Dear Council Rock North

I promise I’ll post the photo of the third group tomorrow. I came home to a ton of paperwork and am still not done. *grumbles*

But I can’t go to sleep without saying thanks to all of you for a great day.

I’d say “You rock” but that would be completely cheesy and cliched. How about “You rawk”?

Probably not.

But thanks anyway for a terrific day. And thanks to the library “mice” and thanks to the English teachers who had an absurdly fine potluck lunch in their staff room.

15 Replies to “Dear Council Rock North”

  1. I loved your talk today and seeing you again

    hi, i came home today and asked my mom to order me SPEAK on line(she does all her shopping like that) and i believe she did. i’m sure ill love it. after talking to you about writing books and how i am writing a book i came home and typed 3 more pages of it in 10 minutes. i was also wondering who are some of your favorite authors?
    ~sally~(met you today at Council rock north and before in 5th grade)

  2. I loved your talk today and seeing you again

    hi, i came home today and asked my mom to order me SPEAK on line(she does all her shopping like that) and i believe she did. i’m sure ill love it. after talking to you about writing books and how i am writing a book i came home and typed 3 more pages of it in 10 minutes. i was also wondering who are some of your favorite authors?
    ~sally~(met you today at Council rock north and before in 5th grade)

  3. I loved your talk today and seeing you again

    hi, i came home today and asked my mom to order me SPEAK on line(she does all her shopping like that) and i believe she did. i’m sure ill love it. after talking to you about writing books and how i am writing a book i came home and typed 3 more pages of it in 10 minutes. i was also wondering who are some of your favorite authors?
    ~sally~(met you today at Council rock north and before in 5th grade)

  4. oh i forgot to mention one thing

    ps. i found the book that i got in fifth grade. WILD AT HEART Fight For Life. the one where Maggie rescues the puppies. i looked though the library in my house and found it. plus it is autographed by you from about 4 years ago.
    ~sally~

  5. oh i forgot to mention one thing

    ps. i found the book that i got in fifth grade. WILD AT HEART Fight For Life. the one where Maggie rescues the puppies. i looked though the library in my house and found it. plus it is autographed by you from about 4 years ago.
    ~sally~

  6. oh i forgot to mention one thing

    ps. i found the book that i got in fifth grade. WILD AT HEART Fight For Life. the one where Maggie rescues the puppies. i looked though the library in my house and found it. plus it is autographed by you from about 4 years ago.
    ~sally~

  7. I finally got my copy of PROM (signed – though it came from Amazon…how does that work?). It and a couple of others books are waiting on my desk for the moment I ship off the last draft of my manuscript to my agent. I peeked at the first page and it was very difficult to force myself to put down and get back to work. This weekend is all about the reading!

  8. I finally got my copy of PROM (signed – though it came from Amazon…how does that work?). It and a couple of others books are waiting on my desk for the moment I ship off the last draft of my manuscript to my agent. I peeked at the first page and it was very difficult to force myself to put down and get back to work. This weekend is all about the reading!

  9. I finally got my copy of PROM (signed – though it came from Amazon…how does that work?). It and a couple of others books are waiting on my desk for the moment I ship off the last draft of my manuscript to my agent. I peeked at the first page and it was very difficult to force myself to put down and get back to work. This weekend is all about the reading!

  10. A sweeter note of chorus….

    It had been a while since I’d felt the persistent motivation to read something out of leisure. In all honesty, at the peaking youth of 20, I haven’t had much time to myself because of the selfish demands of my obligation to contribute to the American dream; higher education, and efforts to obtain a steady paycheck. However, the other day, in the midst of a creative recession, which yielded a mild depression, I came across your book “Speak” on the shelf of a local “Borders Books” store. A fan of foliage and just plain visual stimuli, I judged a book by its cover and picked it up off the shelf. After reading a line or so in the middle of the book somewhere, I knew I had something worth while, and suddenly I felt a lift in my spirit, an exciting feeling of meaning and reward that came from the anticipation of reading this book. I bought it immediately. This process of “grab and buy” took a mere 40 seconds, literally. Anyway, I just finished the book today, about 1 1/2 days after purchasing it (a personal best time for my reading record besides a book report I started the night before in 7th grade). I just wanted to applaud you not only for the plot, symbolism, and character development, but also the way the book is written. It’s to the point, yet delightfully descriptive and accurate. Too many times these days you get these authors trying to impress everyone with ridiculous words that draw your attention away form the actual novel and more to the question of how your SAT verbal scores are. It’s important to be able to lay on the adjectives, symbolic undertones, and create a unique perspective by breathing a character into the words, without superfluous details and ridiculously complex sentence structures that show off a lack of attention span rather than artistry. Every detail you describe is relevant to Melinda and connects her past, present, and unknown future to her emotions and internal struggle. Everything is relevant and meaningful without being caked on so thick that you can’t see the character herself. Well done, and thank you for pulling me out of my creative depression. As an aspiring writer myself, it’s nice to see successful writing that takes a more direct approach. If you have time and are interested, you can skim one of my short stories I’ve posted on my Journal site.

    http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=Mattyy

    Feel free to contact me with any comments or suggestions. Thanks again.
    Sincerely,
    Mattyy

  11. A sweeter note of chorus….

    It had been a while since I’d felt the persistent motivation to read something out of leisure. In all honesty, at the peaking youth of 20, I haven’t had much time to myself because of the selfish demands of my obligation to contribute to the American dream; higher education, and efforts to obtain a steady paycheck. However, the other day, in the midst of a creative recession, which yielded a mild depression, I came across your book “Speak” on the shelf of a local “Borders Books” store. A fan of foliage and just plain visual stimuli, I judged a book by its cover and picked it up off the shelf. After reading a line or so in the middle of the book somewhere, I knew I had something worth while, and suddenly I felt a lift in my spirit, an exciting feeling of meaning and reward that came from the anticipation of reading this book. I bought it immediately. This process of “grab and buy” took a mere 40 seconds, literally. Anyway, I just finished the book today, about 1 1/2 days after purchasing it (a personal best time for my reading record besides a book report I started the night before in 7th grade). I just wanted to applaud you not only for the plot, symbolism, and character development, but also the way the book is written. It’s to the point, yet delightfully descriptive and accurate. Too many times these days you get these authors trying to impress everyone with ridiculous words that draw your attention away form the actual novel and more to the question of how your SAT verbal scores are. It’s important to be able to lay on the adjectives, symbolic undertones, and create a unique perspective by breathing a character into the words, without superfluous details and ridiculously complex sentence structures that show off a lack of attention span rather than artistry. Every detail you describe is relevant to Melinda and connects her past, present, and unknown future to her emotions and internal struggle. Everything is relevant and meaningful without being caked on so thick that you can’t see the character herself. Well done, and thank you for pulling me out of my creative depression. As an aspiring writer myself, it’s nice to see successful writing that takes a more direct approach. If you have time and are interested, you can skim one of my short stories I’ve posted on my Journal site.

    http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=Mattyy

    Feel free to contact me with any comments or suggestions. Thanks again.
    Sincerely,
    Mattyy

  12. A sweeter note of chorus….

    It had been a while since I’d felt the persistent motivation to read something out of leisure. In all honesty, at the peaking youth of 20, I haven’t had much time to myself because of the selfish demands of my obligation to contribute to the American dream; higher education, and efforts to obtain a steady paycheck. However, the other day, in the midst of a creative recession, which yielded a mild depression, I came across your book “Speak” on the shelf of a local “Borders Books” store. A fan of foliage and just plain visual stimuli, I judged a book by its cover and picked it up off the shelf. After reading a line or so in the middle of the book somewhere, I knew I had something worth while, and suddenly I felt a lift in my spirit, an exciting feeling of meaning and reward that came from the anticipation of reading this book. I bought it immediately. This process of “grab and buy” took a mere 40 seconds, literally. Anyway, I just finished the book today, about 1 1/2 days after purchasing it (a personal best time for my reading record besides a book report I started the night before in 7th grade). I just wanted to applaud you not only for the plot, symbolism, and character development, but also the way the book is written. It’s to the point, yet delightfully descriptive and accurate. Too many times these days you get these authors trying to impress everyone with ridiculous words that draw your attention away form the actual novel and more to the question of how your SAT verbal scores are. It’s important to be able to lay on the adjectives, symbolic undertones, and create a unique perspective by breathing a character into the words, without superfluous details and ridiculously complex sentence structures that show off a lack of attention span rather than artistry. Every detail you describe is relevant to Melinda and connects her past, present, and unknown future to her emotions and internal struggle. Everything is relevant and meaningful without being caked on so thick that you can’t see the character herself. Well done, and thank you for pulling me out of my creative depression. As an aspiring writer myself, it’s nice to see successful writing that takes a more direct approach. If you have time and are interested, you can skim one of my short stories I’ve posted on my Journal site.

    http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=Mattyy

    Feel free to contact me with any comments or suggestions. Thanks again.
    Sincerely,
    Mattyy

  13. Speak

    Dear Laurie,
    Thank you for visiting our school. I am one of the English teachers from CRHS-North who attended your second period lecture, and, like everyone else who heard you speak that day, I was delightfully impressed by your direct honesty and comfortability with the kids.
    You mentioned that the ending of Speak was not what you had originally written. I am curious now about what you had written in the unpublished versions of the book. Would you be willing to share those with me?
    Also, in the book you very much capture the atmosphere in a large public high school, as well as, I believe, the thoughts and language of a 9th grade student. After having taught in an all-girl, private Catholic high school for 11 years, I know that the experience for those students is somewhat different, yet I think the rape theme and “girlfriend” experience has a universality to which all students can relate.
    Again, thanks so much for coming to CR. You have left all of us with a lasting impression of a very gifted writer and just a great all-around lady. I wish you all the best in life and your future writing endeavors.
    Patti O’Connell (pattimom00@aol.com)

  14. Speak

    Dear Laurie,
    Thank you for visiting our school. I am one of the English teachers from CRHS-North who attended your second period lecture, and, like everyone else who heard you speak that day, I was delightfully impressed by your direct honesty and comfortability with the kids.
    You mentioned that the ending of Speak was not what you had originally written. I am curious now about what you had written in the unpublished versions of the book. Would you be willing to share those with me?
    Also, in the book you very much capture the atmosphere in a large public high school, as well as, I believe, the thoughts and language of a 9th grade student. After having taught in an all-girl, private Catholic high school for 11 years, I know that the experience for those students is somewhat different, yet I think the rape theme and “girlfriend” experience has a universality to which all students can relate.
    Again, thanks so much for coming to CR. You have left all of us with a lasting impression of a very gifted writer and just a great all-around lady. I wish you all the best in life and your future writing endeavors.
    Patti O’Connell (pattimom00@aol.com)

  15. Speak

    Dear Laurie,
    Thank you for visiting our school. I am one of the English teachers from CRHS-North who attended your second period lecture, and, like everyone else who heard you speak that day, I was delightfully impressed by your direct honesty and comfortability with the kids.
    You mentioned that the ending of Speak was not what you had originally written. I am curious now about what you had written in the unpublished versions of the book. Would you be willing to share those with me?
    Also, in the book you very much capture the atmosphere in a large public high school, as well as, I believe, the thoughts and language of a 9th grade student. After having taught in an all-girl, private Catholic high school for 11 years, I know that the experience for those students is somewhat different, yet I think the rape theme and “girlfriend” experience has a universality to which all students can relate.
    Again, thanks so much for coming to CR. You have left all of us with a lasting impression of a very gifted writer and just a great all-around lady. I wish you all the best in life and your future writing endeavors.
    Patti O’Connell (pattimom00@aol.com)

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