By Raven Howell

Author of Blink and Glow.

Review up tomorrow!

Sprawled behind a rickety chair at the side of the old shack in the woods, I barely breathe. Even as a third grader, I know that keeping absolutely still and silent is the key to not being found. Crickets are settling in for the night, and an owl hoots in the distance. I also know there’s a bat that lives in this abandoned shack. I’m sweaty, dirty and there’s a rip somewhere on my pant leg. Yup, there it is. I notice it across my knee where I’ve cut myself, as I’m swiping off the spider crawling across my sneaker. Twigs crack. Someone’s coming! Probably my pursuer – the neighbor who’s “It” tonight in our evening outdoor hide and seek game.

A large group of us kids, second to eighth graders, allow ourselves about a 2-mile radius to “hide and seek” in the rural setting of our neighborhood, and eventually, we all get found…with one exception. That particular night Susan was never discovered.

Unable to decide on a good spot to conceal herself, Susan heard the “I’m coming” yell from our seeker, panicked, and simply ducked where she was standing next to a log situated by the fire pit. How easy it is to overlook a place in the open! Blending with the log in the shadows surprisingly turned out to be the best hiding place because of its obviousness. It was a night we wouldn’t forget; the story retold over and over again and embellished over time.

My true account has an evident beginning, middle and end – the typical structure of a children’s story.

I crafted my new book, BLINK AND GLOW, in this pattern as well. The mystery (searching and discovering), favorite characters (friends and family), exciting environment (woods and fields), the suspense (waiting, wondering), climax (ah-ha!), the resolution (all is accounted for), and the end (closing of the day).

The plot of BLINK AND GLOW is different from my real-life venture, but the heart of my writing remains genuine, being based on those fearless places and experiences I joyfully welcomed when I was young.

As a tomgirl, I expressed my spirited side by daring to take chances, accept a challenge, and dive in. So be it if I had to rough it. I still happily jump on new ideas or write something that may be off the beaten track. I thrive on the writing challenge when my publisher gives me a list of difficult themes to tackle for specific books they’re publishing.

There’s rarely a time I don’t brush off a seeming rejection in life, like that spider crawling across my eight-year old’s sneaker. I get up, jump back in the game, shine a little light when possible, and remember to try my best to be a good sport.

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Check back tomorrow for our Raven Howell’s new book, Blink and Glow!