DAY 11 OF THE ZOE VOTE & MY HERO, SARAH JOSEPHA HALE

Thank you all so very much for the lovely birthday wishes. It was a delightful and merry day and I loved hearing from all of youse guys.

Yesterday was also important birthday in the Forest: the 221st birthday of one of my all-time favorite Americans: Sarah Josepha Hale.

Yes, THAT Sarah Josepha Hale; the woman whom I wrote about in Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving!

We’ve just updated the website to share new material with you about Sarah, including a birthday essay written about her by Queen Louise and a game. Check out the updates and tell me what you think!

UPDATE ON THE ZOE VOTE:

Thank you so much for voting once a day, every day! Last I heard, Zoe had moved back into fourth place. Fourth is a lovely place, indeed. But there are still seven days left in the voting, so this contest is not over, not by a long shot.

I am spending today in my writing cottage, working on this draft of my next historical, FORGE. If you want to cheer me on and encourage me to keep the words dripping from my fingertips, the best way you can do that is to vote. Please!

HOW TO VOTE:

1. Go to the voting page.

2. In the bottom right corner, click on MORE BOOKS twice. (Yes, this is the tricky part. No, I don’t know why Zoe is buried at the absolute back of the pack. Kind of makes you feel sorry for her, huh?) That will take you to ZOE.

3. Click on the yellow box that says VOTE!

4. Notify all of your friends, neighbors, family members, the folks at church or temple or mosque or other house of faith, the rest of the PTA, the people at the firehouse, everyone in your classroom, and tell them all pretty, pretty please with a headful of unruly red hair, PLEASE VOTE FOR ZOE.

5. Do this every day until the end of October.


COMING THIS WEEK: I MIGHT JUST DO SOMETHING EXTREMELY SILLY. PLUS, I THINK I’M GOING TO BE IN NEW JERSEY ON THURSDAY. BUT THE TWO THINGS ARE NOT RELATED. I THINK.