Tara Lazar Gets “The Call”…But Can She Remember it?

I have a confession to make.

I don’t really remember “the call”.

It happened almost two years ago and it’s a blur.

But I can say the call was a tad anti-climactic.

You see, my editor had already sent umpteen emails to my agent Joan, telling her they loved THE MONSTORE and updating us on where they were in “the process”. I had a good feeling from that initial email…and subsequent follow-ups that kept apologizing for taking “so long” (which, looking back now, wasn’t very long at all for publishing—perhaps four weeks).

There was also a pre-offer email asking if I was open to making changes to the manuscript. Can you guess my response? **** YEAH!

When the call of the offer came in, I was happy, but I also knew it was coming. Maybe Joan sensed this because she tried to trick me. I remember picking up the phone and hearing a long sigh, “Hi…*sigh*…it’s Joan.” After hearing her drooping tone, I thought, oh well, they don’t want it after all that. So when she said, “We have an offer!” it took me a stunned minute to understand what was happening. I am getting an offer. Oh no, I’m not. Wait, I am! I am? I AM!!!!! YIPPEE-KI-YAY! 

(OK, so maybe I do remember the call!)

The joy lasted through several phone calls to family and friends, but by the end of the day I was already thinking…

…when am I going to sell the NEXT book?

Terrible, I know. Can’t I revel in the excitement for more than 139.7 minutes?

It seems with me that it’s always about the NEXT book. When I sold book #2, I THOUGHT THIS WAS A BEAR BOOK, I was already dreaming of book #3. I guess it’s how the Duggars feel about babies…?

So I look forward to the day when I have 19 books and counting.

In the meantime, I know I should be proud of the accomplishment of one book. After all, Harper Lee is content with one book. But something tells me THE MONSTORE movie isn’t going to star Gregory Peck. (Although I envision Danny DeVito in the role of The Monstore manager. One can dream about more than the next book.)

THE MONSTORE characters, copyright James Burks.

Not Quite Inspirational

Often on EMU’s Debuts, we bring you uplifting stories of our journeys and struggles and whatever scraps of collected wisdom we’ve acquired.

Not today.  Today we’re gonna talk about something crass and materialistic.

We’re gonna talk about swag.*

Just a small sampling of awesome swag I've collected lately

Most of us noob authors have three questions when it comes to swag:

~ What should I buy?
~ How much should I spend?
~ Who do I give it to?

I’m one of those unbalanced individuals with an office-supply fetish, so I’m not shy about admitting that one of the things I’ve most looked forward to about the debut process is the ability – nay, the necessity – to procure swag associated with my book.

There is a universe of swag out there.  I’ll be honest.  I wanted it all.

I waited patiently until my cover was finalized.  Until it appeared in the catalog with its very own ISBN number.  But then I started counting my pennies and things got hard.  What swag items would be a good investment?  Which would help me connect with readers?  What would people actually keep and use?

Some of my writer colleagues have been rather clever with their swag.  Megan Bostic gives out mini-notebooks since journaling features prominently in her debut, NEVER EIGHTEEN.  (If you ever meet her IRL, ask to see her swag caddy.)  E.M. Kokie, author of PERSONAL EFFECTS, had some specialized dog tags made; one of her characters is a veteran.  Lots of other writers I know do silicone bracelets, tote bags and T-shirts.

Like I said, a universe.

Sadly, the thirteenth century does not lend itself well to rampant materialism.  I could probably fish some rags and chicken bones out of my trash and give them out as authentic holy relics (hey, it worked for medieval people), but something tells me I’ll do better with the lovely replica pilgrim badges I bought from a pewterer in the UK, and of course there are the drunken monkey magnets of which I am so proud.  I’ve also got the more traditional bookmarks, stickers and postcards neatly arranged in boxes in my closet.

Who to give swag to?  I’m still working that one out.  Part of me is still dealing with the awkwardness factor: How do you hand someone something with your cover on it without it seeming pushy and forward?  So far I’ve had good luck just giving it to people who’ve asked.

What about you guys?  What swag do you like getting?  How does swag come to you?  What do you keep?  Have you ever gotten a particularly memorable swag item?

* If you’re not familiar with the term, “swag” refers to the physical artifacts authors use as promotional items, usually stuff with your book cover and ISBN on it: bookmarks, buttons, stickers, temporary tattoos, real tattoos, vanity license plates, billboards…

The Call…sort of…

It is, I’ve been told, customary around here to ‘introduce’ myself in my first post via “THE CALL” (when you first hear the word ‘sold’). As I try to be as contrary as possible as often as possible I ended up having my first post be dedicated to the wonderful and worthy WE’VE GOT A JOB interviews that I posted earlier this month.

So, technically, this is my second post here at EMU’s Debuts but we’ll pretend, for the sake of being ‘customary’ that it’s my first.

With all of that out of the way, here is my story.

Sort of…

We’ll title this part ‘The Email Before The Call Before THE CALL…’

‘THE CALL’ is what every author waits for, dreams of, imagines in the dead of night…when the phone finally rings (finally…in my case about 30 years after I first started thinking that I’d like to be a writer when I grew up. Of course, I’ve never actually grown up but that’s a whole ‘nother post) with some variation on the words ‘publishing house’ and ‘offer.’

This is not exactly a post about ‘THE CALL’ as I might have mentioned.

Instead, I’d like to touch a little more on the process as it relates to my debut novel HENRY FRANKS. The manuscript was out on submission when I received an email from my agent that lead to setting up a phone conversation with an editor who loved the book enough to want to talk to me about it.

To put this in perspective for those outside the industry: think of unagented authors as college baseball players (still able to go right into the Show but they have a ways to go and could probably use some time in the minor leagues), agented authors as minor leaguers (still able to go right into the Show but a lot closer to getting there than those college players) and authors with publishing contracts as MLB players in The Show. Yes, I know, I’m generalizing dreadfully…so, with this horrible analogy in mind, having an editor want to talk to me is like a minor leaguer getting a call from the manager of a team in the majors to discuss the future and what he (or she) might be able to accomplish in the big leagues.

In other words: WOW! Someone like that wants to talk to me??!!

All of which is background to get us to this point in our story.

The date and time of the phone call are set.

Days go by and it’s finally The Day of the ‘phone call.’ Most of the family knows there’s a phone call coming. It’s a big deal, to me at least and the waiting seems never ending (but, then again, waiting always does, no?). So, the clock clicks over to 1:30 (Central) and I’m sitting, alone in the house, with the phone in my hand. Waiting for it to ring.

A watched pot never boils.

A held phone, to butcher the proverb, never rings.

See, there’s a reason it doesn’t ever ring.

In my unending cluelessness (such a fun word) both my agent and the editor about to call me (ANY SECOND NOW, COME ON PHONE, RING!) have the wrong number.

I know, can you believe? Only me, right?

Suddenly, as I sit at my desk, waiting for the phone in my hand to ring, the fax machine (down the hall and through the kitchen) starts to ring. The fax machine! Which is plugged in to the home line because everyone has my cell number and no one calls the home number, right? Right?!

Um, no, wrong.

How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie-roll pop?

How many rings do I have to get to the fax machine, unplug the phone line, plug the phone line into a real phone and answer it?

5?

Maybe 6?

1 ring down with me still sitting at my desk, waiting for the cell phone in my hand to ring as my brain, somehow, processes the fact that my fax machine is ringing and why is someone trying to send me a fax right now?

Oh.

OH!

2 rings down.

I have to stand up, so fast my chair goes spinning away, and jump over the lump of a dog who has, as always, camped out directly in the way of anything.

3 rings down.

Run, slide, my way across the kitchen floor, flailing to a stop in front of the fax machine in the middle of the 4th ring. Rip out the phone line and the ringing dies mid-ring, leaving me in silence. The seconds tick by as I reach for the landline phone and shove the cord in. The phone does not ring. I pick it up, silence.

Press the flash button to switch lines and pray. Say ‘Hello’ trying to sound normal, as though panic hadn’t just grabbed me by the throat and keep my breathing level so I don’t sound like an obscene caller. “Hello?” I say again, and then, just when I’m about to start thinking that I’d been too late, taken too much time and the editor would think I cared so little about his phone call that I stood him up, he answers. “Hi.”

And that is the story behind the call to discuss my manuscript with an editor.

I think, in hindsight, the panic was good, it cleansed my mind of all the worry, all the waiting, all the stress. I was just so deliriously happy that I’d been able to do something as, allegedly, simple as answering the phone that everything else seemed simple as well.

Two days later I received THE CALL.

I hoped and prayed it might be coming but wasn’t sure when (or, of course, if) it would. Still, every time the phone rang my heart skipped a beat. But seeing my agent’s phone number and name on the caller ID stopped it completely.

Off tangent: Caller ID takes a lot of the ‘surprise’ factor out of some of these things, no?

I listened to her tell me that the publishing house made an offer and all I could think was “I WANT TO TELL EVERYONE” but, of course, you really can’t. It’s not official yet, so many things still up in the air, don’t tell anyone but close family…but it’s not ‘real’ until you tell someone is it?

By the time I hung up the phone I was going back and forth from kneeling on the floor of my bedroom, head thrown back with tears streaming down my cheeks in absolute unadulterated joy to jumping up and down screaming. But there was no one to share the news with…

This was a moment I’d envisioned since I was a teenager. Sure, the details changed over the years as I learned more and more about the industry and the reality of THE CALL but still some things, I thought, were set in stone.

I had imagined telling my wife, my mother and my sister. In that order.

Makes sense, no?

Here are the problems though:

Problem #1: In the middle of the work day, my wife was at work, with no access to her cell phone. And, really, this is not the type of news best given to a spouse over the phone, right? Right.

Solution? Drive over to her school, show up in her doorway and, with her knowing there’s the possibility of an important CALL, have her take one look at me and KNOW. Must be some type of husband-wife thing. But she knew the moment she saw me standing there.

And in front of her entire class she melted into a hug and whispered “I’m so proud of you.”

It was a moment to savor.

Problem #2: When I left my wife to go call my mother, I reached her on her cell phone. While she was driving on 287 in northern New Jersey.

Do you really want to tell someone this kind of news while they’re going 60+ on the highway?

Um…no.

Solution: So, when she answered I asked her what she was doing. She said ‘driving.’ And I, calm as you please (yeah, right…) said ‘You might want to pull over.’

And with my mother on the shoulder of 287 I told her the news.

She cried.

It was a moment to savor.

Problem #3: My next call was supposed to go to my sister. What was she doing at that moment in time? Giving a speech in Atlanta. Completely cut off from any form of communication.

Solution: well, there was no solution. There were too many other family members still to tell so I called my brother-in-law and told him so he could get a hold of my sister.

It was still a moment to savor hours later when I finally got in touch with her.

At that point I still couldn’t announce it to the world (which would have to wait a while still) but telling family was something special.

Something to savor…

And now, looking back on it almost a year later, with the publication date in September 2012 rapidly approaching, just writing all of this has been incredibly emotional.

I’m looking forward to sharing the rest of the journey with you, thanks for reading!

How my Dream Became a Deal

Let me add my congratulations to the stars and successes of Cynthia Levinson’s WE’VE GOT A JOB! Also, congratulations to Jim Hill, winner of last week’s drawing, and Heidi Grange, winner of last week’s quiz, who both won a signed copy of the book!

I’ve been thinking about Jeannie’s post all week. About the significance of what we do. As artists setting our stride against headwind of rejection. As writers, laying our souls bare in our work.

Actually, I’ve been thinking about this for quite some time.

You see, WATER may be my debut, but it is not my first book. Like many authors, I took a few cracks at it before I got it right. I heard that pesky statistic—the one that says we’re more likely to be struck by lightning than published. But I kept at it anyway. For years.

Because I had something to say. Many somethings; important somethings. But truly, truly, I am so grateful that those early stories stayed in their dusty drawer, that my skills and taste had time to catch up with my dreams.

The wonderful news is that WATER found its way to just the right agent and just the right editor. Here’s the story of how my dream became a deal:

• January, 2011: I won an award at VCFA that sent the first 20 pages of my middle grade novel onto an editor’s desk at Harcourt Children’s Books. But I was still in school. I couldn’t spend too much time daydreaming…
• May: I heard back with a request for the full manuscript. I sent it in, trying to convince my high hopes to come just a little closer to the ground.
• June: I received an official-looking envelope in the mail. It was a three page editorial letter on fancy cream paper, with the peppy blue HMH dolphin in the corner and some very thoughtful, constructive, and kind words from an editor named Reka.

So I added and I tweaked and I tightened. I sent the revision to some trusted (and brilliant) first readers, and then I dug in again. When I couldn’t bear to look at the pages for one more second, I took a deep breath, and hit send.

• December: An email appeared in my inbox. Reka loved my revisions. She loved the story. Relief. Affirmation. Joy. Hope.
• A little later in December: Early morning phone call with Joan. She loved it too. And she wants to work with me through a long and varied career. Halfway through my happy dance, a kind soul reminded me that though I had a savvy literary agent in my corner, I didn’t actually have a contract. Right. Stop dreaming up cover designs. Pause the parade of stars floating across my vision.

• January, 2012: THE CALL came while I was at work, so naturally, I stepped into the supply closet. Joan says, “We have an offer!”
• A few weeks later: Finally, after a year of intermittent letters and emails, Reka and I spoke on the phone. Listening to her talk about all the wonderful things she envisioned for WATER, it finally sunk in. This was really happening. For my story. It was just about the best feeling in the world.

Come to think of it, We’ve All Got A Job!

When I discovered it was my turn to blog immediately on the heels of Cynthia’s release party for WE’VE GOT A JOB, I realized at once that I had a tough act to follow. What a fabulous week of interviews, contests, and information it was! And speaking of Cynthia’s release party, she has asked me to share this message:

Thanks to everyone—EMUs and EMUs followers alike–who helped celebrate the release of We’ve Got a Job. The two winners of a free signed book will be announced on Thursday. Everyone who commented last week is entitled to an “I can be a hero, too!” badge. Email Cynthia off-line with your address if you’d like one. And, if you bought a copy of We’ve Got a Job last week, let Cynthia know so she can send you a signed bookplate.

This is some bling you don't want to miss out on!

I didn’t contribute a post last week during the big event, but I did feel the excitement. I’ve been feeling the excitement for months, as Cynthia’s wonderful book has earned starred reviews, been handed out as an ARC at national events, and even been mentioned on a Newbery watch list–and all before its release.

I’m just tickled pink for Cynthia. Pink. Not green with envy. Tickled Pink. Really.

Me? jealous? Why would I be jealous, I've got a zombie chicken!

Okay, so maybe there’s a little hint of green. I’ve always had an olive complexion, but maybe it’s looking a little more chartreuse lately.

It’s not Cynthia’s stars, or sales figures, or loving reviewers that make me envious. I know how hard she has worked and how committed she is. She deserves every single second of joy and success this moment can hold.

Her book, though, that’s what’s turning me ever-so-slightly green. It is beautiful, and beautifully written, but more than that, it’s socially powerful. It’s a story that NEEDED to be told, and that we should never, EVER stop telling. And I can’t think of a better way to tell it. I want my book to be that meaningful and important, but how can anyone live up to that standard with a fluffy bit of frou frou fiction?

I decided this was a question that needed an answer, so I queried my fellow EMUs (except I tricked them into responding by phrasing it more like “the significance of what we do.” I’m crafty that way.)

Here’s what they said (I leave it to you to figure out who said what):

GEEKS GIRLS AND SECRET IDENTITIES is a big, sloppy, affectionate ode to the fringe kid. My editor said it is essentially about a boy who feels unlovable, incapable, and undeserving of acceptance and respect, but eventually realizes that he is eminently lovable, highly capable, and undoubtedly worthy of acceptance and respect. And if even one of my future readers walks away from my book with the tiniest scrap of belief that those feelings are attainable, well then – that would be significant, wouldn’t it?

I want NERVE to offer readers a page-turning story, but I’d be thrilled if it also generated conversation about privacy. The main character in my book is seduced into a game of dares, which takes advantage of information she’s given away freely online. Loss of privacy may be the currency we pay for a greater sense of community, but the Internet has greatly magnified that equation. I’d love it if my book gets folks talking about where they’d draw the line.

HENRY FRANKS is young adult horror so on the importance scale from SEE SPOT RUN to WE’VE GOT A JOB I’d have to say that HENRY FRANKS is probably closer to Spot…it’s escapism I guess, a way for readers to get a little creeped out and have some fun. The important part would be the search for identity, which I believe everyone can relate to. Trying to find yourself, find your friends, find your future. Those are the over-arching themes, all tied up with a pretty bow (if, by ‘pretty bow’ one includes a serial killer, a hurricane, a love story and a joke or two…).

FLYING THE DRAGON is for the kid who has just moved to a new school, who feels out of place in his or her own skin, or who is dealing with a relative who is terminally ill. It’s for a kid who is dealing with culture shock, or the kid who has a non-English speaking classmate and doesn’t know how to reach out. It’s for kids who are curious about other cultures. And it’s for kids who feel caught between two cultures.

For LEAGUE OF STRAYS, I feel the importance is to let teens know the dangers in following others blindly. My character, Charlotte, ends up in a new school Senior year and gets caught up in “friendship” with several kids, one of whom is a sociopath, who she follows until it becomes very challenging for her to repair her life. It’s also tangentially about revenge and bullies and the damage they do. Lastly, it’s about developing your own dreams and holding onto them.

While FANGIRL is primarily a fun and funny novel, the main character, Blaze, must deal with intense bullying after her evil ex posts a ‘sext’ photo of her online. Instead of giving up, Blaze fights back and refuses to lose her sense of humor despite feeling utterly defeated.  Unfortunately, most of us have experienced being the subject of gossip and it always hurts. I hope that readers will be able to draw strength from Blaze and realize that they cannot be defined by what others think of them. Oh, and also, Gossip Mongers Suck!

Every reader is going to get something different out of THE WICKED AND THE JUST. It’s going to be important in more ways than I can imagine. So here’s why it is important to *me*. At its heart, it’s a story about power and its exercise. Having power and knowing how to use it are two different things, and kids live in a world of uneven power that is uncomfortably hierarchical at times. The medieval world is similar, and I hope I capture that and make it familiar, relatable and survivable.

I’ll tell you right up front—WATER is devastating. My characters endure trauma that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. But I don’t think this book is important because of the suffering. It is important because of the hope that rests beneath the parched surface of this story: the idea that you can find family if you are brave enough to let down your defenses; you can make a home for yourself, even out of the dust.

HOLY COW!!!!  And to think all this time I’ve been writing about chickens and a fish with whiskers! (Although actually, my book KATERINA’S WISH does address issues of immigration, prejudice, and choosing between fighting for what you believe in or settling for second best. Its only a little bit about chickens.)

What I really love about all these answers, is the passion behind them. The messages of hope and strength and comfort with which all these authors are marching forward. Some of these stories are fun, some are scary, some are serious or adventurous. All of them offer kids a chance to go somewhere or be someone different for a short time, and learn important things about themselves and the world while they are at it. The strength and solace we all hope kids find in our books is truly awe inspiring, and makes me proud to be part of this community. Like Birmingham’s civil rights marchers, we’ve got a job, too!

And that’s a pretty wonderful job to have, even if there is some frou frou fluff along the way.

I'm wearing my badge, 'cause I've got a job, too!

Where Can You Find Cynthia?

Alas, the time has come to wrap up Cynthia Levinson’s debut week for her book WE’VE GOT A JOB. But don’t despair! We’re leaving you with more places to find Cynthia on the web. We’ve left a trail for readers, teachers, writers, and, well, just about anyone who’d like to know more about Cynthia’s writing process and what led her to craft such an important book. We’ve chosen…

…as your handy-dandy WE’VE GOT A JOB online guide. Click here for a page with several thumbnails–each a trail that ends in an interview with Cynthia.

Find the link in the gray stripe at the bottom of each box and click. Easy, right?

So go ahead–teachers, introduce WE’VE GOT A JOB to your students. (Here’s a free online curriculum guide to get you started). And everyone stay tuned to Cynthia’s website, where she’ll soon be posting a trailer produced by the 4th grade students you met in yesterday’s post.

Although we hate to say farewell to this auspicious debut week, we know that Cynthia’s book will live on in classrooms across the country and in the hands of readers of all ages.

On page 115 of WE’VE GOT A JOB, Cynthia quotes Dr. Martin Luther King , Jr. as saying to the children of Birmingham:

“You are certainly making history, and you are experiencing history. And you will make it possible for the historians of the future to write a marvelous chapter.”

Cynthia Levinson is that historian, and WE’VE GOT A JOB is, indeed, that marvelous chapter.

Enter to Win Big!

In honor of Cynthia Levinson, our second Emu debut, L.B. and Natalie have a job for all of you out there in Blogland. Pay attention, because there will be a quiz at the end. Seriously. (But a fun quiz! A quiz with prizes!)

First, we’ve got an interview with Christa Armantrout, gifted and talented specialist at Sommer Elementary School in Austin, Texas.  Arnetta, Audrey, James and Wash marched right out the pages of WE’VE GOT A JOB and into Mrs. Armantrout’s classroom, bringing the Civil Rights Movement alive for her students.

We asked Mrs. Armanrout to tell us that, with the plethora of Civil Rights books available for teachers to use in the classroom, why should teachers share WE’VE GOT A JOB with their students?

Here’s what she and her students had to say: 

Cynthia Levinson has brought the real struggles, frustrations, and fears of the civil rights movement into my classroom!  By introducing the four children involved in the Children’s March, my students saw from four different perspectives the challenges the families, the children, and the Civil Rights leaders faced during this awful time of hate and violence.  In WE’VE GOT A JOB, Levinson’s perfect selection of pictures brought to life the issues the blacks and whites faced in Birmingham, Alabama.  My students were moved by the pictures of the children in the paddy wagon, the dog attacking the boy, the use of the fire hoses, the attack at the bus station, the bombed-out church, and many other pictures that spoke more than words could describe.

Though there are many books about the civil rights movement, none compare to Levinson’s WE’VE GOT A JOB.  She weaves in the many factors that played into the troubles and triumphs of the civil rights movement in Birmingham: the disagreements within the civil rights leadership, the city politics that played a crucial role in Birmingham’s problems, the parents who had too much to lose, and the children who stepped up proudly to fill the jails.  As my student, Sonia, said when asked what she especially liked about the book, “[learning about] All the things going on behind the mass meetings and demonstrations.”

Though the pictures were painful to see, each of my students was emphatic that the book would not have been complete without the visual proof that things were that bad!  As my student, Claire, said, “All of the other civil rights books hide what the police did and what the whites did.  It’s better [to show the pictures] because it showed what really happened.”  Another student, Andy, said, “Some of the pictures pop out and show you the devastating past, like the dog and the boy and the Freedom Riders’ bus.” Keertana added, “I like how Cynthia Levinson mentions the KKK. It’s scary and most [authors of children’s books] don’t mention it.  It’s hard to mention it in a kids’ book.  It helped me understand how the whites were actually treating [the blacks] secretly.  Sometimes the police were in the KKK or protecting the KKK.”

As a teacher of 4th grade gifted and talented children, I know that my students can reach far beyond their peers when it comes to high-level connections, inferencing, and general divergent thinking skills.  I struggle to find literature that can challenge their thinking of historical events and social issues in a way that is appropriate for their level and age.  WE’VE GOT A JOB stimulates my students’ thinking and encourages them to connect with children close to their own ages who are real people with really big problems.

As Cynthia introduced Audrey, Arnetta, James, and Wash in the beginning of the book, my students were interested in understanding the problems and the variety of ways each person faced their challenges. When my students read the last chapter that tells about the children as adults, it hit home that these people are real! Now they could see this book was about real people, not just characters in a fictional story.

Bravo to Cynthia Levinson for writing such an exceptional book!

We here at Emu’s Debuts couldn’t agree more.

Before we say farewell to Mrs. Armantrout and her fabulously articulate students, here’s a quiz with a reward that’s better than any grade you could get: a copy of We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March signed by Cynthia Levinson. We’ve even provided the links to the key pages on Cynthia’s site to help you with the answers. On Wednesday, we’ll have a drawing from all contestants with correct answers to see who’s the lucky winner!

See--look! You've already earned an A+!

QUIZ

1) Arnetta Streeter, a marcher, signed The 1963 Birmingham Civil Rights Movement Ten Commandments. What is commandment #5?

Where to find it: Meet the stories behind the book.

2) In Spring, 1963, approximately how many black children marched in defiance of segregation laws?

Where to find it: Cynthia provides this answer on her presentation workshop page for young readers and writers.

3) Which newspaper began its headline with these words: “Hundreds of hookey-playing demonstrators arrested…”

Where to find it: News from around the world…1963 style.

Class dismissed! Remember to hand in your quiz papers (er, leave a comment in this post) by Tuesday so that we can announce the winners next Wednesday. For more classroom resources, including a shiny new curriculum guide, visit Cynthia’s website.