The Filmmaker and The Author

Some writers are born entertainers, not only in print, but also on film. I'm not one of them. Put a camera in my face and all I think about is how I wish I could recreate the images and impressions recorded by a video camera the way I can edit pictures and perceptions formed by words on a page. What I wouldn't give to transform the me in the video lens into a younger, wiser, more fascinating version. Love being behind the camera. Hate being in front of it.

Image from Island Sting

Recently, I was reminded of my relationship with the camera when, as part of a larger project, I was asked to videotape myself. The video would then be used to introduce me, the author, to readers. Someone wanted me to video myself talking about myself? Groan. I'm not interesting. It’s my characters that are appealing. I write about teens that live in exotic locales, rescue endangered animals, solve mysteries, jump into treacherous and exciting adventures, deceive their parents, and create havoc for criminals. Why would anyone want to know about my quiet, ordinary world when they could dive into that intriguing one?

I'd accepted the fact that I was going to create a pathetic product when my thoughtful husband reminded me that we live in the City of the Arts, home of the renown and highly acclaimed University of North Carolina School of the Arts. We’re surrounded by young cinematographers, directors, editors,  producers, and screenwriters. 

Zach filming through
a magnifying glass

Enter talented Zachary Strum,  class of 2012,  UNCSA's School of Filmmaking. Poor Zach. I fought his HD camera every step of the way. (Did you catch that? HD camera. Every pore, wrinkle, smudge, every-everything would show!) I didn't simply turn away from that camera, I ran away from it. When that didn’t work, I tried to blink it away from me. Don't believe me? Watch the video.

I may not have liked the camera, but the photographer behind it was delightful. In spite of the challenge my discomfort presented, Zach produced an informative, entertaining, and spot-on accurate film. When I didn't play well with the camera, Zach simply worked around me. He shot in late winter when our yard and gardens—once nothing but a woodland jungle—were brown and dormant, but he envisioned how spring and summer would transform the property. That vision inspired his entire production.

In addition to keen vision, Zach has sensitive hearing. Corners inside my home and sites beyond its walls spoke to him. Old files, photos, and papers told him more than my nervous words could. I’m pretty sure he’s a dog whisperer, too.

Zach wove hours of film plus old and new stills into three minutes of video, then set it to music performed by Whistling Tom Bryant, a world class performer, who inspired a character in my 2011 EPIC winning novel, Island Sting. It took much more than precision of craft to produce this video, a creation that honestly and vividly introduced this author, Bonnie J. Doerr (a most reluctant subject), to the world. It took intuition, sensitivity, insight, ingenuity, persistence, patience, and kindness. 


If the film appears jerky as you view it, it's only because Zach jam-packed it with those tiny, magical digital thingies that hold incredible amounts of information. It's smooth as silk when viewed in a studio. If only I had a studio. Then maybe I could convert the images into a younger, wiser, more fascinating me. 

This film is as much about Zachary Strum, filmmaker, as it is about Bonnie J. Doerr, author. Watch for his name at the end. I'm betting you'll see it on the end of a major movie one day.

Technology Trouble and Green Guilt

This blog was first posted by and at the invitation of Precise Proofing. .

As an author of eco-mystery adventures, it’s a treat to be Precise Proofing’s guest blogger in celebration of Earth Day. Even though blogs began appearing in the 1990s, a period that seems like yesterday, I only entered the blogosphere recently. It seems time, technology, and celebrations wait for no one. According to Senator Gaylord Nelson, Founder of Earth Day, the first Earth Day celebration in the USA was held in 1970. And—boom—a heartbeat later, we’re marking the 42nd annual Earth Day which has now stretched into a month-long celebration.

Every Earth Day involves much consideration of trees: thanking trees, planting trees, saving trees. Remember when we were told technology would reduce our paper load and save trees? How has this prediction played out in your business? Glad I didn’t bet on that one coming true. In my work, I have more paper than ever to deal with. There are two main reasons for my massive paper collection.

The first  reason I’m not reducing my paper load. has to do with my research methods. When I’m not involved in primary research with wildlife in the Florida Keys, much of my research involves reading news accounts and research articles.

Truth is, I’m much better at organizing and processing articles I can touch and spread out all over the floor than dealing with information that miraculously appears on my computer screen. Half the time  I can’t even figure out how I found the articles. If I do manage to overcome the data’s mysterious appearance, I save it. How? The same way you save yours—by hiding it in a tiny picture of a folder that also wickedly disappears somewhere in my machine never to be found again.

But I know how to deal with this crazy-making situation. Can you guess where I’m going? Of course you can. I print out the good stuff. File it in a tangible manila folder, then put it in a heavy, walnut, file cabinet that holds a heck of a lot of paper.

Oh, the guilt. I’m not saving trees at all. All I can do is hope someone is replenishing the forests.

The second reason for my paper piles is that to find errors I need to see my text on hardcopy. My eyes can only handle reading a screen for a short time. So I print out my draft. I find pesky punctuation and grammar errors, those ugh!-that-reads-like-crapola parts, and get back to work on the computer.

Then, I print it again. Of course, there are additional pesky errors I missed the first time, plus new ones, and Yes, that’s brilliant! moments when I get a new and better idea for a scene. So I hit the keyboard again and improve the manuscript for the second time. You know where I’m going with this.

More printing, more editing, more insights, and with each change more opportunities for errors. But, no worries, it’s easy to make changes and print another copy. If I had to do all this by hand...well, I wouldn’t. But I keep producing mounds of paper because it’s so confounded easy, and it helps make my novels the best they can be. More guilt.

Why all this guilt?  I confess. I’m a tree hugger. I can’t help it. You can blame my parents. They’ll never know. But I’m proud to be wild about trees. Heck, we wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for their life-sustaining oxygen. I need their green. Every shade of it. I could never live on a desert, at a height above the treeline, or at either of Earth’s poles. Yes, my favorite color is green.

I do my best to make up for using so much paper. I buy recycled reams. (Do you know they make bamboo paper stock. Great idea. Bamboo is one rapidly growing tree—almost Internet fast). I use both sides of every sheet. I recycle used paper. I’ve even mulched with it.

Almost as an apology for my excess, I nurture the trees on our property. I move trees from crowded places to locations where they’ll thrive, relieve them of invasive vines, and weep when they die. And I plant new trees. Not only on Earth Day. If you, or anyone you know, question the importance of trees, Maria Rodale has some answers for you.

If you haven’t planted a tree lately, consider doing so. If you don’t have an outdoor space, plant one in a pot. Walk in the woods. Listen to the breeze whisper through branches. Savor the symphony of birdsong. Revel in the variety of foliage shapes and shades. Sway to the windy dance of mighty trunks, graceful limbs, and flittering leaves. Get up close and personal. Go ahead. Breathe deeply. Hug a tree. You might just relax and lose whatever guilt lurks.

Bonnie J. Doerr, a nature lover and lifetime educator, has taught students from kindergarten to college in eight states. Her acclaimed contemporary-realistic novels celebrate crime-fighting, fearless teens who take action with attitude and a touch of romance. Originally from western Maryland, Ms. Doerr lives in a North Carolina log cabin and spends weeks each year researching and writing in the Florida Keys. Ms. Doerr’s work has been described as a “mashup of Jean Craighead George and Carl Hiaasen” by some and by others “what would happen if Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, and Lassie teamed up to crack a case.” She is the author of eco-adventure/mystery novels, Island Sting, Leap Books 2010 (2011 EPIC eBook Outstanding Children’s Book award), Stakeout, Leap Books 2011, (finalist 2012 Green Earth YA Book award) and the forthcoming Busted, Leap Books 2013.

Bonnie is also featured this month by the Girl Scouts of the USA, Aurora Reviews, TBR, and Leap Books Publishing where her books are on sale this month. You can read more about her and her work at www.BonnieDoerrBooks.com and http://bonnieblogsgreen.blogspot.com/. 

Ask and You Shall Receive

This essay was first posted on Laurie J. Edwards, Author, Artist, Dreamer. By request, I share it here.

During Earth Week I’m reminded more than ever about why my writing took off in the direction it did. A deep appreciation of nature and the need to be immersed in the outdoors on a regular basis has defined my mental health for as long as I remember. I’ve been astounded to learn how many people are missing the gene that connects them to nature. In recent years my astonishment has turned into alarm. This dissociation from nature, I believe, is in many ways at the core of our environmental crisis.

Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods (Algonquin, 2005), defines this as Nature Deficit Disorder. As a result of a lifetime indoors, children have limited respect for their immediate natural surroundings. According to Louv, “An increasing pace in the last three decades, approximately, of a rapid disengagement between children and direct experiences in nature… has profound implications, not only for the health of future generations but for the health of the Earth itself.”

Watch the wonder and delight on a young child’s face when first observing a nest of eggs hatching, a tadpole growing into a frog, or a bean sprouting and reaching for the sky, and you know how much joy children naturally find in nature. We are wired to appreciate nature’s gifts. To nurture that appreciation, before it is lost to modern day society, can be soul saving.

Without first having experienced something, how can we come to care for it? So it seems tragically understandable that a lack of association with the natural environment leads to ecological abuse, or at the very least, taking our natural environment for granted.

I began to write poetry first, then short stories. But by the time I drafted my first novel, the die was cast. Each piece of writing had brought me closer and closer to natural settings, to crimes against the environment, and finally to where I am now—writing ecological mystery/adventures. I realize not every child can visit a wilderness, or explore a National Refuge, but every child can feel like they have when immersed in my novels. Teens can learn how much fun it is to be outdoors, how sensitive the environment is, and how they can set a good example for the adults in their world. They can virtually join other teens as they work to improve the Earth and save its creatures. It’s one small thing I can do to inspire environmental stewardship.

In celebration of Earth Month, Leap Books is offering my books at a reduced price the rest of this month. Forty percent off the paperbacks: Stakeout is only $7.79 and Island Sting is only $7.19

(The accompanying photos show the natural beauty that feeds my friends and family--body and soul.)

Stepping Away for Now.

Dear friends,

If you stumble upon my humble blog, know that I've decided to bow out of the over-saturated blogosphere for now. I had a blast while there was time and space in your world for me, but now it's time to take a break.

I will continue to champion green teens, endangered and threatened species, and all things beautiful on fragile Mother Earth.

Happy trails to all until we meet again.

Bonnie

www.BonnieDoerrBooks.com

Great News for Environmental Fiction

Oh my gosh. Do I have news!

Confession time here. I continue to be haunted by one reviewer who panned Island Sting's underlying environmental message. This in spite of the many positive reviews the book has received and the ever-increasing number of young readers who've told me how much they enjoyed Island Sting and can't wait to read Stakeout. Now it's clear quite a few adult readers approve of it as well.

On the evening of March 12th, I received an email from a talented author of captivating romance, Keena Kincaid. While attending the awards banquet at EPICon in Willimsburg, Virginia, she shot me this message: "Bonnie, you just won the children's fiction/nonfiction EPIC award for Island Sting!"

Wow! I'd hoped to attend EPICon, but because I presented two sessions at the North Carolina Reading Association conference in Raleigh that same weekend, I couldn't swing it. Receiving an EPIC was a huge thrill. And learning it as it happened was too cool. YAY for smart phones! Though texting is something I'm still resisting. I just happened to check my email at the right time.

I figured I'd found out before my editor, Kat O'Shea, had. Quick dial. Please be available. Please. This is not please-leave-a-message material. This is scream-into-my-editor's-ear breaking news. I'm happy to say Kat answered. No worries. I didn't break her ear drum. But it sure was a fun phone call. Always good to show Kat how talented she is at her job.

As one of my favorite fans Doug (Zeus Fedora Kapinos) described it, the whole experience was, well...EPIC.

A Model School for Green Living

Finally, time to check in while on the road. I recently returned to the Florida Keys (after a long road trip) for more research and inspiration. But I must share the story of a wonderful school visit along the way.

January 31st I visited the third and fifth grade classes at St. Stephens Episcopal Day School in charming Coconut Grove, Florida. (http://www.sseds.org/) For an author whose mission is not only to entertain and educate, but also to encourage environmental stewardship, visiting St. Stephens was a rare treat.

As part of its mission, the school engages in green education by developing and implementing programs that focus on:

• Teaching children about the environment while encouraging good stewardship of our earth…Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
• Practicing sustainability of resources such as energy, supplies and food.
• Creating a green and healthy space to work, learn, eat and play.

By way of modeling its mission, St. Stephens' newest office and classroom building is LEED certified. LEED stands for ‘Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design’, the nation’s benchmark for 3rd Party verified, Green and Sustainable buildings.

Planning A Picture Book was the program requested by Mrs. Booth and Mrs. Silva for their third grade classes. These enthusiastic students had previously analyzed and summarized picture books and were now ready to create their own.

It was a pleasure to learn that this spring fifth graders in Mrs. Basáñez’s and Mrs. Bernal’s classes will visit Sea Camp http://www.seacamp.org/ on Big Pine Key, Florida, the very island on which both Island Sting and Stakeout are set. As a preview of wildlife they may encounter when they study at Sea Camp’s Newfound Harbor Marine Institute (http://www.nhmi.org/), I shared a collection of photographs documenting the research that inspired and informed my writing. The slide show is one part of another author program, A Writer’s Story.

Librarian Ellen Bulkley describes Island Sting as not only a fun read, but a perfect extension to the Sea Camp curriculum.

Arriving as the entire student body congregated outdoors in the courtyard, I listened, uplifted by the sincere voices pledging allegiance to faith and flag, and then came the unexpected final words: I promise to care for the Earth as my home and to respect it at all times, by recycling, conserving energy, and saving water. I promise to encourage my friends and family to care for the Earth in the same way. Honestly, the experience gave me chills.

These children are leaders of today and tomorrow. Thank you, St. Stephens. I'm resting easier these days.

Click for a complete description of author presentations.

Soon to come: A preview of Stakeout.
http://www.bonniedoerrbooks.com/

Giving Thanks for Unexpected

Proving that environmental stewardship is alive and well in the young adult book world (one of a gazillion things for which I'm thankful), I share my latest literary news.

Island Sting, received more accolades in recent weeks. First,I received notice that Island Sting is a finalist for an EPIC award from the Electronically Published Internet Coalition. Yes, it's on Kindle.

Second, Island Sting was recognized as one of 2010's Best Books with Crossover Charm by the Winston-Salem, Journal. http://www2.journalnow.com/entertainment/2010/nov/21/crossover-charm-adults-often-enjoy-these-books-wri-ar-551711/

And of many kind reviews, the following cannot go unnoticed on BonnieBlogsGreen: Island Sting received a super review from members of the green book campaign. http://curlingupbythefire.blogspot.com/2010/11/review-island-sting-by-bonnie-j-doerr.htmlisland-sting-by-bonnie-j-doerr.html

Now on to even better news in the green world.

I'm grateful there is a grassroots effort for sustainable manufacturing in my own state.

When our November/December Farm Bureau magazine arrived I was thrilled to find inspiration for BonnieBlogsGreen. Inside was another addition to a long list of reasons to love North Carolina. I learned about a collaboration of farmers and manufacturers across the Carolinas dedicated to growing, manufacturing, and selling a quality product right here at home in the Carolinas.

Who isn't in favor of creating jobs while lessening our carbon footprint? Since most clothing sold in the USA is now manufactured in other countries, I had few ways to reduce my fashion footprint beyond shopping at resale shops. But now, I can buy at least one article of clothing produced from dirt to shirt here in North Carolina. Dirt to Shirt--a catchy green phrase that is part of the slogan on a Cotton of the Carolinas T-shirt.

Cotton of the Carolinas focuses on three main objectives:

- Support of Local Economies
- Low Transportation Footprint
- Complete Product Transparency

They make high quality T-shirts, too! You can even have your own design printed on a CoC shirt.

Take a quick tour CoC production and then visit their website for more green industry information; http://www.cottonofthecarolinas.com/aboutus.html

Happy Thanksgiving. I leave you with this photo of the only turkey at our house this Thanksgiving. She's welcome every year.

Mother Nature on a Rampage

It's a gorgeous sunny day here in NC, but that wasn't the case in many parts of the country just a few days ago. The massive storm system that plowed across the United States the last weeks of October hit us on the 26th and 27th. There was nothing we could do but stay out of the way of Mother Nature's rage. The day before what had been a lovely, peaceful scene--and also the bridge entrance to our driveway--turned into a furious nightmare.

How interesting that this storm swept the country a week before midterm elections. The writer in me couldn't help but see more than one metaphor in the phenomena. But I'll leave speculation to the political pundits.

We've had water over our bridge before. In fact, the experience inspired my first blog post in June of 2009 (http://bonnieblogsgreen.blogspot.com/2009_06_01_archive.html). I rescued Mr. GP, a frequent subject of earlier posts, from the debris that was left on the bridge. And though we had to clear the bridge twice with this October storm--and how blessed we are to still have a bridge to clear--only natural debris was left behind by the water this time.

For the lack of human trash, we can thank Cub Scout Pack 752 from Lewisville, NC, their families, and friends. Among the green teens filling countless trash bags were several Crosby Scholars. When speaking with these amazing (and muddy) folks I learned about Scoutings Venturing Program and immediately became a huge fan.

Venturing is a youth development program of the Boy Scouts of America for young men and women who are 14 years of age OR 13 years of age and have completed the eighth grade and are under 21 years of age. Venturing's purpose is to provide positive experiences to help young people mature and to prepare them to become responsible and caring adults.

The students who participated in the Clean Sweep of creeks and streams may have been earning points toward badges or scholarhips, but I'm betting many of them would have gotten their feet wet for the internal reward practicing environmental stewardship alone.

Mr. GP wanted readers to know he's had a great life since his rescue from the flood of 2009. He still worries about all the trash tossed along roadsides, but he knows he was lucky to have been one of the rescued and reycled discards. And he's looking forward to trick-or-treating.

As always, if you know of any green teens who deserve recognition, please let me know. You can contact me at http://www.bonniedoerrbooks.com/.

230 book giveaway for bookclubs!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now here's a fabulous way to celebrate 10-10-10, a supposedly fortuitous day. The amazing author class of 2k10 (In the spirit of full disclosure, I'm a bit prejudice about this group) is ending our debut year with a bang. We're giving away a slew of books to worthy bookclubs. (Could any prize be dearer to a former reading teacher?) If you know of a tween/teen bookclub that needs assistance with procuring books, please pass the word along!

Announcing the Class of 2K10 230-Book Giveaway!
Oct. 10th, 2010 at 9:33 AM

Inspired by this post by author Teri Brown, the Classof2K10 is ending off the year with a massive book club giveaway.

Five book clubs around the country can win a prize pack of three to six sets of books written by the authors from the Class of 2K10. Each pack includes TEN (seriously TEN) copies of each book, and in some packs one of the books will be signed by the author.

For cover images go to http://bit.ly/cgVnCt .

The contest is open to all book clubs associated with a nonprofit institution, a school, or a library. To enter, just comment on this entry, specifying which of the prize packs you are interested in and which nonprofit you are affiliated with. The giveaway will end on November 11, 2010.

If there are any additional questions, please contact Leah Cypess at LCypess@gmail.com.

The prize packs are:

MID-GRADE FANTASY PACK:

The Carnival of Lost Souls by Laura Quimby
Under the Green Hill by Laura L. Sullivan
The Witchy Worries of Abbie Adams by Rhonda Hayter


MID-GRADE CONTEMPORARY PACK:

Fairview Felines: A Newspaper Mystery by Michele Corriel
Island Sting by Bonnie J. Doerr
Leaving Gee's Bend by Irene Latham
The Reinvention of Edison Thomas by Jacqueline Houtman
Shooting Kabul by N.H. Senzai


YA FANTASY/PARANORMAL PACK

13 To Life by Shannon Delany
Freaksville by Kitty Keswick
Mistwood by Leah Cypess
Past Midnight by Mara Purnhagen
Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready
Under My Skin by Judith Graves


YA CONTEMPORARY PACK 1

Change of Heart by Shari Maurer
Faithful by Janet Fox
Losing Faith by Denise Jaden
The Tension of Opposites by Kristina McBride


YA CONTEMPORARY PACK 2

Of All the Stupid Things by Alexandra Diaz
Party by Tom Leveen
Three Rivers Rising by Jame Richards
The Secret Year by Jennifer R. Hubbard
Split by Swati Avasthi

Rules:

You must be a book club affiliated with a nonprofit, school, or library, and located in the continental United States.

To enter:

Leave a comment on the 2k10 blog http://bit.ly/cgVnCt . (Commenting here is always welcome, but unfortunately it doesn't help you win!)

Specify which of the prize packs you are interested in – you may choose from only one, to all five, as we will be holding 5 separate drawings. (However, no club will win more than one prize pack.)

Leave an email address where you can be reached should you win.

If the email address is a not an institution address, please specify which nonprofit, school, or library you are affiliated with.

If you are not sure whether you qualify, just leave the relevant information in the comment.


Good luck!

KIDS DO CARE

Continue reading to learn how you can win this shirt.




Exemplifying this month's tag line:

Intrigue: What really went wrong with the gulf oil rig?

Treachery : “Our operations failed to meet our own standards and the requirements of the law,” BP said in 2007 before pledging to improve its “risk management.” (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/business/09bp.html)

Intrepid Teens: Young Olivia Bouler

Since the Gulf Coast oil disaster first broke, I've been mentally paralyzed. How could I post an installment on Bonnie Blogs Green when all I could see was black? My beloved gulf waters were poisoned, creatures by the thousands--members of every major animal class--were dying, good men had been killed in the disaster, and life for hundreds, maybe thousands, of people had been destroyed for a generation or more.

It didn't help the wall of depression when a book blogger wrote a review claiming that kids at her school would never pick up ISLAND STING, a book featuring an environmental club. How much of an adventure/mystery could that be?

Saving the environment? Not an adventurous mystery? On what planet?

Fast forward to a message from ISLAND STING readers who'd been inspired to start an environmental club at their school, then another and another of the same. And yesterday I received a letter from a reader stating, "I also love ISLAND STING because it really shows what a big environmental problem we have to deal with and how kids can help."

And now, in case there are more people like me whose tears have blinded them to any good news, I offer the story of young Olivia Bouler's amazing efforts to save Mother Earth. It just may be my favorite green tween story to date. After you enjoy the video interview, please visit Olivia's Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-the-Gulf-Olivias-Bird-Illustrations/102196836492763 You can help no matter your age.

Thank you, Olivia. A wise person once said, "And a little child shall lead them."



I probably should end with an uplifting quote from one of ISLAND STING'S many positive reviews:

Much of the charm of this book is author Doerr's extensive research on the Keys and the deer, which she weaves seamlessly into an action-packed, engaging story. Any residents, visitors, or fans of the Florida Keys will be delighted by the setting, which is almost a character in itself. Doerr masters the "Green Teen" genre by mixing romance, suspense, and humor with current ecological issues. Her upcoming book, STAKEOUT, is sure to follow in this tradition.

In a final bit of good news, ISLAND STING has been chosen as Forsyth County, NC 's online middle school book club read for the month of September. Love it! Encouraging green teens one region at a time.

And now, a giveaway. YAY!!

In celebration of good book news, I'm giving away a class of 2k10 t-shirt (size L) from our debut middle grade and young adult author class trip to BEA (BookExpo America) in New York City. No worries--it's never been worn! Simply enter a comment below for your chance to win the shirt along with a 2k10 bookmark and postcard. Include in your comment the link to a this blog on your Facebook page or Twitter and earn a second chance to win. If no more than 20 comments are made following this post (because lots of folks are on vacation) the contest will roll over to next month. Remember, if you're the lucky winner, I'll have to email you, so if I can't click your comment to find you, please email your address to me. And if at first your comment doesn't post, click the word post a second time.

Remember you can always learn more about ISLAND STING and the Florida Keys at http://bonniedoerrbooks.com/ .