Highlights Foundation Archives - Donna Galanti - Where heart and hope meet adventure!

Time Away to Write PLUS Joshua and the Lightning Road is just $.99cents!

First, I am super excited that my publisher has put Joshua and the Lightning Road on sale for the first time ever to celebrate the release of book 2, Joshua and the Arrow Realm this month! You can get the E-book for just $.99cents August 10th through September 20th at these outlets!

Second, I had a productive writing retreat at The Highlights Foundation this past weekend, writing final scenes on the new teen fantasy I hope to finish soon. The book is about a culture that is ruled by inherited memory on a floating island and I am having so much fun with it!

Ahh … Earl Grey tea. Braveheart soundtrack. Pattering of rain with sun showers. Hummingbird in my window. Hawk above. Perfect.

Walks in the woods and through the countryside filled my head with scenes of love, loss, and triumph. I floated back to my cabin, propelled by words in the air.

I love how this tree marking looks like a seagull forever soaring into the unknown … kind of like storytelling. Over and over. It’s where the magic imprints itself on the page buy xanax with discovery. But first, to discover we must venture into the unknown …

There’s something about a cabin all to yourself in the words to let the words flow. Nothing but you and your characters.

But there’s also something to meeting up with old friends – and making new! Here’s my friend Jess Rinker with me, a talented writer to watch out for. Great things are coming from her!

Next week over 20 blogs will participate in the book trailer reveal for Joshua and the Arrow Realm. Can’t wait to share it! There’s a super fun giveaway you’ll want to enter too!

How else can you join in the fun? I’d love for you to support my Thunderclap campaign through social media and zap the world with so many others about the release of Joshua and the Arrow Realm on August 30^th! It’s free and takes seconds to sign up HERE.

Also, if you haven’t visited my Facebook page, I’m sharing snippets of the map of the Arrow Realm plus book excerpts there all month long until book release day. Pop by and see!

Thanks for your support everyone.
xxoo-Donna

Happy Thanksgiving + Travel Adventures!

By Donna Galanti

Happy Thanksgiving! This was me yesterday…

via GIPHY

What are you thankful for this holiday? I’m thankful for my awesome son who is so much fun to watch grow up, my friends who boost me up when times are challenging, and readers like you who take the time to leave reviews. I’m especially thankful for my understanding husband who gives me time away to travel for the writer’s life.

And what a past month it’s been in this writer’s life! A month of spontaneous book research trips, writing retreats, book events, and family travel.

But before I share that I am super excited to share that I know have a release date for book 2, Joshua and the Arrow Realm – May 31^st, 2016! Plus the illustrator, Al Sirois, is working hard on the map of the Arrow Realm for the book. Here are a few early sketches of characters and places in the world!

So back to this past crazy month that involved mostly me, myself, and I (because we writers never travel alone in our heads!) …

Cavaliering through 10 states from the MidAtlantic to the North to the South and back
A trip to a childhood campground home
A historical boat ride lake tour
Hiking to the top of a mountain
Navigating a gorge
Shivering at the foot of snowy Mount Washington
Braking for moose
Strolling the beach in a t-shirt and sandals
Kayaking a lake
Writing 10,000 words on a new novel on a cabin retreat
Driving a U-Haul from North Carolina to Pennsylvania
Teaching a college workshop
Attending a school librarian’s conference
Speaking to a writer’s group

The resurrection of an old manuscript with a story set at a campground prompted me to drop life and head to New Hampshire for book research. The first day was a travel triathlon! Got up on 4 hours of sleep to drive 8 hours through 6 states to then hike a mountain and kayak a lake.

In a blaze of foliage, I stepped back in time to the tiny town of Holderness, where I once lived at a campground my parent owned and operated.

After some sweet talkin’, the new owners let me tour the campground for photos.

I stayed at an adorable cottage on a lake at the White Oak Motel where the water called to me. (see my review here!)

The lakes region of N.H. was just as breathtaking as I remember.

I could have sat on this rock all day. A view to love, so big it brims over inside.

I got on the last historical narrated tour of the season on Lake Squam, where they filmed On Golden Pond.

Here is where Henry Fonda filled up his boat with gas in the movie, and nearly drove the boat through the boat house by accident! They did that scene in one cut. 🙂

Being on Squam Lake brought back vivid memories of the first fish I ever caught with my dad!

I drove the entire majestic White Mountains National Forest highway.

There was snow in them hills and flurrying at the base! I held my breath in awe driving through these massive ancient rocks.

Kept my eyes out for moose!

Hiked the gorge at Franconia Notch.

The snow was flying but made it to Mount Washington!

I stopped in to visit my Uncle Jim in Manchester, New Hampshire. He was the inspiration behind Joshua’s grandfather in Joshua and the Lightning Road.

His kids named him long ago as the Bo Chez for the Big Cheese, and he inspired Joshua’s heroic grandfather in the book. They are both lively, booming characters that crush you with mountainous hugs, live a passionate life seeking transformation, have a full heart they give away – and would do anything to rescue a loved one. He really is the Big Cheese!

My book research fueled on writing at my cabin in the woods on retreat at the Highlights Foundation in Boyd’s Mill, Pennsylvania. The roads here wind their way into my story dreams.

The view from my writing cabin. Early morning writing time.

It was good to travel there with author friend Janice Gable Bashman! Check out her young adult novel, Predator! And great to meet up with writers, Erica and CherylAnn!

I did get to spend time with my hubby, Mike, and do two of our favorite things – hiking and biking!

My 80 year old dad needed help clearing out a storage unit so off to North Carolina I flew to drive a U-Haul home to Pennsylvania! Here I am locked and loaded in my big truck. Off on my long adventure home from NC to PA!

We had time for a mellow day at the beach. 70s and sunny. We chased the rain away. Walked the pier and watched the fisherfolks. No idea what pier rules mean like “running your junk” but makes me laugh!

Then it was time to jump into three book events in a row.

I taught a workshop on Foundations of World Building in Children’s Literature at Rosemont College. We had a lot of fun brainstorming from writing prompts! And I got to share how to get your manuscript past the gatekeeper with the energetic folks at the Brandywine Valley Writer’s Group.

Onward to meeting dozens of wonderful folks at the New Jersey Association of School Librarian’s Conference. I was super excited to book author visits for the new year at several schools! And I also had fun spending the day with author Kerry Gans. Her debut middle grade book just came out, The Witch of Zal. Check out this re-telling of The Wizard of Oz! Great to see writer pals Tara Lazar and Jodi Moore!

I hope you got your turkey on and you have much to be thankful for this year!

via GIPHY

And I hope you had a cozy spot to recover after your turkey dinner – like Joshua did here!

It’s May & Lightning Strikes Soon with Joshua and the Lightning Road!

By Donna Galanti

It’s May – and I am soooo happy because this is the month Joshua and the Lightning Road releases! But wait – it was spotted early by surprise on the bookshelves at my local bookstore, The Doylestown Bookshop. Pretty thrilled to be next to Neil Gaiman!

Plus April was a whirlwind month for sure. I was in North Carolina twice…once for fun…

…and then a sudden return trip for a week cleaning out my dad’ s house before he sold it while also helping take care of him after knee replacement surgery. More work than fun 🙁 .

In April “Joshua” was interviewed on the DMS Files Character Book Club and he spills the beans about facing scary creatures, his darkest fears, and his favorite foods.

And I had a great time speaking as a guest author at the South Jersey Writers Group on the writing craft and my author journey – and sold my first pre-release copy of Joshua and the Lightning Road to Gail here!

Next was on to a day meeting wonderful kids and parents at YAFest Jr. at the Bethlehem, PA, public library where I also spent the day with some wonderful authors like Debbie Dadey and Eric Wight.

Then I sped away to four days at the Highlights Foundation for a fabulous workshop on giving school presentations – which was helpful as I have my first assembly scheduled for next month at my son’s school! (And I’ve been ordered to be funny and not boring. Yikes! Talk about pressure).

I made new friends, like Jodi Moore, who has a wonderful new picture cialis generic book out called When a Dragon Moves in Again. And I learned so much from the amazing workshop leader, Larry Dane Brimner, author of 160+ books, and came home with books from all the generous presenters. As a writer I have been blessed to have a supportive network of folks around me and learned long ago that we can write alone – but we can’t grow as a writer alone.

Finally, I came home to recuperate after being greeted with my favorite flowers and a card from my son. His words boosted me up:
“Mom, I love you so much and your smile. You’re so special to me in every way. Thank you so much for always being there for me.”
Yeah, I think I’ll keep him – and these words forever.

And there are only a couple more weeks to pre-order Joshua and the Lightning Road!

WHICH MEANS that time is running out on entering to win these cool prizes!

Pre-order now!

Here’s a sampling of first reviews of Joshua and the Lightning Road!

“Action-packed adventure…futuristic creatures and ancient myths…an exciting combination.”
–Goodreads Reviewer

“…so vivid. I could feel, smell and envision the setting… all the right characteristics of a great main character – brave, smart and kind.”
–This Kid Reviews Books

“Fast paced and intriguing…I look forward to reading the next book in the series!”
–Lizzy’s Book Review

“An action-packed adventure with every chapter! Galanti has quite skillfully written a plot that keeps you guessing. I do recommend it, especially for fans of the Percy Jackson series.” –Literary Hoots

Watch for lightning coming soon! Buh-bye for now 🙂 .

Finding white space: I ran away (but came back)

By Donna Galanti

I ran away last week.

It’s okay. I’ve done it before. And I’ll do it again.

In a twist of fate I had two book deadlines due February 1^st. As if one wasn’t enough! Yup. I had to review final proofs for book one in my fantasy middle grade series coming out in May, Joshua and the Lightning Road, and hand in edits to go to print (cowabunga!) and I also had to hand in book 2 in the series.

A storm was coming. There would be snow days. There would be laid-off husbands clunking around and a son wanting to hang out (usually a good thing!) and cats jumping on my lap and laundry piling up and meals to be made. There would be no white space just a space of many colors.

And I needed chunks and chunks of white space to create my own colors.

And I do mean white as I raced ahead of the BIG STORM I-shall-not-name that was-not-to-be to a teeny tiny town called Boyds Mill, PA. This is where the Highlights Foundation runs a fabulous retreat center with author-run workshops and cabins for writers who need to run away (apparently it’s a writerly phenomenon).

In another twist of fate all the cabins were closed for the winter except the big lodge and I had it all to myself. Did I say ALL TO MYSELF? I did.

Through the arctic tundra I traveled. Down snowy roads to my haven in the woods.

Now if you haven’t heard of Highlights you should! They’ve been producing children’s magazines and books for decades. And what a treasure it was to find these old magazines from the 1940s in the lodge.

And this was my view all alone in this lodge.

And this was my couch where I edited and revised two books twelve hours a day.

Surrounded by framed illustrations and authors all around the world who’ve created pictures from writers’ imagination inspiring kids to dream.

And this was my white space from my desk. But in that white space was movement and color and joy. For every day, far across the snow on the hill, two kids played. A big brother pulled them on a sled behind his ATV as their dogs ran about. Up and down they went. Back and forth. The dog tumbling along. Their laughter bounding off the snow to me.

And I remembered the days when I would sled all day with my dogs. Down the hill to slide across the pond, yelling as loud as I could, my dogs racing with me. Then to run up and do it all over again – and again.

And that memory and the scene before me blended into one. I grasped my own child-like wonder (that can be so often lost in the drudgery of line editing and the writing business) and the wonder of these kids before me, and looked at the pages in my book – and I felt it there. I felt it so deeply that I picked up the phone to call my mother and share my excitement. We once shared every day. And in that brief child-like wonder my mother was alive again to me. Then the loss of six years hit me all over again. Her gifts were left behind and her vibrant colors were long gone.

But my white space was now colored with my own paint of childlike wonder.

And eventually I ran away back home to a world of different colors.

One of my own making as well.

And that was just fine.