Kickstarter

Old Edna Cornblossom has disappeared, and the whole neighborhood misses her. What happens to a close-knit community when an important person leaves? Missing: Mrs. Cornblossom tells the story of Arlington Court, where a trio of ten-year-olds, two eccentric adults, and a mischievous calico cat discover that, together, they carry their friend's beloved memory forward in their own lives. 

Yikes! A book about loss and grief for children? Well...yes, it is. After all, children also experience loss. But this is definitely not a dreary story. There's plenty of fun, and some mystery, too. And, most of all, there's a lot of love. 

I wrote this story to comfort myself after the death of a dear friend. As I wrote, I came to see that I was really comforting a child—that part of me that sometimes feels small and scared. I also realized that I was having a ton of fun with my characters.

So I shared the manuscript with some children. And they liked it, too. "Send more stories about the people with funny names," 6-year-old Emma wrote. As soon as she'd heard it, 5-year-old Anise asked her father to start reading the book to her again. Grace, age 10, told me, "I love this book." 

The physical facts: This will be a paperback book, approximately 96 pages in length. It's a chapter book—not a picture book—with eleven chapters, each about the right length for a bedtime reading. It's accessible to middle-grade readers (ages 10-13), but appropriate to read to younger children, too. Missing: Mrs. Cornblossom is a good story to share with your child, your parent, your partner, or your best friend.

A bit more about me: Writing is my life. For my livelihood, I write mostly for magazines and radio. My essays for public radio have won national awards and my stories have earned honors including Pushcart Prize nominations. I teach a number of writing workshops every year, including an October short essay workshop at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico. Missing: Mrs. Cornblossom is my first children's book—and, I think, my favorite writing endeavor to date.

About the rewards: You probably already know how Kickstarter works: the value of your reward increases with the amount of your pledge, and you can read more about that to the right.

If you'd like to preview the rewards, here's a look at the set of four cards I have designed from my paper collages. If you donate $5 or more, I'll send you a handwritten thank-you note on one of them. 

And if you would like to preview the music on my two CDs, Fabulous Realities and Going Over Home, just visit cdbaby.com, search for my name, and listen to samples.

Thanks for your support!