The Young Writers’ Camps given by the Hudson Valley Writing Project www.newpaltz.edu/hvwp/  offer a variety of writing experiences to children from second grade through high school.

And this week, I got to be a part of it!

Two amazing teachers, Nicole Smith and Rebecca Quackenbush, created an exciting week of writing activities for the youngest group of writers.  We had twelve children, including students going into second, third, and fourth grade.

The theme was Seven Wonders of the World.  We took virtual tours of some very exciting places: the Great Barrier Reef, Mount Everest, and Victoria Falls, among others.  The children engaged in related art activities and wrote about them and themselves in different genres.

For me, participating in this workshop would have been enjoyable enough, but I also got to speak to the group about my publishing process.  I told them how I’d first written the book that became Tangled in Magic for my godchildren.  I handmade a copy for each of them.

I showed the students a copy of the book I made.

The original title was The Three Seductions.  I had in mind Agatha’s quest to find her brother when I chose that title, because she was lured away from her quest by comfort, romance, and danger.

If you’ve read Tangled in Magic, you’ll recognize the two heroic birds, Archer and Carl the Third.  I drew the members of the two main families, mostly to keep them straight in my own mind.

It’s been such a fabulous experience seeing this book published.

Thank you, Tevin and Nicole of Handersen Publishing!