Summer flying by

It seems lately that all of the things about summer that I have been anxiously awaiting are over now. We are finished with summer rec., swimming lessons and the Summer Reading Program at the library. The county fair is over. I saw the movie Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. And, the most awaited day of all, my Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book arrived right on time, via the mailman. I pre-ordered the book back in January or February to ensure it's safe arrival to my mailbox. And then I sat back and waited patiently, among thousands of other people, children and adults alike, filled with mixed emotions at what will be the last book in the series.

My librarian told me several years ago that I should read the books, so I checked out the first book, The Sorcerer's Stone. I then went on Amazon.com and ordered all four books for myself, and devoured them quickly. Since then, I have done the same thing, had them delivered to my house. Last time, with the Half-Blood Prince, I tried to savor it slowly, but I carried it all over the house with me and finished it in four days. This time, I so longed to make it last, since it was the last one, but I couldn't. I still had to be a mom, though, so I had many interruptions, but I was thinking about it constantly. I started it around noon on Saturday and finished it at 1am Sunday night. And I cried. Several times throughout.

I have been a serious bookworm my entire life, and I know the power that books can have over us. They can mess with our emotions, make us scared, happy, sad, anything. But I am still amazed at the power the Harry Potter books have had. The books were not perfect (especially the last three) with some inconsistencies, weak moments and rushed plots, but I don't care. At all. I am in love with everybody, and I cried when people died. Like a baby. How can that happen when the person is a fictional character, somebody completely made up? They seem so real, and I become so absorbed in the books and the their lives, just like everyone else that is madly in love with the series. Being a writer myself, I find it fascinating. Will I ever create a character that people besides myself will fall in love with and demand to read more about? Could I come up with a world so fascinating, a plot so complex and involved that it takes seven books to get through it all? It's extremely doubtful. Not may people can. I can't even finish one novel.

However, I recently attended a writing workshop with Catherine Friend. She is a great writer who has written (and had published) several children's books, a couple novels and a memoir called "Hit by a Farm." I highly recommend all of them. She talked to us about getting published and what it entails and how to write stories that children will love to read, and that publishers will not just toss aside. I feel inspired since I went, like maybe I could really do this. I have no doubt that I will always write, whether or not it's ever published, and whether or not I make any money at it. I will write for myself, for what I want to get out of my mind and onto paper, and just hope that one day someone will read it and get something out of it.