It’s the final installment in the fall series of the Blink Blog! Read below for some of our authors favorite fall memories and to hear what has been inspiring them!<\/p>\n
Favorite elementary school memory?<\/b><\/p>\n
Alison Gervais: <\/b>My elementary school in California used to have a Halloween parade, and I always loved it. We got to dress up in costumes and go around the school and get lots of candy. I loved it!<\/span><\/p>\n Christina June: <\/b>This isn’t exactly a favorite, but on my very first day of kindergarten, I threw up during the fire drill. \u00a0I was out sick for a few days after that – definitely memorable!<\/span><\/p>\n Mary Rand Hess: <\/b>I was in sixth grade, performing in a traveling play based on the novel Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I played Aunt March and had to wear a white wig and shawl. One time my braces got caught in my best friend’s shawl, and I had mere seconds to free my teeth before my lines. It’s not necessarily the most joyful memory, but it makes me (and others) laugh to this day.<\/span><\/p>\n McCall Hoyle: <\/b>In elementary school, I had a gray pony named Duchess. She was my best friend. I could spend hours (days if my parents would have allowed it) roaming the woods and creeks of North Georgia. The best part was making up stories in my head about Native Americans, Revolutionary War Soldiers, Civil War Spies. If I wasn\u2019t lost in some great historical event, I was Nancy Drew looking for clues and solving mysteries. I didn\u2019t know it at the time, but I was preparing to write my own stories someday. <\/span><\/p>\n Stephanie Morrill: <\/b>Favorite elementary school memory?: Writing stories and reading them out loud to the class. I remember clearly having time for this in early elementary school, and it’s what made me want to be an author when I grew up.<\/span><\/p>\n What has been inspiring you lately?<\/b><\/p>\n Alison Gervais: <\/b>I would say my job has been inspiring me right now. I currently work in D\/deaf\/Hard of Hearing services, and I am so inspired by the consumers I work with. There are far more obstacles than there should be right now for the Deaf community – like ignorance and lack of effective communication – and I am in awe of how graciously my consumers overcome these obstacles.<\/span><\/p>\n Christina June: <\/b>I’ve been so busy writing college recommendation letters that I’m happy to just marinate on new ideas. \u00a0The cooling weather puts me in the mood to write, so I’ll be glad when I have more time.<\/span><\/p>\n Mary Rand Hess: <\/b>The helpers in the world inspire me\u2026those who get out of their comfort zone to make a difference.<\/span><\/p>\n McCall Hoyle: <\/b>My students inspire me. Teaching inspires me. Connecting with teenagers inspires me and renews my faith in the possibility of a beautiful future. I kind of have the two best jobs in the world\u2014teaching and writing!<\/span><\/p>\n Stephanie Morrill: <\/b>What has been inspiring you lately?: Most of the year I’ve been reading obsessively about the Japanese American experience during WWII for my upcoming release with Blink. I expected to be saddened and horrified by what I learned (and I was) but I didn’t expect to feel so deeply inspired by a group of people I’ve never known. Most of them took an awful, unfair situation that stripped away their rights and still they created beautiful communities within those barbed wire fences. I’m in awe of their strength and courage.<\/span><\/p>\n Any favorite childhood memories from fall? <\/b><\/p>\n Alison Gervais: <\/b>I’ve always loved apple picking! Even now, it’s a family affair, and now that my siblings and I are all grown up and my sisters have children, my nieces and nephews are going apple picking with us too. Their excitement is infectious. Afterward we’ve been going to this cute little restaurant called the Gooseberry Patch and we order a bunch of slices of pie. It’s great.<\/span><\/p>\n Christina June: <\/b>Going to the pumpkin patch, trick-or-treating, and most importantly, MY BIRTHDAY, which is in October and celebrated all month.<\/span><\/p>\n Mary Rand Hess: <\/b>One of my favorite memories is carving pumpkins and baking pumpkin seeds with my dad. Afterward, we\u2019d join in on the neighborhood Halloween parade, where a large antique fire truck blared its sirens as we marched in costume.<\/span><\/p>\n McCall Hoyle: <\/b>I grew up in North Georgia in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Every fall, we would visit places like Helen, and Dahlonega, and Blairsville to search for changing leaves. Our daytrips generally revolved around family and nature and always included a steaming brown bag of boiled peanuts and good times. <\/span><\/p>\n Stephanie Morrill: <\/b>Picking out new clothes was always a favorite fall activity of mine. I was a little bummed when I stopped growing and needing new clothes every year!<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It’s the final installment in the fall series of the Blink Blog! Read below for some of our authors favorite fall memories and to hear what has been inspiring them! Favorite elementary school memory? Alison Gervais: My elementary school in California used to have a Halloween parade, and I always loved it. We got to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-notes"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n