As some of my followers know, I am and always have been very involved with our local school districts. I’ve logged countless hours in the classroom, chaired events, served as a PTA executive board member. I attend district meetings, act as liaison between schools, and sit on the SCV Education Foundation Board. I’ve watched with saddened interest as our embattled schools deal with unprecedented budget cuts; listened to our downtrodden but courageous superintendents and administrators share their frustrations; sympathized with educators, many of them close friends.

So when the local high school district announced earlier this week that they were dispensing with promotion ceremonies for 8^th grade junior high school students, I immediately took interest. The estimated savings is $40,000.00, not an insignificant amount. What makes this even timelier is that I have an 8^th grade daughter, who’s been planning her attire for this morning event, normally held at our nearby community college.

I wish it didn’t have to be, and I mourned the news for about a day. The schools have promised to acknowledge their successful exiting students in some way on their individual campuses.

Frankly, I was surprised and actually disappointed in the response by the community. The students, understandably, are upset, and have rallied in opposition. Chalk it up to their age and that egocentricity young teens hang their hats on. It makes for great texting and Facebook chatter, another reason to dis the authorities. Except for the electronic methodologies, we did the same thing. What’s really upsetting to me is the number of parents and other adults who are up in arms. These must be folks whose heads have been firmly buried in sand over the past year or two, as the rest of us have watched this very serious budget disaster progress. Teachers, admins and clerical staff are losing jobs. Furlough days are taking students and educators alike out of the classroom. Class size reductions, something our schools have been so proud of, are history. Programs are competing for funds to stay alive.

Forty thousand dollars can save an art or music program. It can buy copier paper for the production centers. More, teachers can gain back those precious instructional days that would have been spent on promotion activities. Is it really so hard to let go of a pomp ceremony to celebrate our children having survived two years of middle school? What kind of message does that give them?

Let it go, parents, aunts, neighbors. Instead, spend that energy on thinking about what you can do to help our schools get through these next, few—euphemistically called “lean”—years, and explain to your outraged middle schooler that life will go on.

A. Montgomery, J. Sheratt, G. Carline and Yours Truly

Have you heard the simile, “busier than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs”? That’s one of my favorites, and a good descriptor of my last week. Started off last weekend with my attendance—or should I be saying “appearance”—at the Duarte Festival of Authors. What a fun day! Not only did I make some new friends, I got to catch up with writer pals Jeff Sherratt, Gayle Carline and Alyssa Montgomery, all Echelon Press pubbed authors. Also ran into Patty Kokinos, author of ANGEL PARK. Patty is just a delightful person, a smart, savvy cookie who’s also warm-hearted and compassionate. She’s now touting the second release of her fictionalized account of what’s wrong with our schools. Take a moment to check out her website.

As luck would have it, Gayle, Jeff and I were all on the same mystery panel. An enjoyable, educational experience. A highlight of the day was meeting the most affable Ray Bradbury. Alyssa had him autograph a new, hardbound copy of THE ILLUSTRATED MAN, and both Jeff and Gayle gave him copies of their books.

Sunday found me at WeHo- West Hollywood Book Fair. Weather was sparkle-bright, people were nice, as always. In the Sisters in Crime/L.A. booth I rubbed elbows with buddies Diana and Darrell James and several other top-notch mystery authors. Got to meet Eric Stone, author and my editor on “Just Like Jay”, slated for publication next summer in the SinC/LA anthology, “Murder in La La Land.” Eric was gracious and complimentary, and he made a fan of me.

On Monday I attended the local “State of the City” meeting and got to listen to our city council members tell all about everything they’ve done/are doing for our fair berg. Salmon lunch was tasty, conversation was good. Touched base with several people I haven’t seen in awhile. Tuesday I got my flu shot, yee-haa, and Friday I attended the press conference for friend David Gauny, (do you like his website?) who’s throwing in his hat on the city council race for 2010. Loads of fun. Capped off the week with Taste of Expo Friday night, sampling the wares of twenty local restaurants. Well, I only sampled three of the twenty.

Took it easy all weekend, naturally! My daughter-in-law returned home from Singapore today, I’m so happy to report. (My son came back 3 weeks ago.) We are all present and accounted for. Our weather has been cool the past few days, a huge relief to many. I know I will miss the warm weather, I always do. I can’t wait for late April and our lively California sun. It’s just me, I know.

A girlfriend stopped by today and gave me a miniature Heceta Head lighthouse! She went there on vacation with her family and, having read POINT SURRENDER, she thought to bring me back a gift as this is the lighthouse on the cover. It’s so cool.

Getting lengthy so I’d best shut up now. This week should be calmer, but I know I will be back into the weird book I’m writing so it will likely fill in any free time I’d otherwise have. Oh well. It’s what I do.

Okay, I’m also writing a new book. Yeah, I know, I shouldn’t be, with school, and the edits to CAPE SEDUCTION due on my desk at any micro-second. (Katie?) I’m also just gearing up to participate in the upcoming political campaign of a good friend. Fun, but time consuming.

Oh, the book? You want to know about that. Well, it’s about… a secret. I mean, the story is a secret. It’s different, WAY different than anything I’ve ever ventured into. I guess you could call it a romance, of sorts, and it involves two unusual, needy people who persist in getting into trouble and rescuing each other every few years. What’s so different about that? Well, not much, actually. It’s just that one of the characters is rather… androgynous. Or maybe a little gender-bent. There I go, spouting off secrets. Zipping lips now.

Have you heard about Echelon Shorts? Well, similar to Bermuda Shorts, only a lot more fun. The authors of short fiction at Echelon are blogging about their great stories. Hey, I think I’m there today! Yep—I’m there, yapping about WHEN HARRY MET SOLI. I love this little story. It’s great fun, about a little boy who is convinced he is the real Harry Potter. Easy, 30-40 minute ebook read for $3.00. Enjoy it today…

Let’s see… today is September 11^th, a day we do, and don’t, really want to remember. What I do recall was my husband sitting beside me on the bed as we watched (again and again) the towers burning, collapsing. He said to me, “the world will never be the same after this.” He was right, of course. Some good info on Patriot Day here.

Today is also my super duper smarty-pantz niece’s 18^th birthday. I can’t believe she made it this far without talking herself—and me—to death. Happy Birthday, Litter Box!

Heading out to the Hollywood Bowl tomorrow night with friends. Our last deal of the year. Blame it on Rio! With fireworks finale! Can’t wait.  (Note to self:  take extra cushion for aching back.)

Okay, chums, have a great weekend and hopefully I’ll be back on track next week…

Australian students using netbooks in the classroom.

Since Governor Swarzeneggar’s recent move to make digital textbooks a reality in California, I have been watching the process unfold and have listened to a dizzying array of public reaction. Typically, many people fire off opinions prior to becoming fully informed on the subject. Some fear that economically-disadvantaged students would not be able to keep up without computers and/or internet connections at home. Others cite the high cost of ebook readers as the shortfall of the project.

One thing’s for certain: there is a lot more to be researched and said. I’m not entirely sure that the Governor was totally up-to-speed himself as he proposed his mandate. And how could he be? Technology is changing rapidly, as hardware (ereader manufacturers) and software (textbook publishers) providers all scramble to provide the latest and greatest and more, do it first.

As previously mentioned, the Kindle DX is currently in use on several college campuses as students determine the strengths and weaknesses of the portable electronic book. One issue is the device’s inability to display in color, which diminishes the impact of science textbook photos and diagrams. History books, too, suffer under the monochrome limitation.

After reading about One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) a non-profit organization that strives to “empower the children of developing countries to learn by providing one connected laptop to every school-age child,” I thought, why not here? While it is certainly a worthwhile, altruistic goal to modernize education in Peru and Cambodia, why can’t we improve education in Bakersfield or Hemet in a similar fashion?

Naturally, when I was first introduced to the popular new “netbooks“, something clicked. Netbooks are fully-functioning laptop computers, missing only a CD/DVD drive and a pound or two in weight. Smaller keyboard, smaller screen, but internet capable. Beefy enough to handle word processing and ebooks. Retail priced lower than the Kindle DX. In color. Wrap it up with a rubber collared bump guard and you have a student-ready learning device.

No waiting around in Evansville, IL. The school district is acquiring thousands of netbook computers for their students and teachers. This pilot program will see the rental of these units to families for $70.00 each. The District is picking up the $45.00 balance of the $115.00 yearly rental fee. See the whole story here.

I envision a time when a high school will have its own wi-fi intranet, where teachers will upload and download lesson plans and tests will be instantly posted from students’ netbooks. I see textbooks with interactive, mini-videos embedded within. Who wouldn’t rather watch a reenactment or actual archived footage of an historic event than read through four dry paragraphs recounting same? Today’s students are point-and-click fanatics.

Read here about an Australian school where netbooks have already been implemented. Be sure to read comments made by 4th & 5th grade students. (Top photo courtesy Anne Mirtschin.)

As I mentioned above, there is still much ground to be covered. I look forward to being on the front lines.

There is a lot to write about with regard to digitally formatted books. Right now, my focus is on how to sell more of them. I buy almost exclusively ebooks myself, most of them from on-line bookseller Fictionwise. And no, I don’t read them on my computer. I have a small PDA (”Personal Data Assistant”) device — you may recognize the pioneer name “Palm Pilot” — that I download books onto and read at night in bed. I love it, and now have difficulty changing back to paper books on occasion. Since I read in bed, paper books don’t work because they require light, space and they make noise. Not to mention that they take up space on the shelf when they should still be standing in the forest. But that’s another issue.

By now, you’ve probably heard of the Kindle, Amazon’s offering in the digital book arena. Two of my friends own them and I must say, they are pretty nice. Kindles, along with their nearest competitor, the Sony Reader Digital Book, work for a variety of different scenarios. However, as they both utilize the revolutionary “eInk”, they don’t light up at night, and they don’t display in color.

Nonetheless, either of these (and several other) ereaders work  just fine for the reading of any of my seven available ebooks. Fictionwise, in fact, makes my titles available in no less than thirteen different formats for different readers. Prices range from 85 cents to $5.95 for my latest, full-length romantic mystery, POINT SURRENDER. Is that a bargain, or what? The paperback sells for $12.95 plus shipping. The savings is about $8.50, and it wouldn’t take too long to make back the price of the ereader, would it?

I believe that once the price on the ereader comes down to under $100, we will start to see greater momentum on the ebook front. The fact that California, Texas and other states are experimenting with digital textbooks is a good sign.

I’d like to know what others think. Others who are still on the fence, or starting to think more about going green with ebooks. What would make you switch?

Directors are elected for two year stints, term renewals alternating between two members and three members each year. That is to say, two members come up for reelection one year, then three the next, and so on. This year, all three of the members whose seats are up for renewal have decided to bow out. One of the other two members, last seated in November, 2008, has decided to run for a spot on another secondary school board. So, there will likely be four seats out of five vacated this fall.

I have been asked to opt for one of the seats. I have to admit, I was immediately, immensely flattered that I could be considered competent enough to sit on this important board. I hold the Superintendent in the highest regard, and appreciate the magnitude of responsibility he and his staff shoulder. Word of my potential campaign spread quickly, and I’ve been contacted by several friends to ask if I will be running.

I am tempted. Serving on the district board would be a great way to stay involved in local education (even though my yougest child is no longer a student of this district) and offer my support during these challenging times for educators. I already serve on the SCV Education Foundation board, and am significantly involved in their efforts to support excellence in local education. I spoke at length with both the Superintendent and one of the outgoing board members. Resounding in their comments was the hope that newly elected (or appointed, as may occur) board members be committed for the long term. While it is technically a two-year term, departing members have served as many as twelve consecutive years on the board.

Making this decision has been difficult. Yesterday, I had a brief discussion with a very good friend, himself a principal in this same district. While he was, at first, delighted at the prospect of my service, he noted my hesitation and advised me to decline if I was not 100% certain I wanted to go forward. Of course, he was right.

It would be wrong for me to fill the seat when someone else might be able to make a longer term commitment than I. So I’m stating today that I will not be throwing in my hat for November’s election, but am honored to have been considered.