Merry Hi Friends!

Friday arrived rather abruptly for those of us in the Mid West. I am assuming nearly everyone has already heard of the earthquake early Friday morning. Some folks managed to sleep through it. I am a light sleeper, so I woke up for it. Earthquakes in the middle of the country feel different than those on the coast. I thought it was the younger cat up to some sort of mischief under the bed. My husband rolled over and said it's only and earthquake, then rolled back and returned to sleep.

I figured I should email my mother and let her know we were okay since with all the news last month of flooding in Missouri, I got several emails from her asking if we were under water. We weren't even close to the flooding areas, but her knowledge of Missouri is limited to the fact that I live here.

After I sent the email we were hit by another tremor, so I figured I'd better turn off the computer and head over to the drafting table and work on some art. I drew all day and later in the evening decided to check my email and see if she'd replied. That's when I discovered that my host had had a serious hardware failure. No sites, no email and no news as to when they'd be back up. Saturday and Sunday was more of the same. Sometime in the early afternoon today, most of my sites and my email are back up. It was a nail biting weekend for me, to say the least.

This morning there was another quake, this one my husband slept through. I wonder how long this will continue. Thank Goddess no one has been hurt.

This month's coloring page; the "G" installment of the Lessor Known Goddesses ABCs features Gula, Babylonian Goddess. The pdf was uploaded a couple of days ago to the files in the magicalchildnews Yahoo Group web site. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/magicalchildnews/ to sign up and downlaod your copy.

SJ Tucker and I are hammering out the last details on "Rabbit's Song." Both of us and the books other author, Trudy Herring, are super excited to move forward with this project once all the paperwork is out of the way.

Have you placed your order for "Watchers" yet? I know the web site says they aren't in stock yet, but I have a limited supply of pre-release copies that visitors to the web site can purchase now. Visit http://shop.handcraftedpagan.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=5 and place your request now. Remember to tell me who to autograph the book to when you check out.

Watchers also has a teaching guide available on the newly redesigned Magical Child Books' web site. Check it out http://paganchildrensbookpublishing.info/ as well as the other information available. Web site visitors can get a special code for a discount on check out from the Magical Child Books' web store. Please let me know what else you'd like to see on the web site.

Remember to check out Broomstix, it's an e-zine for Pagan kids (http://www.broomstix.com ). It comes out around each Sabbat and includes all kinds of wonderful stories, crafts and activities. I will be the features author in their Litha issue. More on that in future updates.

For those of you looking for events I will be making several appearances in May, I hope to see some of you there!

April 25 - 27 (my birthday!!!)
Goddess Weekend '08;
Camp Cuivre,
Troy, MO
I'll be doing book signings all weekend and giving a workshop - Sacred Art: Creations for Worship and Healing. I'll also be doing henna tattoos Friday and Saturday evenings.

April 30 - May 4
Spring (Beltane) Gathering
Our Haven http://beltaine.ourhaven.info/2008/
French Lick, IN
I'll be doing book signings all weekend. Saturday I will have story time, when I will read both Aidan's First Full Moon Circle and Watchers to the youngsters and the young at heart. The campsite is private and beautiful. SJ will be there singing her heart out, too!

May 8-11
Beltane Bacchanalia
WolvenWold http://www.wolvenwold.drak.net/beltane08.htm
Elk Creek, MO
I'll be doing book signings all weekend. Saturday I will have story time, when I will read both Aidan's First Full Moon Circle and Watchers for all the assembled kids of all ages. This campsite is also private and beautiful. The Beltane ritual is not to be missed!

I am on myspace http://myspace.com/wlyonmartin . If you are there, send me a friend request!

One last thing. I have been trying to keep my posts down to one a month. I want to hear from you as to whether you think this is often enough, too often or just right. Please let me know!

Bright Blessings,
Lyon

Watchers (June 2008 Magical Child Books)
Aidan's First Full Moon Circle (Jan. 2008 Magical Child Books)
An Ordinary Girl, A Magical Child (Jan 2008 Magical Child Books)
http://paganchildrensbookpublishing.info

Finally, there's a realistic plan to end the war in Iraq.

Several dozen congressional candidates have worked with military officers who have served in Iraq, and developed the "Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq." I've signed on as an endorser, and asked my representative in Congress to do so as well.

Please have a look and take action.

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/responsible_plan/?r_by=16-81799-W6fdd5&rc=paste

Thanks!

PS. Anyone who heard of the earthquake last night in the Mid West, please know that we are safe and sound.

Spring has arrived with a fury of wind, rain and hail here in the Mid West. Luckily, our home sits in a protected little valley up away from the Mississippi River. So, although our basement is very soggy, we have no damage or flooding that has plagued many of the other area residents. I have gotten bitten by the nesting bug and am renovating major portions of the house. I started with the front room, which is also the family room by getting rid of dozens of books and building a coat closet. I made my husband take the old wobbly coat rack and the discarded books off to Good Will. This week, the project was not as much fun. The heating and cooling system (over 25 years old) had to be replaced. So we have a new fuel efficient furnace and air conditioner. I hope the difference in the gas bill will make up for the expense. The next room slated for redo is my daughter's room. She's getting a closet, too. With mirrored doors. And we will paint over the pink and fairy-stickered room which was her choice at 6. Now she's all things Harry Potter and has chosen a bright Kelly Green for her walls. I told her her eyes will bleed, but she's standing firm on her color choice. Eep!

Remember in the last newsletter when I told you I was researching new products? Well some of them have arrived.

New products at Magickware: New Products
We have a triple Goddess Tapestry. New pewter charms: a sneaking fairy, a triple moon and a spiral Goddess. There are bunches of new books: The Crafty Witch, Gargoyles--From the archives of the Grey School of Wizardry, Move your stuff, change your life, Magical Connections, Pagan Prayer Beads. There are also a few autographed copies of Trish Telesco's Kitchen Witch series: Magickal Tools and Brews & Potions. Plus one fiction title: The Greener Shore.

And last, but not least, my third picture book for the Pagan child is ready for purchase. WATCHERS!!! Who's hiding in corners and watching in the dark? A trap is set and our hero receives a big surprise when the watchers are finally captured.

Something is watching Thomas as he's sleeping. He decides that he will discover who is frightening him and hatches a plan to catch them in a trap. The story goes from spooky to secure when Thomas discovers who he has captured.

A bouncing bedtime tale your kids are sure to request again and again even after they know the secret. Watchers

Also, parents, take a moment to sign up for the Magical Child newsletter. I send out updates and coloring pages as often as I can, about one a month. Share the coloring pages with your little ones for a fun Pagan oriented play time! Past pages are archived so you can download any of the previous pages. Sign up at Magical Child Books Newsletter

Speaking of books, there are two new reviews posted at Magickware's Pagan Book Review. Book Reviews Nine Designs for Inner Peace and Priestess of the Forest. Both titles are excellent, informative and entertaining.

Among the other new products at Magickware are pendants in bronze and large Animal Spirit Candles. Plus, new to herbs are cinnamon sticks.

If there's something you want and you don't see, tell us in an email. Magickware is happy to fill special orders if we can find a supplier or make it ourselves.

And last but not least, make sure to stop by for our 8 annual Pre-Sabbat Altar sales. About two weeks before each Sabbat dozens of items in our shop go on sale.

Shop Magickware for all your witchy needs.

Bright Blessings,
Lyon

Reading is Fundamental Seeks Help

From Carol H. Rasco, president and CEO, of Reading Is Fundamental (RIF):

"President Bush’s proposed budget calling for the elimination of Reading Is Fundamental’s (RIF) Inexpensive Book Distribution program would be devastating to the 4.6 million children and their families who receive free books and reading encouragement from RIF programs at nearly 20,000 locations throughout the U.S."

“Unless Congress reinstates $26 million in funding for this program, RIF will not be able to distribute 16 million books annually to the nation’s youngest and most at-risk children. RIF programs in schools, childcare centers, migrant programs, military bases, and other locations serve children from low-income families, children with disabilities, foster and homeless children, and children without access to libraries."

To find out how you can help, visit http://www.rif.org/get-involved/advocate/what/ Get Involved

Americans are reading less

NEA announces new reading study

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced in November 2007 the release of To Read or Not To Read: A Question of National Consequence, a new and comprehensive analysis of reading patterns in the United States. To Read or Not To Read gathers statistics from more than 40 studies on the reading habits and skills of children, teenagers, and adults. The compendium reveals recent declines in voluntary reading and test scores alike, exposing trends that have severe consequences for American society.

Among the key findings:

Americans are reading less - teens and young adults read less often and for shorter amounts of time compared with other age groups and with Americans of previous years.
* Less than one-third of 13-year-olds are daily readers, a 14 percent decline from 20 years earlier. Among 17-year-olds, the percentage of non-readers doubled over a 20-year period, from nine percent in 1984 to 19 percent in 2004.
* On average, Americans ages 15 to 24 spend almost two hours a day watching TV, and only seven minutes of their daily leisure time on reading.

Americans are reading less well – reading scores continue to worsen, especially among teenagers and young males. By contrast, the average reading score of 9-year-olds has improved.
* Reading scores for 12th-grade readers fell significantly from 1992 to 2005, with the sharpest declines among lower-level readers.
* 2005 reading scores for male 12th-graders are 13 points lower than for female 12th-graders, and that gender gap has widened since 1992.
* Reading scores for American adults of almost all education levels have deteriorated, notably among the best-educated groups. From 1992 to 2003, the percentage of adults with graduate school experience who were rated proficient in prose reading dropped by 10 points, a 20 percent rate of decline.

(The National Endowment for the Arts is the original source of this information. ) <<http://www.nea. gov/news/ news07 /TRNR.html>>)