Florida Writing Conference

The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) is a wonderful organization for children's writers. They have chapters in each state and the regional events are wonderful ways to improve your craft of writing, network with others in the industry and market your books.

I'll be attending the SCBWI FLORIDA ILLUSTRATOR'S INTENSIVES 2-DAY NOVEL REVISION INTENSIVE AND MID-YEAR WORKSHOP on June 19 and 20, 2009 at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort Walt Disney World.

I'll be there for the Saturday's workshop, so don't hesitate to say hello if you go!

Visit: http://www.scbwiflorida.com/jun09.html

Fun at the Equine Affaire in Ohio!

What a great time I had with Carole Fletcher and her friend Sue at the Columbus Equine Affaire last week. I assisted Carole at the demo rings where she had her two trick horses performed for the large audiences.

Magnifico is a Peruvian Paso stallion and besides tricks demonstrated in-hand, Carole also gave a mounted performance with the bow, laying down and Spanish walk among other tricks. In the small ring, he pivoted on his forehand both on the ground and on the pedestal with one front leg extended out. Another trick was the pivot with his front legs crossed. He certainly loved the applause!

Carole's Miniature Horse, Hercules, is also a stallion and he delighted the crowds with his tiny sneakers and ball cap. He smiled, answered yes and no and sat on a beanbag. Carole had him bow and lay down, and he also made slam dunks with his basketball! Several kids were invited one at a time in the ring by Carole to cue Hercules for his tricks, and the delighted children were thrilled to be "trick horse trainers" for a few moments!

Her booth was very busy as people came by to ask Carole questions and buy her Trickonometry books and DVDs. Visit: http://www.trickhorse.com/ Carole and her husband, Gary, reside at Singing Saddles Ranch in Reddick, Florida, near Ocala.

I met many wonderful people who shared stories about their special horses; I hope they e-mail me so I can include them in my next book, BELOVED HORSES IN SECOND CAREERS!

HORSE exhibit at Carnegie Mueum of Natural History

I had a fantastic time in Pittsburgh and the HORSE exhibit was outstanding! I signed copies of my horse books, did face and hand paintings of horses and dogs from my books and Girl Scouts earned a Horse Fan badge by hearing stories from my books.

I was also able to reconnect with friends from the Pennsylvania Equine Council who had an Education Booth there. Local stable owner, Beverly Patrick from Upsom Downs Stable, provided three horses for the booth and for a blacksmithing demo. That's me with her horse, Sir Portly, who is featured in my second Beloved Horses book. It was exciting to finally meet him!

The first photo is Roger explaining how to drive a horse, the second photo is girls from a Pony Club visiting my booth, the third is the PEC booth with Rosie enjoying all the pettings while Mike Kraft answers questions, and several Girl Scout troops earned their badge while listening to my stories.

Many thanks to Kerry from the museum for inviting me, to Bev and her husband for their gracious hospitality and to the helpful volunteers Iris, Collen and Mastov (sorry if spelled wrong!) at my booth.

Spring Events I'll be Attending - See you there!

I'm so excited about the spring equine events I'll be attending! I'm staying in Tampa area for at least a year to be close to the Miner family (lots of celebrations - son, Garret, in remission from cancer; grandaughter, Erin, & Jay's wedding; new greatgrandchildren etc) but will be flying north for these upcoming events:

Equustravaganza

Saturday, March 21, 2009 11 a.m.–5 p.m.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History

4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213

In honor of the temporary exhibit The Horse, CMNH will feature a free festival of all things horse! Equustravaganza will spotlight an array of equine activities, including shoeing, grooming, tack, conformation, video presentations, and more! There will be a farrier shoeing horses, an Equine Education Station from the PA Equine Council that will include a horse, and possibly another horse in the parking lot. Visitors can see video, talk to competitors, try on equipment, learn about tack, breeds, horse care and famous horses.

I'll be doing face & hand painting (including cartoon horse & dogs!), readings and book signings. Also handing out free bookmarks, coloring pages and taking names of horse owners to interview for my next book in the Beloved Horses series.

Some of the other groups expected to participate include:

Western Reserve Carriage Club
Beaver and Allegheny County 4–H
Tri-State Region Pony Club
Horse and Soul
Morgan Horse Association
PA-Ohio Youth Rodeo
Darwin 2009
Ft. Ligonier Museum
PA Equine Council
Western Pennsylvania Dressage Association
In-Stride with Therapeutic Riding
Arab Horse Association
Lipizanner
Kurt Heinsburg
Rolling Rock Hunt Pony Club
Darby Downs Equestrian Center
Dr. Ann Swinker Associate Professor of Equine Sciences, Penn State University
Jason Adam Bannister of Mechanimal
American Saddlebreds
Darlington Polo Club
American Quarter Horse Association

Web site: http://www.carnegiemnh.org/doe/programs/horse.html

EQUINE AFFAIRE®
The Nation's Premiere Equine Exposition & Equestrian Gathering
April 2-5, 2009

Columbus, OH

The 16th annual Equine Affaire in the Midwest will draw tens of thousands of horsepeople to enjoy a world-class educational program and extensive trade show, as well as an entertaining and informative competition.

I'll be with Carole Fletcher (http://www.trickhorse.com/) the renowned trainer, author and clinician. Her story is one of my collection in Beloved Horses from Around the Country. I'll travel with her, Denise Hopkins (another trick horse trainer) and Carole's stallion and Mini. Find me at the event at Carole's booth. I'll be handing out my catalogs and info for interviewing for my next book.

Visit their Web site to learn more and see the schedule of clinics, exhibitions etc.

http://www.equineaffaire.com/ohio/index.html

Please stop by if you attend and say HI! Receive a 50% discount on any one of my books if you mention my Blog!!