Why Do I Like The Number 17?

Earlier this week, I received my box of 10 copies of the latest Chicken Soup for the Soul book that has one of my stories in it. I loved the cover design of the Thanks to My Mom book. It's light and spring-like. Cheerful!

The release date is March 17th, just a few days from now. You can find it then in your favorite bookstore or preorder it now at Amazon. You can order either a paperback or kindle version. Filled with 101 stories about reasons we are grateful to our mothers, this would be the perfect Mother's Day gift for your mom, your daughter who is a mom, a friend or just for yourself.

My story in the books is titled "Mom's Recipe For Life" and is about how I came to realize that my mother gave a little bit of sunshine to everyone she met through a kind word or just a big smile. When I was a young girl, it embarrassed me that she spoke to everyone and was so outgoing but I came to see that this was one of her finest characteristics. And now--like mother, like daughter!

I liked the fact that the book will be released on the 17th because this is the 17th Chicken Soup book with one of my stories in it. It's still a thrill when I receive my acceptance letter and the books. Somehow, I don't think it will ever become ho-hum. At least, I hope not.

Have you checked the website to see what books the Chicken Soup editors have in the works? Maybe you have a story that will fit or can write one geared to the theme. Check out the page that will give you information on the upcoming books.

The Process Of Learning To Love Books

I had a long conversation with a friend about why we love books so much. It brought to mind a personal essay that I had published in an anthology called Flashlight Memories, which contained memoir stories about reading as part of the growing-up process. I'm posting the essay here as I think many of you will be able to relate to it, be you strictly readers or reader/writers. Leave a comment about your own path to books.

How I Learned To Love Books (Retitled in the anthology as My Path To Books) By Nancy Julien Kopp My earliest memory of a book is a story about Mr. Flibbertyjibbet. Is it any wonder that name can be easily plucked from my memory bank 65 years later? My mother reads the book to me as we snuggle on the sofa. My father reads the book to me, too. I bring the book out whenever an adult is there, and I hand it to them. My grandmother, every one of my aunts and Mother’s friends—they all read to me. My kindergarten teacher reads to us, too. She sits on a small chair, and we all gather around her, sitting Indian-fashion on a green carpet. Every day Miss Horst reads a new story and shows us the pictures. Her hair is silver, her lips are cherry red, and her eyes sparkle as she reads. I want to read the book myself, but I don’t know how. Mother makes a promise. “Next year you’ll learn to read.” And I trust her, for she’s never been wrong. I am six years old and in the first grade. Miss Curto passes out the books, one for each child. “Do not open the books,” she says. How can I wait any longer to see if I know how to read now? The teacher shows us the proper way to open a new book—first the front cover, then the back. Then we close it again and she instructs us to open to the first page. There are a few words, but I don’t know what they say. I’m disappointed. I can’t read. Was Mother wrong? But in only a matter of days, I am reading. I read stories about Dick and Jane and Baby Sally. I am one of the first to finish the book. And then there is a new book, and my happiness knows no bounds. This one has the same children in it and their dog and cat. Spot and Puff become my friends, and I read more and more books. At home, I read Mr. Flibbertyjibbet to my mother. I read to my father, my grandmother and my aunts. I bring home books from school and I read them over and over. One day my mother takes me to a new place. She explains we are going to the library, and by the time we have walked several blocks to the square brick building, I know that the library is full of books that I may borrow. I know that I must be very careful with the books because we must return them for other children to read. “We would like a library card, please,” my mother tells the woman behind the big desk by the front door. The woman has white hair that is pulled away from her face and fixed in a bun behind her head. Her cheeks look soft, and she has eyes that are as blue as the summer sky. Rimless glasses rest on her nose. She wears a navy blue dress with a white lace collar, and she is fat like one of my aunts. Her mouth is clamped tight like my grandmother’s when she is angry. Maybe I won’t like this place after all. Then the lady slides a card across the desk, dips a pen in an inkwell, and hands it to me. “Write your name on this line, please.” I print my first and last name as neatly as I can and slide the card back to her. She comes around to the front of the desk. “I am Miss Maze,” she says. “and I will show you where the books for you are kept.” She smiles at me and holds out her hand. Mother nods when I look at her for direction. I slip my hand into the one Miss Maze has offered. I look down and see she is wearing black oxfords that tie, and the skin around her ankles hangs down over her shoes. I wonder if it hurts. We walk up two steps into a world of enchantment. Miss Maze patiently shows me row upon row of books, and she shows me how to replace them on the shelf after I look at them. She helps me choose three books to take home, and then it is time to go back to the big desk and learn how to check them out. My library card will be ready for me the next time we visit she tells us. As the years go on, the library becomes my second home, and Miss Maze becomes my special friend. Her eyes light up, and she smiles whenever I walk in the door. She often shows me new books that have arrived, and I am eager to check them out. I am there winter and summer, in sunshine and thunderstorms. I learn that if you like a book especially well, you should look for more books by the same author. I read a series of books with titles like Ballet Shoes, Theater Shoes, and Circus Shoes, and I dream about being one of the girls in those books. I read books by Lois Lenski called Strawberry Girl and Blueberry Sal, and I learn about being a child of a migrant worker. I read all the Nancy Drew mystery books, the Bobbsey Twins, the Little House books, and move into a series about a girl named Sue Barton. I follow Sue as she becomes a student nurse, a resident nurse, a visiting nurse and every kind of nursing job there is. And then I am a teen, and I read young adult books like Bramble Bush, which moves me to tears, ands soon I move on to adult books. All these years in the 1940’s and 50’s, I visit the library almost on a weekly basis. I walk several blocks, taking a shortcut behind the elevated train platform. I carry a stack of books to the library on the cinder path and come back with books piled high in my arms. I read in all my spare time. I leave my everyday existence behind when I am reading. I learn about other cultures, live vicariously through the heroines in the books I devour. I store up a desire to travel so I can see these wondrous places in the books. My favorite class in college is the literature class. I am the only one who doesn’t groan when the professor tells us we will read one novel every week. We go to the college book store, check out a book on Friday afternoon, and we are to be ready to discuss it on Monday morning. I look forward to Friday morning when the professor gives us the name of the book for the week. My feet fly across campus to the bookstore. I am a fast reader and have no trouble finishing by Monday, while some of the others sit up late on Sunday night trying to finish. I’m a senior citizen now, but I still love books. I am never without a book to read, and the library still feels like home to me. When I am there surrounded by thousands of books, I feel a sense of peace and contentment that I find in no other place. As I make my selection from the fiction shelves and from the shelf that holds books about writing, I sometimes think of Miss Maze. I learned to read at school, but I learned about the world of books from Miss Maze. I wish I’d thanked her for what she gave me, but as a child and a teen, I was too shy to do that. Perhaps she knew what sharing her treasures meant to me. I’d like to think so. Published in an anthology called "Flashlight Memories" compiled by Silver Boomer Books 2011

Good News From Chicken Soup for the Soul

This chicken soup or.....

What is more satisfying than a bowl of chicken soup on a chilly day? Or when you're not feeling so hot? Even better when it's homemade. 

In the literary world, we've come to connect chicken soup with the very popular anthology series Chicken Soup for the Soul. Every time I think there can be no new titles in this series of creative nonfiction stories, up pops another one. 

Those who read this blog regularly know that I am a great supporter of the Chicken Soup books. Maybe it's because they have published 13 of my stories over the years. That definitely figures into the equation. I like the books because they are easy to pick up and read a few stories, put it down and pick it up a week later and keep right on going. Also nice bedtime reading because the stories are warm, inspirational, mildly humorous--nothing that will give you nightmares. They also make excellent gifts. 

The publishers and editors know what they're doing and turn out a quality book every time. It's not easy to be successful and keep on being successful, but they've accomplished that. Being so popular, they receive literally thousands of submissions for new books. Consider having to read story upon story, day in and day out. It must get tiring at some point, but it also means the good ones stand out. The editors use a reader panel to read the group of stories selected. So, the stories are seen by more than just one editor. The readers rate the stories, and then the editors select from the top rated stories. 

Yesterday, I received a notice from a Chicken Soup editor that my story New Friends, Faraway Friends, Forever Friends will be included in the Just Us Girls book to be available in November. I'd been notified some time ago that my story had made it to the final cut stage. Good but no guarantee that it will survive and make it into the book. Happily, this story made it. This will be the 14th Chicken Soup for the Soul book for me, and you know what? It's still a thrill when that final notice arrives. 

I was asked to proofread the story that they had possibly edited and approve. I was most pleased to see that they had changed only one word, and that was a slang term. Otherwise, my story stood as I wrote it, and that made me happy. 

When the book comes out, I'll be sure to remind you. A November publication date means it will be a good Christmas or Hanukkah gift for a friend. But before that month rolls around, I'm going to see what kind of stories I can come up with for the other new titles Chicken Soup has. Take a look and see which ones you might like to submit to here. 

New Anthology From Silver Boomer Books

The mailman brought my author copy of a new anthology from Silver Boomer Books today. I have a poem and a prose piece in the book which covers myriad holidays in a variety of ways--stories, poetry and memoir. 

Independence Day In Chicago is a memoir piece about the way we celebrated the 4th of July where I grew up. My poem, Flag Day Thoughts, is only two verses but commemorates Flag Day, which is celebrated on June 14th each year. You can read the story here where it is published under a different title. 

The book runs continuous quotes at the bottom of each page--an interesting addition. It has a larger than normal font size so would be a good gift for someone with vision difficulties.

Silver Boomer Books has several anthologies in print, nearing a dozen. I have been in one other book they have published. Flashlight Memories is filled with stories about memories of learning to read, loving to read and more--all about reading and childhood. My story in that book is titled My Path To Books. You can listen to me read the story here. 

Flashlight Memories is available in paperback or a kindle edition at Amazon. The new anthology, A Quilt of Holidays is in paperback only at this time.