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Tamra Norton
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March 11th, 2008

A Letter From The White House

3/11/08 02:35 pm
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By Tamra Norton


Yup--you read that subject line right! I got a letter in the mail yesterday from LAURA BUSH! :D Since she used to be a children's librarian and since my book deals with deployment, I decided to send her a copy of my latest children's novel, MAKE ME A HOME (signed, of course with just the right amount of sucking up.) :)

So what did I find in my mailbox today but a huge envelope with the words THE WHITE HOUSE in the upper left hand corner. The first thing I found inside was an autographed picture from our first lady, and I thought, what?! But then I noticed a smaller piece of stationary (with the embossed presidential seal at the top) and a personal letter from Mrs. Bush! Come on, come on--I know you want me to tell you what it said. Okay, you talked me into it...

Dear Ms. Norton

Thank you for your letter and the inscribed copy of your book, Make Me a Home. You are kind to think of me, and I appreciate your generosity.

President Bush and I are grateful for your words of support. He joins me in sending best wishes.

Sincerely,
Your BFF,
Laura Bush (only it's not typed! It's her John Hancock--right there at the bottom of my letter!!! Okay, and I added the BFF part, BUT I'm sure that after she actually READS my book, she's going to like me so much that she'll invite me to The White House to eat some BBQ with her and "W"! I can't wait!!! :)
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January 29th, 2008

Rethinking School Visits

1/29/08 02:25 pm
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Some authors can--and do--charge upwards of $1000 for a one-day author visit to a school. I'll be completely honest--I hope to be one of these authors some day. Because that will mean that kids everywhere know about my books and are reading them. Can it get any better than that (besides becoming a rock star)?


I LOVE the interaction with children that a school visit provides. Over the past 2 years I've spoken to approximately 15,000 students at over 2 dozen schools. I love reading to them, and hearing them laugh at all the right places. I love seeing the spark in the eye of a future Katherine Paterson or Richard Peck as I discuss the importance of "spilling blood" (...as in red ink... Okay, it's really called editing or "making corrections"), setting goals, naming characters (hint--don't name the "bad guy" after someone you know, especially if you really don't like them), and how awesome it is to go to work in your pajamas--my favorite part about being an author!


This March I'm going to be in Utah for a week to speak at the LDStorymaker's Writer's Conference on the topic of Writing for Children and Youth on Real World Issues. When planning my trip, I figured in 2 days before the conference and 2 days after the conference to do school visits. I plan on attending 8 elementary schools somewhere between Ogden and Spanish Fork, doing 2 assemblies at each school...and I'm NOT going to charge $1000. Gasp! (Yeah, did I mention I actually want to get IN to the school.) For this mini Utah book tour, not only am I doing the school visits for FREE, I'm even sending the schools 4 complementary copies of my books Make Me a Memory and Make Me a Home (recently released) a few months ahead of my visit.


WHY? You ask.


Because my purpose of this book tour is to spread the word about my books! In order to spread the word somewhere, the door has to be open first. And even if you have an open door, it doesn't mean that the lights will be on, the heater humming, and a punch and cookie spread on the table top. I've done enough school visits over the last few years to know that if the students have read (or been read to) from my books, the energy goes up a notch--no, a gash! Only this gash feels GREAT! They're excited to meet you. The questions are so much more meaningful. The interaction that much more exciting. And, hey, they often want a copy of the book for themselves. A good thing, as I see it.


So if you live in Utah, somewhere between Ogden and Spanish Fork, and want me to speak at your child's school FOR FREE in March, drop me a line at tamra AT tamranorton DOT com. And if you're a blossoming author, get your feet wet doing some school visits. It's likely the closest feeling you'll ever have to being a rock star.
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