#AtoZChallenge The Shattered Letter S

The team's theme of the April Blogging from A to Z Challenge this year is:
ACCOMPLISHING YOUR DREAMS, AND THE DUALITY OF 22

Today the letter S gets some attention. 

When I set out to write this post, it occurred to me that I’d always accepted our ABC system and never questioned how it developed or who was responsible. It turns out to be a very complicated answer. 

A quick examination—very quick—places the beginning of our alphabet in the 2nd millennium BCE in Egypt. Semitic-speaking slaves who couldn’t understand the complex hieroglyphics, developed simpler phonetic symbols to communicate. A few thousand years later…well, we have 26 letters that we start learning on Sesame Street. 

Thank you, ancient people, for starting the system that gave us those beautiful letters so we could create words.  I’m quite sure that I, for one, wouldn’t be writing books if I had to do so in Egyptian hieroglyphics. 

While the alphabet is always important to me, S has been a special letter these past few months because I just published another book—Shattered, A Story of Betrayal and Courage. 

Some readers who have enjoyed the story say: 

“So. Much. Fun. I had so much fun reading this and the characters were super interesting including the dynamics the characters have created. I really loved this!—Nora Fatima (Bookseller)

“I really enjoyed the mystery to this. We are given random chapters called “the arrangement” that give clues to the fact that Libby’s accident wasn’t an accident after all and was actually orchestrated by a rival skier (or was it?)  I liked the character growth we see in not just Libby but some of the side characters as well. This story felt real and painful and I honestly was hooked from the first page. The twist ending made my thriller self very happy and in the end this was a really heartwarming story.”— Kortnie R., Reviewer 

Links:

Website: https://cleemckenziebooks.com

Evernight Teen: https://www.evernightteen.com/shattered-by-c-lee-mckenzie/

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1110901

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shattered-c-lee-mckenzie/1140389252

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Shattered-Betrayal-C-Lee-McKenzie-ebook/dp/B09JYYJG7V/

Bio:

I'm a native Californian who grew up in a lot of different places; then landed in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I write most of the time, hike and practice yoga a lot, and then travel whenever I can. 

In my young adult books, I take on modern issues that today's teens face in their daily lives. My Evernight Teen Publication, Double Negative was voted as one of the best top ten Young Adult books, 2019. My other books, The Princess of Las Pulgas, Sliding on the Edge, Sudden Secrets, Not Guilty, and Shattered are out to four and five-star reviews.  

If you visit my website and sign up for my Email Connect (emails two times a month)there's a free short story for you! Please stop by.

In Shattered, nineteen-year-old Libby Brown's big dream is winning gold the winter Olympics. 🥇 What's your big dream?

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#atozchallenge R is for Ring Around the Rosie - guest post by C. Lee McKenzie

The game called Ring Around the Rosie has a mixed and long history. There are reports of one version appearing as early as the 1300s, other versions came into popular use in the 17 and 1800s. Today, young children still link hands, walk in a circle, and sing the lyrics.

Some believe the “ring around the Rosie” refers to the sores that appeared on plague victims’ skin—the “pocket full of posies” to either the practice of putting flowers inside doctors’ masks to protect them while they treated patients with plague, or gravesite tributes. The repeated “Ashes. Ashes.” was supposed to mimic the sound of sneezing while “We all fall down…” Well, if the game did refer to the Black Death, it’s obvious what that sentence meant.


I’d rather just think of it as a fun game that happens to begin with today’s stellar letter R.


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Oops!

I didn't do a very good job in meeting my Road Trip Deadline. I was sure I could post on July 1, but I was so jet lagged that I wound up face in pillow instead.

Sorry, Trippers! 

However. I'll make some amends by showing you a great game for road trips. Remember that was one of my promises for the summer. I found this game in Ireland and brought it home. This would be a great way to keep you and the kids occupied and happy. It kept my friend and me very happy during our flight.

You roll the dice, the images are your route to a story you create. Simple and fun. All you need is pie tin or other way to keep the dice from spilling and you've got several hours of fun.

Happy Road Trip. Are you thinking about what your AtoZ Theme will be next year?