I have debated long and hard about whether to discuss politics on MySpace.  But this election is the most important one of my lifetime.  As a writer, I feel I must speak out and at least express my strong advocacy for Sen. Barack Obama—though, of course, I respect whatever opinions each of you might hold.  Part of what I envision for America with an Obama presidency is this: the ability to "disagree without being disagreeable."

You might recognize this phrase, and I do not claim it as my own.  I first heard it from Barack Obama when he was running for U.S. Senate, well before he entered the national political arena as a candidate for President.

As a maturing woman and as a Jew in "Christian America," I see in Sen. Obama a leader who can bring together all kinds of people no matter their gender, age, ethnicity, or religion.  He has already done this in the Illinois legislature, working across the aisle to pass tough measures that aid real people.  He has already done this in the U.S. Senate, working on issues as difficult and diverse as ethics reform and nuclear proliferation.  And he has done this in his campaign as well.

His life experience reflects both his character and his core values.  As a child, he lived for four years in predominantly Muslim Indonesia before moving with his mother to Hawaii.  Pernicious internet rumors that Obama is a Muslim are false; he has belonged to the same Christian church in Chicago for twenty years, but believes deeply in the separation of church and state.  After graduating from Columbia University in 1983, Obama worked as a community organizer for a church-based group in the poor neighborhoods of Chicago rather than pursue a more lucrative career.  He earned his law degree from Harvard in 1991, becoming the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review.

Rather than work on Wall Street after graduation, he returned to Chicago to practice as a civil rights lawyer and to teach constitutional law.  His advocacy work inspired him to run for the Illinois State Senate, where he served for eight years.  Elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004, he became the third African American member since Reconstruction.  In total, Obama claims eleven years of legislative experience, during which he was known for his unique ability to work in a bipartisan way to tackle tough issues.

More than his experience, more than his judgment in speaking out to oppose the War in Iraq back in 2002 when his current opponents were voting in favor of authorizing it, Obama's vision of bringing the country together and putting a new face on our foreign policy have inspired me and disenchanted voters to re-enter the political dialogue.  His candidacy attracts not only Democrats, but also young people, minorities, independents, and yes, evens some Republicans, making it a golden opportunity to reunite America with itself and with the world.  We cannot afford to return to the divisive politics-as-usual of the past.  Not now.  Not anymore.  Obama will be the most electable of all the Democrats this fall.  And he will have the best chance of working across the aisle to pass the kind of legislation that all three Democratic candidates support.
 
If you have not yet decided to whom you will award your vote in the upcoming primaries, I hope you will learn more about Barack Obama and his policy positions at www.barackobama.com.  Or check out the facts or any rumors you might have heard-- verified by independent sources--at www.factcheck.barackobama.com.

With respect,
Sheri Sinykin

I'm delighted to learn that GIVING UP THE GHOST is among 94 nominations in the 2007 Fantasy and Science Fiction Category of the The Cybils--a Children's and YA Bloggers' Literary Award.  My novel is among many by authors I have long-admired and respected--a list that someone is going to have quite a job paring down before final decisions are made!

You can view the enire list here.

I will be interviewed about my new middle grade novel, GIVING UP THE GHOST (Peachtree) on Saturday, November 17th from 8-9 a.m. (Arizona/Mountain time) on  Air America-Phoenix's "We're Here for You," sponsored by Hospice of Arizona (1480 AM, also streaming online at www.novamradio.com), in case anyone wants to try to catch the broadcast.  It should be a fun and informative hour.  I'm not sure, however, whether the show will be archived in a downloadable format.

Sheri

I'm very excited about my new presentation for middle schoolers entitled "Good Grief: What Kids Need to Know about Loss and Grief."  In it I share not only the personal loss and grief-recovery experience that led to the writing and publication of GIVING UP THE GHOST, but also a loss-and-grief education module for kids in grades 5-8.  It's everything I wish I knew about these subjects when I was a kid but was afraid to ask--and adults were too uncomfortable (or mis-informed) to tell.

Sadly, all today's middle-schoolers share at least two common loss experiences: 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina.  If nothing else, they (and we all) lost our innocence and sense of security after those two events.  A middle school teacher from Milwaukee confirmed my belief that death and other childhood losses are very much on students' minds, but that teachers feel ill-equipped to begin a dialogue on the subject. She welcomed the publication of my novel, and hoped it would open the door for discussion, using my online teacher's guide.

But I wanted to go further.

Ever since my mother's death, the subsequent loss of my family of origin, and my own grief-and-forgiveness journey, I've felt a calling to personally bring GIVING UP THE GHOST to young readers in a unique way that would involve more than "putting on my author's cap" and "selling my book."  I want to use my own experience and new-found knowledge about loss and grief to provide tools for dealing, healing, and countering much of the disinformation our culture unfortunately perpetuates.  I am grateful to have encouragement and support from the training director of the American Hospice Foundation's "Grief at School" program, who has generously vetted my content and offered use of hospice-created handouts, which I hope to post to my website in the near future.

My presentation runs one hour and includes Power Point or transparencies, depending on the availability of equipment. For more information or to contact me about booking an appearance, please visit the Author Visits  or Contact Me pages of my website.

I'd love to hear your thoughts and reactions to this new focus in my school visits.

Sheri

On November 9, 2007, I will be Yvonne Perry's guest on Writers in the Sky Podcast and you could be the winner of my new book, GIVING UP THE GHOST!

Yvonne suggests I post the following:  Sheri Sinykin grew up in California, earned a BA in Communications-Journalism from Stanford University, and worked as a newspaper reporter, a hospital public relations director, and an assistant executive director of a convention and visitors bureau before settling down to pursue her childhood dream of writing children's books.

Giving Up the Ghost (ISBN: 978-1-56145-423-5) was published by Atlanta-based Peachtree Publishers in October, 2007.  This novel was inspired by Sinykin's work as a hospice volunteer, a love affair with New Orleans, and her mother's eight-and-a-half-year battle with cancer, which she lost in February, 2006. This book may be ordered online or through any local bookstore. 

You could win this book if you are the first to email Yvonne with the secret word that will be given during the interview.

Here's a synopsis for Giving Up the Ghost

Thirteen-year-old Davia Peters is afraid of many things: death, ghosts, unfamiliar places, and the possible return of her mom's cancer.  But she can't avoid these fears now.  Far from their Wisconsin home, Davia and her parents are temporarily living in Louisiana to assist with the in-home hospice care of her elderly Great-Aunt Mari.  Everything about the old woman and her spooky-looking plantation home terrifies Davia.  And when she encounters Emilie, the tortured ghost of a well-to-do adolescent girl from the nineteenth century, she is even more frightened.  To Davia's surprise, Emilie seems eager to have her for a friend, but the ghost is unpredictable and difficult.

Davia begins to gradually learn from Aunt Mari secrets about Emilie and about her own family's past—stories of premature endings and regrets.  As Aunt Mari's health deteriorates, she and Davia become closer.  Together, they hope to release Emilie's spirit from the mansion and the world of the living while there is still time.

Subscribe to the RSS Feed to Writers in the Sky blog at http://yvonneperry.blogspot.com and receive an eBook of articles you can use on your blog or website. There's no cost to subscribe but you will get an email whenever a new article about the craft and business of writing is posted on my blog.

Things sure have changed in the nine years since I published my last children's book--all thanks to the internet!  My mind still can't quite grasp all the possibilities.

I'll be talking on "internet radio" about my new children's novel, GIVING UP THE GHOST, this Thursday, October 18th, at 2 p.m. CDT.  "Book Bites for Kids" is a LIVE show that airs every weekday afternoon at 2:00 CST on blogtalkradio.com. You can listen to it via your computer by going to:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/bookbitesforkids

I was driving to New Berlin, Wisconsin, today and saw a sign along the road that really resonated with me:

"Worry is the darkroom in which negatives are developed."

I have always been the queen of worriers, though I am now in recovery.  I re-commit on a daily, sometimes an hourly, basis.  We writers have so many things we could worry about, if we let ourselves.  Most are out of our control--our writing being the only thing we have any control over (and sometimes, even that is an illusion).

Reviews, awards--Jane Yolen calls them "fairy dust."

Well, the fairy paid me an unexpected visit, and I am doing the happy dance tonight!

Kirkus Reviews

September 15, 2007

Sinykin, Sheri

GIVING UP THE GHOST

Equal parts psychological realism and supernatural thriller, this story about living in the present and conquering fear has teen appeal in spades. Thirteen-year-old Davia Peters and her family travel to a plantation home in South Louisiana to care for Davia's great-aunt Mari as she dies of cancer. The family's task is even more difficult than one might expect given the fact that Davia's mother has recently come through her own harrowing battle with the disease. To make the situation even tougher, Aunt Mari asks Davia to befriend the plantation's ghost, a girl Davia's age named Emilie. Davia somehow finds the courage to get to know Emilie, and ultimately, the exchange of their most painful secrets proves to be exactly what each girl needs most. Sinykin's simple, straightforward prose can be read by those as young as nine, but the subject matter—disease, death, arranged marriage and suicide—makes this title more appropriate for older readers. A good choice for reluctant teens. (Fiction. YA)

Happy Labor Day to me!  I'm wading into new territory, both in writing a blog and in setting up a new web presence.   My computer-engineer son, now married and living far away, is not around to help with all my techie questions as I set up this new MySpace and wade into unknown waters.  It's fun and addictive, though, and I can see if I'm not careful, I may never save time to write any new books.

He finally taught me how to update my primary website Sheri Sinykin's Place, where I have a link to the first chapter of Giving Up the Ghost on my CURRENT BOOKS page, along with a link to a Teacher's Guide. 

But Patience seems to be the lesson of the day. That and Perseverance.

The last decade of my life has been visited by much loss--both personal and professional.  But I am happy to be publishing again--under a slightly new name (I dropped my maiden name I used in my earlier books) after an extended period of writer's block.

As my novel for readers ages 10-14 is set near New Orleans and the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina just passed days ago, I've been feeling sad and frustrated about all the promises that have not been kept, all the lives that have been shattered and not rebuilt, all the pain and suffering that continues.  What can I do?  No amount of political action, donation of money and books seems to help heal aching hearts.

Maybe Giving Up the Ghost is a response of sorts, one I hope will bring comfort and healing to adolescents wracked by fear and grief, no matter where they live.

I'd love to hear your comments about Giving Up the Ghost or about Patience and Perseverance!