MEET ANN MILLER
Ann Miller is the Youth Services Librarian at one of my favorite libraries in Contra Costa County. She and the staff are incredibly AWESOME!!
Ann joined Contra Costa County Library as a substitute library assistant in 2007. During that time, she spent nearly a year at the Concord Library and got to do a lot of the children's  programming there.
"It was fun and challenging tailoring storytimes and programs to the different ages."
And it shows! After earning her MLIS degree, she became a librarian in 2015. But she became the youth services librarian at the Danville Library in 2016. Ann works with Miss Janet, who plans the monthly family programs for Danville, while Ann looks for programs for the STEAM Celebration Series and books and performers/artists for the library's Arts Enrichment Book Club, both of which are funded by the Danville Library Endowment.
Ann says our library is lucky to be able to partner with the Town for larger programs like KidChella, a reading and music festival for kids up-to age six, and Dr. Seuss' yearly Birthday event at the community center.
 I got to know Ann and everyone on staff long before I took on my authorship journey.
She knew me as a mom first trying to nourish my avid reader! Then, when I talked to Ann and Seng, the library manager, about my authorship endeavor...they really changed my life.
They were there for me when I needed resources, checked in on me when I stayed all night at the library researching or revising, were my cheerleaders when I needed a shoulder to cry on following a rejection.
They were always supportive and had so much faith in me. And they were just as excited, when I told them I landed an agent and found a home for my manuscript, GOODNIGHT GANESHA with Philomel! And they didn't shush me, when I ran screaming through the library, "She said YESSSS!", the day I found out Poonam Mistry agreed to illustrate.
My library team always goes above and beyond. I wanted to take a few moments here to say, "THANK YOU! Seng, Ann, Janet, Haleh, Rooella, Cheryl, Karen, Marci, Michael, and Ann."
I'm also going to bottle Wednesday's library experience with Rooella and Cheryl - Rooella found one of my holds right after leaving the library. She called and left voicemail to tell me she would hold the book at the desk before they closed for Christmas, just in case I wanted to return. I literally dropped off my groceries, drove back with 20 minutes to spare before close. And Cheryl, had selected some extra books she thought I would be interested in seeing that my holds weren't ready earlier. It's a good thing I went back!
That really made our Christmas Eve read special! So, I'm sharing my LIBRARIAN LOVE!
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LIBRARIAN'S CORNER
Q & A with Ann Miller
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EXCLUSIVE CONTENT
for Newsletter Subscribers only
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*GOODNIGHT GANESHA IS GOING TO BE AN AUDIO-BOOK TOO!
The Listening Library, Penguin Random House's audio division, decided to create
an audio edition of GOODNIGHT GANESHA!
The audio book will be published at the same time as the hardcover in the Fall!
To celebrate, I'm sharing a 'A SECOND LOOK' at illustrator, Poonam Mistry's
incredible and wonderful artwork.
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*Please do NOT tweet or repost this exclusive video link.
It will expire on Monday, Dec. 29th.
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IT'S DECEMBER!!
Today marks DAY 289 of 'sheltering in place' with my family.
It hasn't been easy. It has been extremely difficult.
This month, I decided to 'bottle up' all the things that made 2020 memorable in the utmost surreal way! I watched all the wonderful developments unfolding for my book, my child hit the B-I-G 10! And watched the world come together in a way I never expected - we are even more socially and emotionally connected than ever before.
2020 also impacted me in ways that I didn't really expect and honestly - aside from losing almost a year of our lives in lock down, it's the losses that hurt most - such as - my Tante Veronique, who died of Covid-19 in a nursing home in the spring, a day before her birthday. Losing my Tante Ra of cancer in February and my Ton Marcel, also of cancer, in June.
Although I'm still processing, still grieving, and unsure what to make of the future, I am hopeful and believe that we will eventually get through, just like we did from the Spanish Flu. I believe we are resilient!
I wanted to share hugs and remind you that...
"THERE'S NO SHAME IN COPING!"
I see you, I think of you, and even though I am not able to be everywhere, I am here in this newsletter reflecting on celebrating this moment with you. Bottling the positives of 2020!
I'm reiterating these lines from November's newsletter:
"For every day I have woken up, I am thankful. For every day, I have gotten through whether good or bad, I am thankful. And for every day I have a loved one to count on, I am thankful. And I am forever grateful to everyone who has chosen to share their time with me."
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JOIN ME AND PARTICIPATE IN
THE PLANTING LOVE PROJECT!
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This project has a special place in my heart because, when my uncle passed away of colon cancer in June, Christina Gray, planted beans in his honor. We named the bean plant after my uncle, Marcel.
A gesture, I will never forget. That's one of the 'moments' I am bottling in 2020. Chrissy's act of kindness still brings me to tears, but it also brought me exactly what she and her family are now trying to do on a more global scale with
The Planting Love Project.
"Such a simple act of giving carries with it a very powerful message. It tells the recipient you are important and you are not alone."
When Chrissy told me about this endeavor, I told her I would fully support her on this!
So, on Tuesday, December 29th, 2020 I will join Chrissy and every person who chooses to participate.
All you have to do is anonymously leave a plant on a neighbor's doorstep, or someone you think could use an act of kindness. Let's see how far we can make this act of kindness grow!
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Seeing that my book isn't due out until August of 2021, I qualified for and was accepted to participate as a volunteer in a Mock Newbery Committee.
It kicks off on Monday, December 28th!
Check out the links above for more information about the list of books we're going to discuss. I hope to post about the experience for the duration of the event. Looking forward to this.
Another cool experience to bottle for 2020!
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Best of Desi Kid-Lit for 2020
Courtesy of Gayatri Sethi, the Desi Kidlit Community.
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Another positive I'm going to bottle from 2020!
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My agency sister, Kari Anne Holt, wrote us a poem in the October Newsletter, to celebrate GOODNIGHT GANESHA!
In appreciation of Kari Anne's "Typewriter Rodeo" Poem, I told her we would come up with some "Typewriter" poems of our own and share them in the
GOODNIGHT GANESHA Scrapbook I'm keeping for Launch Day
on August 31, 2021. I plan to read submissions for the launch.
The focus words appear in the story. For December, the word is CHAI. Granted I didn't drink chai, but seeing that I hit up Dunkin Donuts every Wednesday for 'Free' Coffee! CHAI seemed most appropriate.
November's word was GOODNIGHT. October was BEDTIME.
Please submit your poems here:
GOODNIGHT GANESHA "TYPEWRITER RODEO POEM" Submissions
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