Earth Day, Every Day

We recently invited award-winning Leap author Bonnie J. Doerr to share her thoughts on Earth Day with our readers. Bonnie's a passionate conservationist and an author with an amazingly generous heart. Her MG novels about adventurous teens helping rescue endangered species will soon be joined

by an exciting new novel called Tangled Lines. And it's because of Bonnie's devotion to our world's environment that we asked her to write this post.

Earth Day elicits mixed feelings for me. While it’s uplifting to see and hear people the world over appreciating the wonders of nature and the importance of protecting our environment, it’s sad that we designate one day to remind ourselves of what should be obvious every day. We depend on the environment for our existence. But we have become increasingly separated from nature, living a plugged-in life inside four walls, within cities made of boxes stacked side by side and on top of each other, rarely considering the source of our sustenance.

This boxed-in life leads to nature deficit disorder, a term coined by Richard Louv in Last Child in the Woods. One deficiency of this disorder is a careless environmental attitude. If a child  never experiences wonder at a seed’s transformation into a living plant, never truly sees it grow to provide food, raw materials for shelter or clothing; if he never contemplates the source of oxygen while breathing forest air or experiences the sensation of wading in a creek, or swimming in a lake or ocean; if she never touches, sees, smells, or hears the flora and fauna that provide food, energy, and fertilizer to sustain life... Well, truth is, if a child doesn’t interact and connect with nature, how can we expect him to care about the environment? To a child living inside four walls his environment may be fine. Especially if he controls it with a thermostat. Ecology? Conservation? Meh.

I  combine my ecological passion and love of adventure to write about teens who don’t spend all day in a box. They experience wild outdoor adventures. Like many teens, they have family, school, and friendship problems. They can’t often control trouble in their own lives, but they boldly fight to protect wildlife and their local environment.

 Readers who never venture outdoors can inside the pages of my novels safely explore the ocean, tropical forests, and rugged beaches. They can survive wild storms, heroically outwit dangerous criminals, and solve mysteries that baffle adults, all while protecting wildlife and the ecological health of their own community.

I write with the hope that my characters’ appreciation for nature will slyly leak from eagerly turned pages onto the skin and into the hearts of my readers—that they, like my characters, will realize their power and use it to protect and create a healthy, enriching, and sustainable environment.

Find out more about Bonnie's books and her mission at her blog.

Fan of coloring pages? Here's an Earth Day freebie for you! Select the image on the left and print it. When you're done enjoying your coloring page, please recycle it. 

See Bonnie J. Doerr on TV

Award-winning author, Bonnie J. Doerr, will be interviewed by Jenna Stauffer on TV, Friday, Feb. 17, 2012, at 8:30 AM & 7 PM EST on Comcast Channel 87 & U-verse Channel 19. Tune in to learn about Bonnie's exciting activities in the Florida Keys where she's hard at work researching for her next eco-mystery.

Here's a recent video clip from Bonnie.

DO NOT FEED PELICANS--ANYTHING!

BE SURE TO READ THIS MESSAGE FROM BONNIE:

"This is taking place in Key West at A&B Marina (as of February, 2012) under the sham sign "Tarpon Feeding." Tarpon will never get a bite of these carcasses. It's a pelican frenzy show. The carcasses are too large for pelicans to digest. Some may well die horrible deaths from internal punctures. Some bones can even puncture a bird's back. Older pelicans may stop hunting and young birds may never start. Carcasses are not natural food for them. Pelicans should hunt for small live fish. If you want to feed tarpon (and they're pretty cool to watch!), you can feed fish chow or feed them where there are no pelicans. If you want to feed pelicans, don't! It's usually illegal. The fish and wildlife officers will not be happy. Your bank account may shrink. If you ever accidentally drop a fish in the water by a pelican, I hope it's less than 8 inches. You can phone A&B Marina to protest: 305-294-2535."

Find out more on WEYW Channel 19, The Florida Keys Hometown TV Station, Serving The Florida Keys, Broadcasting Throughout South Florida

Bonnie will also be speaking at the Florida Keys Community College library, on Thursday, February 16, 2012, at 2:30. The public is invited.

Danger: Crime Scene

Author Bonnie J. Doerr appeared at Barnhills Bookstore in Winston-Salem, NC, on Saturday, November 12, 2011. The audience enjoyed her presentation about her hands-on research before she writes her mysteries about endangered animals.

Here are some photos of her presentations and booksignings after each event. Note the crime scene tape adorning the book display table and around the author's neck.

Here's the audience for the first sitting eagerly watching her slides about Key deer, sea turtles, and pelicans. To accommodate the crowds, Doerr did a second presentation.

Fans line up for autographs at the end of the first presentation.

Advice for Teen Writers (Part II, Bonnie J. Doerr)

Anna's back...

with Part II of her interview with author Bonnie J. Doerr, the award-winning author of eco-mysteries, including Island Sting and Stakeout. 

Because Bonnie's responses are so much fun and comprehensive, we've dividing the interview into two parts. Here's PART 2: 

·                     How much research goes into each of your books?

I spend several weeks each year where my stories are set—the Florida Keys. Now that I live in western North Carolina, I make this research trip during February. Yes, I hate cold weather. But, hey, many animals and people migrate to the Keys for winter. I’m simply following my sources. Honest!

Island friends connect me with sources who are experienced and knowledgeable in specific environmental issues. These dedicated people help me build realistic plots. I ask them questions that begin like this: “Is it possible that...?” “What could cause...?” “What would happen if...?” 

I also spend hours observing and interacting with my star critters. For Island Sting I toured the National Key Deer Refuge and spent time with wildlife officers who protect the tiny endangered deer. While planning Stakeout, I spent time with personnel and patients at the Marathon Sea Turtle Hospital, and participated in a nest-monitoring walk. Most recently, I fed injured pelicans and helped release rehabilitated pelicans. Wildlife volunteers and professionals are eager to provide facts, details, and personal experiences that enrich and inspire my stories.

Doerr feeding a Key deer

For me, there’s no substitute for field work. And, wow, do I take lots of notes and pictures. Thank heavens for digital cameras. But when I’m not on location, I spend many additional hours reading news articles and books about the wildlife and environment I feature. 

·                     Do you get really attached to your characters? Do you have a favorite?

On site at a pelican release

My characters do become very real to me. Once, while in Big Pine Key, Florida I nearly asked a Florida Fish and Wildlife employee if he’d recently seen his fellow officer, Mike Kaczynski. I was eager to know whether Mike and Kenzie’s mom were still an item. (Mike, Kenzie, and her mom are all characters in my books rather than real-life people.) Could have been embarrassing. In the book I’m working on now, Kenzie and Angelo are now attending school in Key West. So this coming February, I know I’ll be looking for them when I’m traipsing around town.

As for favorite characters? I think it changes from book to book. I was crazy about Fisher in Island Sting, but it was Ana who won my heart in Stakeout.

·                     How would you advise young adults who want to become published authors?

I’m going to answer this with everything I’ve got. Bet you’ll be sorry you asked.

I would tell aspiring authors (of any age) to study many genres. And I do mean study—via online courses, books, workshops, conference sessions, college programs, any and every way you can. As with any art, it’s important to first learn established rules and practice proven techniques. Then you’ll be prepared to change it all up when you’ve developed your own skills and style. 

Study and write with people who challenge and stimulate you. Then emerge from your comfort zone. Interact with a variety of real people in real life. Even if you write fantasy, your work has to connect with real people. 

Read much, listen well, and never stop learning. 

Don’t fixate on a troublesome manuscript hoping it will eventually, perfectly please everyone (including yourself). It never will. Let it go. Turn it in. Send it out. Move on. Capture that energy for the next project. You can return to that problem child later with fresh eyes.

Continually monitor and research the before-and-after aspects of all publishing options.  No one path is right for every author.

Last of all, the most challenging skill for pre- and post-published authors is learning to deal with criticism. Accept it, ignore it, or apply it, but do so with grace. Maybe I’ll paint the letters G-R-A-C-E on a pebble and carry it with me. Might help me follow my own advice.

For more information on Bonnie Doerr, her books, endangered animals, visit her at her blog, Bonnie Blogs Green, and her website for more information about her books and awards, and for lots of information about endangered species.

Here are Doerr's most recent books. Watch for PELICAN PERIL coming next.

Artist Joanna Britt and Author Bonnie Doerr Go to Camp

Last week Leap Books artist Joanna Britt (pictured on left) took her art to summer camp. She and author Bonnie J. Doerr talked with campers about the process of writing and illustrating books. The audience was enthralled as they described how they collaborated on Island Sting.

The campers were writing and illustrating their own books, so they got a lot of helpful tips on how to do that. They also enjoyed seeing how Bonnie doe her research for her books on endangered animals. That's Bonnie pictured on the screen below as she gets into the habitats along with rescue workers who save these endangered species.

The visit wasn't all about work, though. Everyone enjoyed playing a game while they learned more facts about the endangered Florida Key deer that are the stars in Island Sting. Did you know that Key Deer are only found on a few islands in the Florida Keys? And one fun fact that surprised most of the campers was that Key deer are tiny. When they're full grown, they're only about the size of a German shepherd dog.

Now these eager campers can't wait to get a hold of the next books in the series: Stakeout (2011) and Pelican Peril (2012). For more information about these books and the endangered animals Bonnie has worked with and observed, check out her blog: Bonnie Blogs Green.

Eleven-Year-Old Raises $100,000+ for Gulf Cleanup

 Leap Books is always thrilled when we can highlight things tweens and teens are doing to make their world a better place. Have you heard about 11-year-old Olivia Bouler?

She wanted to help with the Gulf oil spill cleanup, so she offered her artwork to anyone who donated to the National Audubon Society. So far, she's raised more than $100,000.

To learn more about her efforts, visit AOL Artists (the source of this picture of Olivia) to watch a video and see her notecards. You can also find out more about her on her Facebook page, which has 23,719 fans, her AOL Artists page, or from this article at CNN. Olivia has also been featured on AOL's Good News Now.

For more about what Audubon is doing to assist with wildlife rescue during the cleanup, visit their website. You can also click here to donate.

Pelicans in Peril

The Gulf oil spill continues to endanger many animals. Leap Books wants to support the rescue efforts in any way they can. In addition to publishing books that highlight endangered animals, the company and its authors have donated money to wildlife agencies.

We hope our readers will also consider donating to the many wildlife agencies that are saving animals and birds caught in the oil spill. One of these organizations is IBRRC (International Bird Rescue Research Center).

IBRRC's Flickr shows pictures of pelicans covered with oil and how they are being cleaned. They also have this video and others at YouTube:

Though the task at times may seem impossible, IBRRC won't give up. As they say, "we maintain the belief that each individual animal is just one part of the larger population. We recognize that each life is valuable and that each animal is deserving of our care. In a world where life is not always respected and cherished we feel that preserving even the life of one bird sends an important message."

Leap Books agrees. Prior to the Gulf crisis, our author Bonnie J. Doerr had been researching pelican rescues for the third book in her eco-mystery series, Pelican Peril, so these birds are near and dear to our hearts. Please do what you can to help these pelicans and we will too. For the next few days, we'll highlight some ways you can help.

Pelicans Endangered Again

Nicknamed the Pelican State, Louisiana was once home to thriving colonies of brown pelicans. The state seal and early flag featured these nesting birds with their deep beaks for scooping up fish.

In the early 1900s about 50,000 brown pelicans lived along the Louisiana coast. Less than fifty years later, that number had dropped to 5000. By 1963 not one nesting pair could be found. The major cause was the pesticide DDT. The Mississippi River had carried it from the farms to the pelican nesting areas. DDT thinned out the eggshells, so when pelicans sat on their nests, they destroyed their eggs.

After DDT was banned, a pelican restocking program began. Wildlife refuges were set up on the barrier islands, and by the early 2000s, the pelicans had begun their return.

Now the pelicans are facing another danger. The massive amounts of oil spewing into the water off the Louisiana shore are imperiling wildlife, especially on the barrier islands and marshes.

According to the International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRRC), a dime-sized drop of oil is enough to kill a bird. Oil clumps a bird's feathers so it has no protection from the cold and it loses its buoyancy. A bird's instinct is to preen its feathers to remove the oil, which also harms its internal organs.

Birds can even die of stress when rescuers try to wash their feathers, so refuge workers give the birds food, water, and medical treatment before they dip them into baths of dishwashing detergent and water. IBRRC estimates that it takes 300 gallons of water to clean one oil-soaked bird.

Oil isn't the only threat to the endangered pelicans. Leap Books author Bonnie J. Doerr is busy writing Pelican Peril, her third eco-mystery. Here's a picture of Bonnie helping refuge workers in the Florida Keys save some pelicans.

Find out more at Bonnie's blog, Bonnie Blogs Green.

Pelican Release

Wondering what author Bonnie J. Doerr is up to on her trip to the Florida Keys? She'll soon be doing author visits (check out the schedule below for more information), but in her spare time, Bonnie's doing what she loves best--working to save the environment.

Today she assisted with a pelican release. She sent us a picture of the release, part of the mission of the Key West Wildlife Center. And guess what Book 3 will be in Bonnie's series? That's right. A pelican rescue.

If you haven't read Book 1, about the Key deer, you'll want to start with that. Book 2 will be about turtles. And now you know what you'll have to look forward to in Book 3. One of the reasons Bonnie's books are so much fun is that she does hands-on research. So her books take you right to the scene. It doesn't get any better than that.

Or wait, maybe it does... Stop by the Key West Wildlife Center on Sunday, February 7 for the Family Fun Day Fund Raiser from 1-4 pm. Proceeds from the book sales will be donated to the wildlife center, so you can meet Bonnie in person, get an autographed copy of Island Sting, and help endangered species at the same time.

Oh, and don't forget to ask about the pelican release.