When Inspiration hits--Buckle up!

 I was asked where I get my story ideas. That's just the thing, you never know. But when that inspiration hits, you just have to buckle up, hold on tight and follow wherever it takes you.

My first book about Earth Day took a while. It was inspired by a letter to me (in 1971) from Earth Day's founder, Senator Gaylord Nelson, a man behind the Clean Air and Water Acts, a man who helped save the eagles from extinction. My story (which includes a talking eagle, btw) didn't arrive until 50 years later.

Inspiration for my Bluebell Saves the Day series (about a sweet-but-mischievous cat) came suddenly when a sweet-but-mischievous cat I know sneaked out an opening in our screened-in back porch--and I hoped, instead of her doing mischievous things while escaped, maybe she was out in the world doing good works. 

The direction of my upcoming book (Sophia Wanders the Wilderness: A Story of John Muir, Father of the National Parks) was inspired with a Sierra Club acknowledgement that its founder John Muir had used racist words and that Native populations had been decimated to pave the way for the National Parks. Instead of my book being an unabashed celebration of Muir's conservationist efforts, it now acts as a beginning for serious discussions about how we treat our fellow man.

The next inspiration hasn't really hit me yet. However, it may be coming. I'm working with my 88-year-old mom. She wants to catalogue her experiences about growing up in post-depression, rural Wisconsin.

I'm getting the buckle ready, just in case.

 

My Goodreads Blog Post about Racism and Writing a Children's Book

 A few days back I posted this on Goodreads. It deals with the challenges in introducing racism and genocide of indigenous peoples in California to kids who are seven and eight years old: 

Curt Casetta's Blog: What Could Curt be Thinking?!! - Racism and Writing a Children's Book - March 21, 2021 07:11 | Goodreads

Ah, Baseball (And I STILL Love it)

With the arrival of yet another baseball season, here's a blog post I wrote 10 years ago:

Ah, Baseball

I love baseball. It means summer, green grass, having a beverage out in the sun. And the make-up of the game is perfect for warm, lazy summer evenings--you can tune in for an inning, come back later, and probably not have missed a thing. And even if you did, every inning, every pitch, really, is classic drama: pitcher vs. batter, batter vs. fielder, fielder vs. runner. Any pitch could be the one that turns the game. And any player could be that day's hero, no matter how bad they are.

But the best thing about baseball is that you can be down to your last out and still come back to win the game. I told my second graders that before the Brewers' opener--just like life, you can be way down, and still come back. It was actually (I thought) a pretty powerful and positive message.

And it proved true. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Cincinnati hit a three run homer to win it.

Right message.

Wrong team.

Go, Brewers.

2021 UPDATE: Since I posted this, the Brewers, down to their last out in the ninth inning today, came back to tie the game. They won it in the 10th. See? It really IS a good lesson to learn...