BUSY AS A BEE

The weather is warming up out here. I almost convinced my husband to get the air conditioners started this week. And with warm weather comes those pesky bees. The bees that send my 6 and 7 year old girls shrieking and running for cover.

Just as the bees are out and buzzing around in the new warm weather, I've been just as busy with writing. I've been zipping around between touching up my book projects, attempting to keep up with my blogs and critique groups, and mostly I've been organizing my Catholic magazine, My Light. Though school has yet to be let out, it still seems as if August first ( the publication of the debut issue) is fast approaching.

I don't mind the craziness though. I love every part of it. Just as long as nobody comes at me with a fly swatter!

I HAVE A NEW BLOG

I have a new blog. This time it's my very own magazine that is the center of attention. Since I recently started My Light, the Catholic E-zine for kids, it only made sense to me to start a blog about it. Authors and illustrators of the magazine as well as potential authors and illustrators will learn all about My Light and what's going on over there. Swing by and take a look at it.

My Light Magazine

Calling all writers and illustrators! I am in the process of putting together a new online magazine for children. My Light Magazine is an e-zine designed to help children grow in their Christian Faith ( specifically the Catholic faith). We are now accepting submissions for fictional stories, articles, Bible stories, crafts and poems.

We are a non paying market at this time, however we will have a monthly contributor's page where we will list your bio and a link to your websites. Thank you to everyone for your generous support.

Also, to stay up to date on the latest happenings at My Light, join our yahoo group at: www.groups.yahoo.com/group/mylight

GETTING THE WHEELS SPINNING

Vacation time is over. My daughter received her First Holy Communion this Saturday and I spent all week before hand preparing the house for the party. Thanks to the team work from my mom, sister and husband, everything was ready for the big day. My husband is a Pastry Chef - so of course he did all the cooking.

And now it's back to work. It's amazing how many cobwebs build up in a writer's mind if they haven't written anything in a week (it looks like there's a little more dusting for me to do.,.)
So, I decided to start my day off catching up on my blogs. That will get the wheels spinning again. Before I know it I will be back in the routine of things again.

A WORLD WITHOUT STARS

Where did all the stars go? That’s what Jennifer Barlow wondered one night. Even while looking through the telescope, she had a tough time seeing the night stars.
Her problem had been light pollution, or the extra unnecessary light we use at night. “Light pollution is essentially a blanket of light in the sky,” says Jennifer. “It comes from the excess light from our light bulbs, which is sent off into the atmosphere.”

Because of this, the stars are dimmer and harder to see.
The sky is lighting up at an alarming rate. City lights are one of the biggest culprits. “As we build more and more cities and therefore use more and more lights, we are slowly starting to lose sight of the stars,” Jennifer adds. Besides city lights, light pollution comes from other sources such as lights from houses, businesses, and cars are just a few. Can you think of some other things that are lighting up our skies?


Could all this light really wash out our view of the stars? Yes. The effect of extra light at night is similar to what happens in the daytime. The sun is “out”, lighting up the sky. We can’t see the stars because it’s too bright, but the stars are still there. Similarly, experts feel that soon the night sky will be too bright to see any stars.


Why Should We Worry?

There’s many reasons why the effects of light pollution is important to us. It’s already tough for astronomers to see faint stars – even with a telescope. They sometimes have to use covers to filter out the light so they can continue studying the stars.


When an astronaut goes into outer space, he can see a clear outline of the United States because of all the lights we use.


Effects on nature and the problem of wasting energy are other concerns related to light pollution. “Not to mention that people need to be exposed to a certain amount of darkness each day,” Jennifer adds.

It is for these reasons that Jennifer Barlow decided to do something about it. She organized National Dark Skies Week (NDSW) to help raise awareness and to improve the quality of the night sky. During this special week, scheduled for March 29, 2008 through April 4, 2008, people will work together for a darker sky by turning off any unnecessary lights. NDSW occurs during April’s new moon so even a full moon’s glow will not interfere with the beauty of the stars in the sky.


Although you may look up at the sky now and are still able to see the magnificent stars, there will come a day when only astronauts in outer space can see them if we don’t change our habits. Thanks to the efforts of Jennifer Barlow and other experts, we can stop this from happening. Then, we can all look up at the sky and not worry about living in a world without stars.


Tips from Jennifer Barlow for a great National Dark Skies Week:

1. Participate in National Dark Sky Week. Get as many people to join you as possible. The more people who participate the darker the sky will be.


2. Spread the word by handing out flyers (people can email me if they would like me to send them a flyer), contacting newspapers, news stations, and radio stations.

3. Turn out the lights! If many people participate, perhaps this will encourage more people to participate.

4. Write letters to local politicians. Ask them to pass laws to control the kind of lights used in the area.

5. Take an active role in the elimination of light pollution. One person can certainly make a difference.

For more information, visit the National Dark Skies Week website.

Be sure to visit Stories for Children's website for the April 2008 issue. I talked to Stanley Bookman, and he has some tips to share.

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A LINK WORTH SEEING

I want to share an important link with you. It's to Bonnie Kaye's blog. Bonnie Kaye is an author and a leader. She was scammed by a "publishing" company, but isn't taking it lying down. Check out this link:http://airleafvictims.blogspot.com/
and see what she and her fellow authors have been through. Occasionally on her blog, she posts writing tips. If you look under the March 15th heading, you'll see some tips I wrote on the importance of networking, called "Network Brulee." If you get a chance, stop by and see it.

A Week for the Stars

Every year there's a special week dedicated just to our sky. It's called National Dark Sky Week and this year it's scheduled for March 29, 2008 through April 4, 2008. It's a week where we all try to limit the extra light we send through our night sky (from excess city lights, porch lights, etc.) The result? You'll see a much darker sky--and a better view of the stars. What do I mean? Is it really that important? To find out, my article "A World Without Stars," will be posted here next week.