Guest Author, Mary Schmidt

Today, I have a special guest, Mary Schmidt at my pad. I met Mary in Miami at the Readers' Favorite Book Awards. She was one of the winners. When I read her book, When Angels Fly, it broke my heart. Losing a child is the hardest thing a mother could ever go through. I know there are other moms out there who have experienced this loss, and I wanted to bring her here as a person who knows that grief and could in some way offer comfort to others by letting them know they're not alone.

When Angels Fly is the heartbreaking story of your son’s battle with cancer. You wrote it as a journal while you were going through the ordeal. At what point did you decide you wanted to share it with the world as a book?

I never intended to share it with the world or make it into a book. When I was forced to hang up my registered nurse hat, due to long term illness, I came across my old journals from 1990 and thought I should put them into digital format for my living son. I wanted my son to have the legacy of digital format should he be able to read what I wrote at some point in his life. He was age six when this time frame of our lives happened. I wanted a legacy for him, and I wanted to do it while I could – reliving each journal entry was hard, to say the least.  He has yet to read this book due to PTSD from the entire situation. After inputting my notes, I decided to write it smoother as a book format for readability. Next thing I knew, I was a best-selling author. I never saw that coming at all.

What advice would you give to other parents who have children facing a serious illness?

I touch on that in When Angels Fly and I wanted to help other parents, especially those without a nursing background. I shared how to be an advocate for their ill child. It was important to me that other parents should know when to pick their battles with staff. For instance, if a nurse brings in an antibiotic one hour late, no need to pick on that nurse for being late as you don’t know what happened on the unit to cause this, and your child still received their medication. Now, if your child is in pain without pain medication for 30 minutes or has the wrong bag of medicine or nutrition hanging, then that is something to complain about. Advocate for your child but don’t alienate the staff. Choose battles carefully or you risk having staff not wanting to go into your child’s room. Learn how to do your child’s dressing changes, if any, and everything you can learn to do for your child so that you are more involved as a parent. Your child will love you even more for helping them. Be proactive. Learn about medicines and illnesses. Research all of this and be informed.

You had mentioned in the book that it seemed there were a high number of children with cancer in the Colorado area where you lived. Do you know if this was investigated? If so, what were the results? Is it still a problem?

Oh yes, I did write that, indeed. Due to the nature of my memoir, I had to change all names and locations, including the state. To that end, nothing ever happened in Colorado nor had I ever been to Colorado at that point. In the actual state and medical center, this was a true trend, and to me that was alarming. Of note, a certain military base alarmed me. In the 75-mile radius of that base, more children had cancer and more rare cancers at that. Parents that lived on or near the base brought the facts up to the “powers that be”, and they were rebuffed at every chance. Who knows what was happening during night maneuvers, and what contaminates landed on the ground, and in the water supply? Any investigations, if done, came back as normal. It was a cover-up to this very day. Was it investigated? I don’t know. The results? If investigated, all was “normal”. Is it still a problem? 30 years later, I have no idea. In that 30-year span, the base moved to Germany for many years, then it moved back.

Another part of the story involved the abusive relationships you endured with your ex and your mother. What advice would you give to those who find themselves in a similar situation?

My mother was irritating and my ex abusive. Okay, they were both heavily abusive in every way. I had left my ex and filed for divorce. Six months later my son was diagnosed with cancer. My living son remembers seeing my head get smashed into a kitchen all at age five. I would advise others that they can leave, help is out there, safety is possible and paramount to one’s well-being. It took me nine years to move out with my boys (June 1989), and my divorce wasn’t finalized until after my son passed away (died October 1990), and finalized March 1991. No one should be abused. I just knew my ex would kill me as he threatened to do so quite often. I finally became strong enough to leave. The reasons are in my memoir.

So that readers can get to know you a little better, what kind of things to you enjoy – hobbies, interests, etc.?

I’ve always loved art and I’ve done digital design since 1995. I love designing and illustrating, being a creative soul, animating images, and I love photography. My online gallery has both traditional and digital art. I love to read, and I read a bit every single day.

Are you working on another book? If so, please tell us about it.

In the last few years, I’ve written 15 plus books. I never saw that coming, either. All of them are children’s books and illustrated, except for When Angels Fly and a small cookbook.  I’ve always loved art and I’ve done digital design since 1995. I was a one-book author for a long time, then I decided to bring out and into the world issues dealing with children such as bullying and sexual molestation, both of which I was qualified to write. After that, my husband, Michael, and I decided that we (meaning me) should write a children’s adventure series starring our backyard wild squirrels. We have nine books in that series. Each book is also a stand-alone picture book.

I just published book nine in a children’s adventure series.

Shadow and Friends Visit the Enchanted Forest

“This enchanting fairy tale, Shadow and Friends Visit the Enchanted Forest, brings forth children’s vivid imaginations after receiving an Enchanted Invitation and Enchanted Key that unlocks a hidden door in an Enchanted Tree. Finding the secret door, they open the door with the magical key and are greeted by an Enchanted Fairy, Lisa, whom they give the key to. Amazing sights are seen such as a Mushroom Family, a beautiful Festival of Lights with speaking butterflies and flowers, time spent at an Apple Harvest Festival, and Mushroom Houses. Truly a land of make-believe and children’s faces alight with pure joy. Children love amazing adventures and this one is full of all kinds of make-believe stories.”

Thank you for being a guest on my blog, Mary! As she mentioned, she animates images. If you'd like your book cover animated with "sparkle" she can do it. I believe it costs $5 and she gives you several versions. Contact her for more details. 

 Mary L Schmidt aka S. Jackson is a retired registered nurse, winner of the Leora Stroup award in Nursing for academic excellence and community involvement, as well as graduating with high honors and inducted into Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. She has written 17 books and has been included in three anthologies. Many of her books have won international medals and awards. She is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. She is a member of the Catholic Church, and has taught kindergarten Catechism; she has worked in various capacities for The American Cancer Society, March of Dimes, Cub and Boy Scouts, (son, Gene, is an Eagle Scout), and sponsored trips for high school music children. She loves all forms of art but mostly focuses on the visual arts; amateur photography, traditional, and graphic art as her health allows. Together with her husband, Michael, the like fish, read, play poker, travel adventures, and spending precious time with their grandchildren, Austin and Emma.

Links:

Blog: https://whenangelsfly.net/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MMSchmidtAuthorGDDonley

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaryLSchmidt

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mschmidtphotography/

Art Gallery: https://www.deviantart.com/mschmidtartwork

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/S.-Jackson/e/B013NRRKR2

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC549RC6yxc3Xm_wzVH-_GMg

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/marylschmidt/

Newsletter: https://us15.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=e0ee1fac82f1a61eadffc9df1&id=3e4c8998c6

Book Links:

When Angels Fly: https://www.amazon.com/when-angels-fly-s-jackson-ebook/dp/b07v6vnjvw?&tag=admarketus-20&ref=pd_sl_a8705221A91B1C5F493657147D

Shadow ad Friends Visit the Enchanted Forest: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084M88JFW/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i8

Banana Muncher Part 2

If you recall, there is a thief in my apartment. One that likes bananas. Whenever I leave bananas on the counter, said thief chews the peel off and devours the fruit. I wondered if the thief was a mouse, a roach, or a lizard.

I went with the mouse assumption. The activity I heard going on in the wall also supported this conclusion.  Ready to do battle, I armed myself with an assortment of mouse traps. I wanted to be humane and catch and release the little bugger far from my pad so it wouldn't bother me or my bananas ever again. I put in the peanut butter and set the traps everywhere, figuring the smell of peanut butter would be too much for the little critter to resist.  I safely hid the bananas in the refrigerator while this operation was in place.

For at least 2 weeks, I waited. Nothing. Not even a sound in the wall. Maybe the creature invaded another, more well-stocked apartment. I decided to bring out my bananas because I was tired of dealing with browning, cold bananas. Yellow, room-temperature ones are much better. I left out all the traps, just in case.

Guess what? The very first night, the banana thief struck again. And the traps which were around the bananas were untouched. What the heck? So, ladies and gentlemen, I am either dealing with a very street-smart mouse who doesn't like Jif creamy peanut butter and only eats bananas, or I'm dealing with a rat who's too big for the traps. Or maybe a mini-monkey or other such alien.

What do you think? Should I get rat traps and put bananas in them?



Before I go, I'd like to let you know that I am a guest on the IWSG anthology blog talking about my short story, Ghosts of Pompeii, which is part of the Voyagers anthology which is coming out in May. If you'd like to read the story behind the story, go here.   

IWSG Post

It's time for the IWSG post of the month. This month's question is, "Has a work of art ever inspired you to write a book?"

As a matter of fact, yes. A long time ago, my daughter had received a birthday invitation. On the card, the parent who invited her had drawn pictures of silly little birds. They were adorable. At the time, I had been contemplating writing a picture book to teach counting and classifying. But I hadn't figured out exactly how I'd do that. When I saw the birds, the idea popped into my head to have the characters be ten zany birds. Some with spots. Some with stripes. And one with polka dots. They'd be having a party. One by one, they'd get distracted and leave.

Originally, I'd asked the mom who drew the pictures if she'd like to be the illustrator for the book. She'd said yes, but unfortunately, it never worked out. Then I met Charu Jain from India. She loves painting watercolor birds.  I thought she'd be a perfect illustrator for the story. She was. Here's the cover:

And here are some of the illustrations:

If you'd like to learn more about the book, you can go here.


And for those wondering about the culprit who has been eating my bananas – I believe it is the mouse. I heard something shuffling around in the wall by my laundry closet. I've set out the peanut butter in the mouse-catcher contraption (I'm trying to catch it alive and release it because I'm such a humane individual.) So far, no luck catching it. And I don't hear it anymore. Perhaps it has invaded another apartment. I'll keep you updated.

Who is the Banana Thief?

Something very strange has been going on at my pad. It involves bananas.

This morning when I awoke, I went into my kitchen and noticed that one of the bananas in my basket on the counter had its peel surgically removed in one spot, and the fruit inside eaten. It looked like this:

This is the second time it's happened. The first time, I wondered if I had just purchased a defective bunch of bananas. There is no way I would've purchased defective bananas twice. Something is sneaking around my apartment in the middle of the night, eating my bananas!

Who could it be?

Here are the possible suspects:

1.

2. 

3. 

4. Other, possibly alien life form?

I have never seen a mouse in my apartment. And I can't say I've seen a space for one to crawl in. But the fact that the peel was removed in a perfect rectangle makes me wonder.

I have seen cockroaches in my apartment. In fact, exterminators came twice this summer to get rid of them. Those little buggers can crawl in from the pipes. I'm not sure about the surgical removal of the peel, though. Can cockroaches do that?

And then there's the lizard. There is actually a family of 5 living in the siding outside of my apartment. Could a lizard remove the peel from a banana like that? And would a lizard even eat a banana? Somehow, I don't think so. 

So, ladies and gentlemen, who do you think is the banana thief? 

And one more thing:

You may or may not know about the upcoming anthology, Voyagers:  Third Ghost. My story, The Ghosts of Pompeii will be part of it. There is a blog where you can learn about the authors and the story behind their stories. This week the featured author is Yvonne Ventresca, the overall winner. Click here to read her interview.  

  

IWSG and Caught in the Act

It's time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group post of the month. The question is, how did you know you wanted to be a writer? What prompted you?

This is a question I answer every time I do school author visits. I ask the kids to raise their hands if they want to be an author when they grow up. And the young kids always do. Middle-schoolers, not so much. Guess what? I didn't want to be an author when I grew up. I wanted to be an astronaut or opera singer. I'm neither. This is probably a good thing because the world is much better not hearing my singing voice!

So, how did I get here? You can thank my daughter and my son for that. Here's the story:  When my son was a little baby, he didn't sleep. Neither kid did. Talk about a serious case of sleep deprivation. Four years of less than 4 hours of sleep a night! When you're that sleep-deprived, weird things go on in your head. Like poems. That's what happened. At 3:00 AM one night, a poem popped in. For the rest of the week, I spent my nights in the rocking chair with my 3-month old son, composing the entire story in my head. Later, I shared the poem with my daughter, who was three years old at the time. She said, "Mom that's really good! You should make it a book!"

My sleep-deprived mind thought that was a brilliant idea. So, here I am, 15 years later, still writing. My sixth book comes out this September:  Bubba and Squirt's Mayan Adventure.

The name of the first book?   That Baby Woke Me Up, AGAIN!  


Now, for the story:

If you recall, our German Shepherd, Schultz destroyed his Beaver toy by ripping the seams and taking out all the stuffing. We thought for Christmas, we'd get him a brand new Beavie. Ladies and gentlemen, it took Schultz all of two hours to destroy it. Here he is, in action:

And yes, that is Beavie's heart. Schultz ripped Beavie's heart out! I think Bootsy, the cat has been a terrible influence on him!

A Strange Kind of Snow

Schultz seems to be feeling much better. His chemo treatments are done and he is back to his old self creating chaos and mayhem wherever he goes.

Here's the latest story:

When I walked into the mansion (the term I use for my former place of residence), I noticed white stuff all over the ground: Blobs of cotton-like material strewn in the hall, in the family room, and in the kitchen.

I picked one of these blobs up between my fingers and looked at it. "What the heck?"

Then I saw the remains of "Beavie," one of Schultz's favorite toys. The stuffed beaver wasn't so stuffed anymore. His head was sliced open and his cotton stuffing was strewn about. I found the perpetrator looking as innocent as could be.

A short while later, that lovely green bunny you see him pictured with met the same fate. Apparently, the dog has too much time on his paws. Or maybe he misses the snow we had in Ohio and wants to get into the Christmas spirit! 


On another topic, I'd like to let you know that I'm a guest over at Regan Macaulay's blog telling her why my friend, Dennis Higgins' book, Christmas in Pottersville, is my favorite Christmas book. Please visit if you'd like to know why. 

And finally, I'd like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  Enjoy the holidays!

IWSG and the Dinosaur Experiment

It's time for the Insecure Writers' Support Group monthly post.

Today's question is, "If you were living the ideal author life, what would it look like?"

Probably a bit different than what it looks like today! I don't need to be a best-selling author. But I would like to see my Amazon ranking under the 100,000 mark regularly. And I would like to get more than $10.00 a month in royalties. Writing books is a lot of effort! It's not just writing. It's editing and marketing. A lot of time goes into it. And it would be really nice to see a paycheck that reflects that.

So, my ideal writer's life:  Have 4-10 author appearances (school visits, library visits, bookstore visits) a year, write a book a year, stay under the 100,000 mark on all of my books, and make about $10,000 a year. Is that asking for too much? 

Now for the story:

My daughter had an assignment for her statistics class:  To find out if people's responses to surveys are influenced by what they see. For this grand experiment, my daughter and her friends decided that they would dress in dinosaur costumes and visit the local mall. There they would ask people what their favorite dinosaur was. The hypothesis was that the person would respond with the dinosaur the interviewer was dressed as. Things were going as planned until the security officer showed up.

"You're violating dress code rules," she stated.

"But we're doing a school project," my daughter objected.

"Too bad. No dinosaurs allowed."

"Well, what's your favorite dinosaur?" my daughter pressed.

"The extinct kind."

And that was the end of the experiment.



Before I go, I had the awesome opportunity to go to Miami, Florida to receive the silver medal for my book, Bubba and Squirt's Big Dig to China. Here's a picture. (That's a little bit of living the ideal author life!)