and friends in the lazy days of summer.

But Memorial Day is much more than these. 

Memorial Day is a time to remember those from the past, that made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms I enjoy today.

A day to remember and be thankful. 

Though I say it to ears that no longer hear.

Thank you.

April Slips Into May

On By Sue AgauasIn Life Lessons, Picture BooksLeave a comment

Good bye, April, thanks for all the fun!  

Your raindrops made great puddles.
Perfect for cooling off, running through, and splashing in. 

Even though your rain made for a bad-feather day, I liked it just the same. 

Once you take the plunge, wet is best from head to toe.

Perhaps my swinging life was put on hold,

But inside a book I soared to places new to explore.

Truly, your April showers will bring many May flowers,

And soon I’ll trade my rain umbrella for one in the sun.

Where Students Shine and Learning is Fun!

On By Sue AgauasIn Books by Author Sue Agauas, School Visits, WritingLeave a comment

      On Friday, March 25, 2022, it was my privilege to visit an elementary school for March Is Reading Month. It was a day for me to share the joy of reading and writing books. It was also a chance to share the wonder and power of books to take us on adventures. 

     Using my books Grandma’s Sock Drawer and A Home For Evert as examples, the classes and I explored the steps of the writing process together.

Learning is Fun!

     Students from kindergarten through the fifth grade were the shining stars of each presentation, sharing with me their attentiveness, energy, and enthusiasm. 

     We embarked on the adventure of writing beginning with the hunt for an idea, looking far and near to discover ideas that are all around us and within. 

Time to put on the Idea Hat!

     Once we found our Best, Most Exciting, Fabulous Idea in the World we were ready to write it down and then share it with friends and teachers. It was after this sharing that we discovered that our Most Fabulous, Best Idea in the World needed some work. 
     “Should we throw our story away?” I asked when we found out it wasn’t perfect. 

     “NO!” agreed every class.

     So, we put on our working hardhat and erased and changed our stories until they were the best they could be. 

Time to figure things out with our Working Hardhat.

     “How many times do we fix our story?” I’d ask. “Once? Twice?”
     “Until it’s right!” the children encouraged me.

     We talked about the differences between Fiction and Nonfiction. We discovered that a writer could use facts, even in their fiction story, just like I did with my shrew, Evert.

Talking about writing fiction and nonfiction.

     After reading scenes from my published book Grandma’s Sock Drawer and A Home for Evert, my newest story in the process of revision, we celebrated with applause for the wonders of words and their ability to whisk us away to new and exciting worlds. 

      My elementary friends and I parted with renewed interest in books and the writing process that creates them. 

     We all agreed that learning can be fun.

Reading Grandma’s Sock Drawer to the students.

February Blew By!

On By Sue AgauasIn Life Lessons, WritingLeave a comment

I raced through February on my annual Picture Book Marathon. 
Ran past the groundhog’s forecast of spring. 
Jogged through tales of historic Black Americans.
Lingered long in expressions of love. 
Cheered and clapped as teams blocked and blazed their way to touchdowns.
Skated, skied, twisted and twirled, with U.S. Olympians in Beijing.
Shoveled snow, enjoyed unexpected puddles before they crystalized to ice.
Then with a nod to past presidents’ birthdays I skid to a halt.
Teetering on the edge of February 2022, I pause.

What wonders will March bring?

Batches of paczki?
Emerging crocuses defying the snow?
Shall I trade snowflakes for shamrocks; drifts of snow for bundles of green?
Will lion-like winds lift kites wildly on high?
New life emerges all around.
New possibilities to explore.
Clutching my newest story in hand I wonder…

Good-bye, Fantastic February. 
It’s time to meet Marvelous March!

Welcome 2022

On By Sue AgauasIn Life Lessons1 Comment

Welcome 2022
Wow! 
Celebrating the holidays mid-January with my family was so delightful but now
January is bowling into February with a striking crash!

Before we plow into the cascading snows or Valentine hearts of the coming month I’d like to recognize, one more time, the season of gift-giving.

It never is the brilliantly wrapped packages, the size or expense, that cheers my heart to trumpeting heights. Like many, it isn’t even the gifts that make the season so special. For as the years march on, it becomes more evident that things in packages are not the items at the top of my wish list.

So as the months of 2022 unfold, I resolve to continue the season of gift giving. Focusing on the most valuable and intangible gifts:

Time, available, unmeasured, unhurried.
A listening ear.
A helping hand.
An understanding smile.
A kind word.
Eyes that seek for good.
A heart eager to forget offenses.
Love, selfless and unrestrained.
Hugs in times of joy or through sorrow’s shadows.
Cheers for attempts.
Thanksgiving for success.
Songs of beauty for the minute and mammoth.

Beneficiaries:
Family, friends, the many we pass each day on streets, in stores, in travels, or neighborhood.

So, may gift-giving abound, to all and in each day of the year!

A Big Thank You To My Loyal Supporters

On By Sue AgauasIn Writing Contest1 Comment

To all loyal supporters of Grandma’s Sock Drawer:

THANK YOU!

                      THANK YOU!          

                                           THANK YOU!

Thank you for your attention, efforts, and support in voting for 

Grandma’s Sock Drawer over the past seven months.

Your faithful voting put this book into the top ten for the Author Elite Award.

I have felt you cheering my book to the finish line throughout these months and it has thrilled and encouraged me.

Once again, thank you for your expression of love and well wishes for my book’s success.

From one who is used to a slower pace of life,

thank you for joining me on this thrilling adventure.

I look forward to sharing more of Sukey’s adventures with you in the near future!