Launch Week Elements: Firefighters

Welcome back! I’m wrapping up my “launch week elements” feature, during which I’m highlighting elements from my newest book, Corgi Capers 3: Curtain Calls and Fire Halls, which is now available for purchase! You can find it at Amazon (ebook coming soon) and DWB’s publisher store for now (you can also buy a set of all three for one lower price!). Once I stock up on copies, I’ll offer autographed editions at my own store and send out copies to all the winners. Check out the contest below, in which one lucky person will win an autographed copy. I’ve decided to draw the names on Thursday because it’s my birthday, so you have a few days left to make sure you are entered 🙂

Today was scheduled to be my post about firefighters, and an interesting and timely thing happened yesterday that I’d like to share.

Yesterday at the high school where I teach, it was raining when the fire alarm sounded. The students and I all looked at each other. We all knew that planned fire drills are never conducted in the rain, especially rain as cold as it was yesterday. This was either someone playing a prank, a terrible mistake, or the real deal.

We hurried outside, everyone huddled together to stay warm in the rain. A moment later, a fire truck arrived, followed by several police cars, another engine, an ambulance, an SUV… phones emerged as students recorded the action. The second engine to arrive pulled up to the fire hydrant, attached the hose, and continued down the drive, the hose unraveling as the engine continued toward the area in question. Eyes bulged open. There might be a fire. The other engine was raising its ladder.

The fire department arrives within moments of the alarm. Photo courtesy of A. Wiley 🙂

I wondered whether I had any dry clothes in my car—I figured, as long as this might take, I’d likely be soaked by the time we were allowed back in the building. I also wondered about the students. How terrible would it be to have to sit through classes wet and cold after standing and waiting in the rain?

I watched the efficiency with which the firefighters inspected the scene. They worked quickly with the administration to determine the location of the incident, and before long, the entire school was being directed back into the building through a prescribed route into the safety of the auditorium. We were told which hallways to avoid while the smoke was being cleared.

On the way in, the smell of smoke was strong and pungent. This was the real deal—an electrical fire? Although I do not have the full, official story, we were told that the fire department had to vent the smoke out of the building before we would be allowed back into the corridors.

As I stood there, monitoring students and watching their excitement and fear, it dawned on me that today was the release date for my novel having largely to do with firefighters, and here I was, seeing them in action. The bravery and dedication I hoped to capture in Corgi Capers had been right there, playing itself out in the firefighters who worked efficiently to quell the incident before it would have spread. In fact, the whole event is eerily reminiscent of a passage in chapter 2 of Corgi Capers: Curtain Calls and Fire Halls, in which a character named Spark, the daughter of a firefighter, recounts a time she discovered an electrical fire in her school:

“I’m in seventh grade,” she said. “My dad’s a firefighter here. He’s been teaching me about fire safety all my life, and after what happened last year, he thought I should start volunteering.” She smiled proudly.

“What happened last year?” asked Gavin.

“I was at a rehearsal for my middle school’s chorus concert, and I smelled something burning. Everyone else ignored it. Even the teacher thought it was just someone burning food in the cafeteria. But I insisted.” She crossed her arms and smiled. “I asked for a bathroom pass, but I snuck backstage instead. I saw a bunch of wires coming out from the wall and into the lighting control box. I smelled the smoke coming from that direction. I told the teacher right away. We had to evacuate the school, and when the firemen arrived, they said the wires were old and had overheated inside the walls. If I hadn’t insisted, they might have actually caught on fire. They ran a whole story about it in the newspaper.” She smiled. “My picture was on the front page.”

Spark emulates the passion her father has for being a protector, for saving others. I saw that passion in action yesterday.

Before the incident happened, I wanted to write my entire post about the concept of volunteer firefighters—how many dedicate their time to saving the lives of others, and how many of them are able to raise money from the community because of the important nature of their cause. With citizens paying taxes for all manner of services—some worthwhile and others questionable—it amazes me that one of the most important services, firefighting, is often paid for voluntarily, right out of the pockets of citizens. It’s a true testament to the heroic nature of the cause. For several years, I have been privileged to support one of the local fire companies in Adams County, Pennsylvania, and learn more about firefighting in the process.

Recently, I had the opportunity to talk to a local Virginia firefighter, and he explained just how important volunteers are to most fire companies—even ones partially funded by tax dollars. He explained the way shifts are divided up—and how most firefighters have other jobs outside of firefighting or have long shifts during which their families worry about their safe return. Knowing this, I was touched while watching the firefighters in action at my school. It put the concept of “having a bad day” into perspective. Just moments earlier, students were complaining about being tired, or having too much homework, or simply wanting Thanksgiving break to arrive. But seeing the efficiency of the firefighters made me realize that, like any life-saving professions, firefighters must block out any distractions and focus only on the task at hand. Lives and property depend on it.

As Thanksgiving approaches and students prepare for time away from school to sleep in and visit with family, I realize that we live in a world with brave and caring people who look out for each other and risk life and limb to make the world a better place. And that’s something to be thankful for all year ‘round.

Corgi Capers Book 3 Giveaway

Sign up to follow this blog via email (sign-up is toward the upper-right), and at the end of the week, I’ll randomly select a winner to receive a free copy of Corgi Capers: Curtain Calls and Fire Halls. Haven’t read the first two? The winner can choose one of the other Corgi Capers books instead.

Contest details:

Winner will be chosen on or shortly after November 17, 2014. The prize will be the winner’s choice of Corgi Capers 1, 2, or 3. Paperback copy available only to U.S. addresses. International winners will receive choice of ebook version instead. Void where prohibited.

Related Posts

I’ve already blogged about the winners of the Name that Cat contest (and about cats as well) and the inspiration of one of the winning names. Being inspired to enjoy life is a constant theme in Corgi Capers, as Zeph (inspired by my own fraidy-dog Yoda) is afraid of most things. Many characters volunteer and push beyond their comfort zones, learning to find the heart of a hero beating within, often taking inspiration from neighbors and the bravery of firefighters. Curious to learn more? You can view the trailer here. I’m pleased to be working with Yuming Cao to bring this bravery to life through illustration, and a new, illustrated corgi book will also be available soon.

Welcome to my launch week celebration! If you missed my other posts, you can find the links at the bottom of this page. Today, I’m writing about the influence and inspiration of neighbors in my life and my books.

In each of the three Corgi Capers books, Adam and Courtney have been influenced by their neighbors. In the first book, the neighbors (mostly) come together around the threat of a common serial burglar. In the second book, Adam fears his two new neighbors, thinking they’re witches. In the Curtain Calls and Fire Halls, Courtney finds long-lasting inspiration with the neighbors as one of them helps her to find the right path after the terrible decisions she made on Halloween.

I’ve always been fascinated with the concept of neighbors. As a child, neighbors were my first snapshot of the world’s size and scope. Like Adam, I (for a time) thought my neighbor was a witch. She was the kindest woman you could imagine, but her heavy Italian accent and old age made her voice difficult to understand. To a young child with an over-active imagination, those were all the ingredients needed to consider her a witch. But there was more: she grew lots of vegetables in her garden and cooked many things from scratch (she even shared these things with us). To a kid used to eating out of colored packaging, this was different and frightening.

But later, after they moved away (and I grew old enough to understand, not fear, differences in the world), I realized how amazing she had been. She had talents that were dwindling in the age of convenience. But it wasn’t just that one neighbor who inspired me.

Another collected shoes and clothing for church fundraiser sales. She often invited me (with my mother and sister) to browse the offerings. It felt like she had an entire store set up there in her basement. If left to my own imaginings, I never would have thought someone could collect other people’s trash and turn it into treasure. But the way she organized the shoes by size and color, the way she laid out the clothing—it was with such care that you felt like you were buying a slice of love along with a hand-me-down. She taught me that certain people possess a spark, a bit of magic, a blessing—a gift they use to help others.

I’ve had lots of amazing neighbors over the years (I moved around quite a bit), and there’s not room to write about them all—only to say that they’ve all left their mark on my memory and soul.

Over the years, I’ve had not-so-good neighbors, too, though I won’t write about them. Many of them, however, made me realize how much I have to be thankful for. Some earned my sympathy. Others earned only bitterness. But neighbors, to me as a writer, are an inspiration. They’re a constant reminder not only that people are different but that it takes all kinds of people to “make the world go ‘round.”

In writing Corgi Capers, I emphasize the importance of neighbors. Fifth grader Adam Hollinger is a sheltered boy. As he meets new people, he starts to see that there is not a narrow definition of “normal,” as he once thought. In book 3, his new friend Gavin opens Adam’s eyes to just how lucky Adam has been growing up. Courtney learns that all her neighbors aren’t as helpful as she would have liked. By learning how the actions of others affect them, Adam and Courtney start to live by the golden rule—opening their eyes to the ways their actions affect others.

Though a small element in my novel, I hope the interactions of my main characters with those around them inspire us all to take a closer look at our actions and the way we affect others. I can remember handfuls of times when an off-handed remark set my smile back several hours—or several days. Often, a sarcastic complaint by a teacher or an eye roll by a fellow classmate was all it took to cloud over a sun-shining day. Misery is contagious, but so is happiness. It just seems that sometimes happiness is more difficult to spread. In book 3, Courtney learns that happiness spreads almost as easily as gossip, only it feels a lot better!

Thanks for reading this post—and take the time today to spread a little bit of sunshine to just one other person. You never know what kind of a chain reaction you might be starting 🙂

Corgi Capers Book 3 Giveaway

Sign up to follow this blog via email (sign-up is toward the upper-right), and at the end of the week, I’ll randomly select a winner to receive a free copy of Corgi Capers: Curtain Calls and Fire Halls. Haven’t read the first two? The winner can choose one of the other Corgi Capers books instead.

Contest details:

Winner will be chosen on or shortly after November 17, 2014. The prize will be the winner’s choice of Corgi Capers 1, 2, or 3. Paperback copy available only to U.S. addresses. International winners will receive choice of ebook version instead. Void where prohibited.

Related Posts

I’ve already blogged about the winners of the Name that Cat contest (and about cats as well) and about the inspiration of one of the winning names. Being inspired to enjoy life is a constant theme in Corgi Capers, as Zeph (inspired by my own fraidy-dog Yoda) is afraid of most things. Many characters learn to find the heart of a hero beating within, often taking inspiration from neighbors. Curious to learn more? You can view the trailer here. I’m pleased to be working with Yuming Cao to bring this bravery to life through illustration, and this illustrated corgi book will also be available soon.

Welcome to my launch week celebration! If you missed my other posts, you can find the links at the bottom of this page. Today, I’m writing about a new character in my novel: a feline.

I have never been a cat person—mainly because I am allergic. I’ve never met a dog who didn’t like me. Now cats—I’ve met some who insist on curling up on my lap until I sneeze. And to be honest, there’s nothing quite like that contented purring vibrating through my body as they sleep and keep me warm. But I’ve met others who hiss at me and even bite. During one of my house-hunting adventures, a cat darted out from a closet, jumped on the bed, and actually bit my arm. It didn’t draw blood, but it did scare me away from considering that house!

My earliest memory of a cat isn’t actually my own memory. It’s my mother telling me about a cat she had that she taught to play fetch: she had a little rubber ball, and she threw it up the stairs. Her cat would retrieve it and then chase it again. Strangely enough, this feline story actually made me want—you guessed it!—a dog. (A few years later, my begging resulted in a loveable little puppy.)

My next memory of cats—also doesn’t involve an actual cat. My parents had these salt and pepper shakers. They had these lids that lifted up in such a way that they looked somewhat like mouths (at least, they looked like mouths to an imaginative young girl). While waiting for dinner many nights, my sister and I played with the salt and pepper shakers, imagining that the pristine white salt was a cat and the speckled and aromatic pepper was a dog. My sister’s picky personality (which was somewhat cat-like during those early years) implanted itself onto that salt shaker, and I actually found myself slightly resentful of cats (again, without ever knowing one!). This was compounded by my mother explaining to us the truth about cats and dogs. My sister insisted that cats were really nice and sweet, and dogs were rough and mean. My mother told us that cats and dogs are all different. She did scare me by saying that a cat’s tongue is rough whereas a dog’s tongue is soft. I felt a little resentful—that cats could lure us in with their cute looks and then scratch us with their rough sandpaper tongues!

You might guess that my third memory of a cat doesn’t actually have to do with a cat, either. My sister had this beloved Halloween stuffed cat. I’m pretty sure it was named Blackie. She seemed to take it everywhere with her so that its fur looked well-worn by the end. Although I didn’t have any problem with her stuffed toy, and I did quite enjoy Halloween and the mystery surrounding black cats in October, my sister’s love of that cat pushed me to be different, to associate myself more with dogs than cats. If cats were going to be her identity, then dogs were going to be mine, dog-gone-it!

So you see, before I even got to have a real experience with a cat, I was already a dog lover.

When I finally did get to interact with cats—mostly babysitting—I found myself perplexed. Dogs get excited by all manner of words. Cookie, walk, leash, food, water—these words all seem to bring out a smile on a dog. But talking to a cat to me is like talking to an alien. With no eye contact and no reaction, I’m not sure cats even are about what I’m saying, let alone understand a word of it.

It was my own inability to communicate with cats that inspired me to add a feline to Corgi Capers 3. I knew at once that the best character to communicate with the cat would be tiny and wild Sapphie. With her inability to focus, Sapphie has her own communication problems. But we all have talents, and Sapphie’s just haven’t been discovered yet. When Zeph is terrified and perplexed by the strange mewing of the cat, Sapphie jumps right in with the ability to understand and empathize (in her own hilarious way, of course).

Drawn out to larger themes in the novel, I hoped to emphasize that we all have our own talents and—as the cliché goes—it takes all kinds to make the world go ‘round. I try to take time to understand multiple perspectives and see the world through other eyes just as my characters have done. I challenge you today to look at the world from a different perspective and see what inspiration may come your way.

Corgi Capers Book 3 Giveaway

Sign up to follow this blog via email (sign-up is toward the upper-right), and at the end of the week, I’ll randomly select a winner to receive a free copy of Corgi Capers: Curtain Calls and Fire Halls. Haven’t read the first two? The winner can choose one of the other Corgi Capers books instead.

Contest details:

Winner will be chosen on or shortly after November 17, 2014. The prize will be the winner’s choice of Corgi Capers 1, 2, or 3. Paperback copy available only to U.S. addresses. International winners will receive choice of ebook version instead. Void where prohibited.

Related Posts

I’ve already blogged about the winners of the Name that Cat contest and about the inspiration of one of the winning names. Being inspired to enjoy life is a constant theme in Corgi Capers, as Zeph (inspired by my own fraidy-dog Yoda) is afraid of most things. Many characters learn to find the heart of a hero beating within. Curious to learn more? You can view the trailer here. I’m pleased to be working with Yuming Cao to bring this bravery to life through illustration, and this illustrated corgi book will also be available soon.