Good Morning and Happy Monday! Welcome to Sharon’s Monthly News.
One of my goals is to bring my two brands, Selma P. Verde, Author of Young Adult Fiction and Mentoring A Dream (MAD), Helping the adults reach the teens in their lives together and become a cohesive unit. Why? I believe that both brands provide tools for parents and caring adults to understand the issues teens are facing and then create a safe place to talk to their teens about those issues. As we move through 2024, you will see the brands working together more.
My Writing Process
The writing process is always a journey with its own twists and turns. When you are an indie author and publisher, the process is more affected by things that happen in your own everyday life. As teens are heading back to school, I think back to when I was in high school. I wrote a post about it a few years ago on Selma’s website, you can see it here A letter to my high school self.
I loved going back to school. Getting the new school clothes and school supplies, the excitement in finding out who was in my classes, and where my locker was at school. But, there were also some unpleasant things that I didn’t look forward to. Changing in front of the other girls in gym class. Boy, was I glad when I didn’t have to take gym anymore. I loved playing sports and doing the activities in class, even though I may not have been the best at it. But like any other teen, it felt weird to do such a private thing like undressing in front of others.
One of the other things I talk about in that post is about how I was bullied by my group of girlfriends. Bullying by cliques not only happens outside their group, but also inside. Being the target of any kind of bullying is a tough thing to deal with. Being betrayed by your friends just adds to it. With it happening in my senior year, tarnished the memories I have of my high school experience. Writing about it in that post did help me to deal with those feelings. It also gives me the motivation to want to help others deal with it.
My mission
My passion is writing, but I find what gives me energy is helping others become better versions of themselves. I am hoping that through Selma and MAD that I am helping you, parents and caring adults, help teens through challenges to become the best versions of themselves. Or, that some of the information I am sharing is helping you to learn a little more about yourself and how you feel about these issues.
Summertime is winding down
This quarter’s theme is summertime. It is not only a season of warmer weather and being outside, it is usually a time that our teens have time away from school and are enjoying that time with friends and family.
As our teens get back to school, we start to get back into routines. The times we are getting up in the morning. Getting our teens school, either by dropping them off in the drop off line or making sure they are catching the bus. Getting back into the homework monitoring frame of mind. I am going to talk more about this topic in this week’s Parent Connect. You can find these posts on Facebook or Instagram.
MAD and Selma Brand updates
So, for our monthly news posts, I will provide you with some updates on each brand and some thoughts that I have about the monthly theme we are presenting on Mentoring A Dream. MAD is the abbreviation that I use for Mentoring A Dream.
Monthly News for Mentoring A Dream
This month we are going to be focusing on Back to School issues. Here are the topics for this month’s posts.
- 9/16/2024 – Back to School Issues – School Bus Safety
- 9/23/2024 – Book Review – Ban This Book by Alan Gratz
- 9/30/2024 – Back to School Issues – Fitting in at School and the influence of cliques
Let’s Talk About It
Be sure to watch for this month’s Let’s Talk About It post. In case you missed it last month, we started a new post on social media; a writing prompt that will get you to think about a topic relating to this month’s theme. We want you to think about how you feel about it and write down your thoughts. I hope it will help you to think about how you feel about things you can then talk to your teens about. Check out Instagram and Facebook on Thursday, September 26th for this month’s prompt.
Are you looking for any resources to gain a better understanding of the challenges your teen is facing? Be sure to check out the resources page on the MAD website.
Monthly News for Selma P. Verde
This month, Selma is heading out to craft and book fairs. There are some opportunities coming up to meet me in person and pick up copies of Selma’s books. Here are the events and the dates. Be sure to keep an eye on social media (Facebook and Instagram) for more information.
9/28/2024 – Fallin into Autumn – Bethel Lutheran Church – Minneapolis, MN
10/5/2024 – Deep Valley Book Festival – Country Inn & Suites – Mankato, MN
11/22/2024 – Minnesota Masonic Home Holiday Bazaar – Minnesota Masonic Home – Bloomington, MN
And, I was interviewed for the Inherent Dream podcast! The episode will air on September 20th.
The Way Series – Great Back to School Reads
Are you looking for a couple of coming-of-age reads for you or your teen about challenges they face? One great series which fits the bill is The Way Series. The series written under my pen name, Selma P. Verde.
Book #1 – The Hard Way – is the story of Paul Jones and his starting his freshman year of high school and how he must navigate dealing with pressure from his peers to do things to fit in.
Book #2 – Shawn’s Way – although it is a continuation of Paul’s journey from The Hard Way, we meet freshman, Shawn Townson. He becomes the target of a bully when an upperclassman decides to take out his frustration on him.
Book #3 – The Street’s Way – is a continuation of The Way Series story which introduces Mikala Kalani as a runaway and homeless teen. She comes to Manor City looking to escape from her abusive stepdad. She arrives with no place to go and must find a way to navigate being homeless in a new city.
And, there is a short story that is a part of the series. “Josh’s Story” is the story from the side of the one who bullies. It is a great read that falls between Shawn’s Way and The Street’s Way on the storyline. It is available for purchase in ebook and paperback. Be sure to check it out.
So, click on link below to my books page to learn more about the series!
Did you know anyone can read books on their smartphones? Just download the Kindle app and download copies of these books right to your phone.