Newsletter for the weeks of 22 September through 6 October:

The last two weeks have been fast and furious. 

First, there was being the head coach of Lewis Palmer Middle School's Seventh grade football team.  We finished our season with two wins.  The first was over our district rival Creekside Middle School, where we played them under the lights at the new high school stadium.  Very very cool.  We brought a pep bus from the middle school full of fans and the school band played all through the game.  Over 400 fans filled the stands.  Score: 42 – 24.  Then onto Sproul Middle School in Widefield.  Score 38-20.  Go Patriots!

Then there was the Pikes Peak Writers Youth Program.  On Monday, October 1, we met with the Kennedy Center Imagination Celebration people and began the process of setting up one of the three functions of the program – an Authors Bureau where high schools and middle schools can request published authors to come speak to their classes on subjects such as publishing, agents, and the like.  We decided to create a questionnaire to send to invited authors delineating what classes they can teach, what age groups they are comfortable with, are their classes interactive, etc.  This aspect of the program should be completed this week (8 October).  The other two aspects of the Youth Program will include pilot classes (Lewis Palmer School District is the pilot district) on Setting, Point of View, Characterization taught at Lewis Palmer Middle School.  Finally there will be a Scholarship Competition where young writers will write a short story.  Those selected will be offered membership to Pikes Peak Writers, treated to a full day at the Pikes Peak Writers Conference, and be offered a series of Write Brain classes taught by Pikes Peak Writers.

If that didn't keep me busy enough, there was promoting the new novel, A Calculated Demise.  On 22 September I was in Ellicott for a signing at Fuel B's, a gas station/convenience store.  I did very well.  The following week (29 September) I went to Murder by the Book in Denver, C0.  What a great little bookstore!  Just yesterday (6 October) I sat outside Macdonald Book Shop in Estes Park, CO for their Columbus Day sales.  Sold a boatload of both novels (The Witch of Agnesi and A Calculated Demise).  It was such a kick in the butt being in one of my favorite towns for the end of the Elk Rut season.  The weather was terrific and I saw a bunch of old and new friends. Next week I'm on to Lake George to speak to a book club.  I'm really looking forward to that.

That's it for now.  Please access my news letter about once every two weeks.  The next one should be coming out mid-October.  Thanks for reading!!!