STAR Testing

It's Star Testing week for many of my readers,  teens I tutor, and my brother, who is a teacher. If your school is testing this week, follow these tips to boost your score and lower your anxiety.

Before the test:
Get as much sleep as possible and eat a healthy breakfast, preferably one with some protein.

During the test:

1. Breathe.  Before you begin the test, exhale a long, cleansing breath.
2. Ground.  Imagine roots sprouting from your feet and anchoring you to the earth.
3. Tell yourself, "I can do this."
4. Allow your mind to open.  All that you have learned and need to know for the test will flow to you.
5. Trust yourself. The first answer you instinctively choose is usually the correct one.
6.  Relax. Lower your shoulders.  This will relieve tension and allow the chi, and answers, to flow.

Good luck!  I know you will do an awesome job!
~Ariella

For Anna and Colette

So great to meet aspiring authors, Anna and Colette, tonight at my Author Event.  Best of luck with your short stories and poetry.  It was great to meet you both!
Love and light,
Ariella

Ariella Moon conjures up sweet story for daughter

Here's my fifteen minutes of fame!
My thanks to Janice De Jesus for her wonderful article.  It appeared in several newspapers throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
Moraga Novelist's "Spell Check'

Banned Books List

One of my favorite trilogies, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, just made the third spot on the American Library Association's list of most frequently banned books. Number One spot went to Lauren Myracle's IM series, Number Two: Kim Dong Hwa's series The Color of Earth.  Amazingly, To Kill a Mockingbird, which was published over fifty years ago, is Number Ten.

The ALA list reflects books that have been challenged or banned in communities across the country. Happy reading!
~Ariella

Meet Young Adult Author Ariella Moon

Meet-Up Author Event

So totally cool ~ I'm scheduled to appear at "Meet Young Adult Author Ariella Moon," an informal evening of Q&A. I will share my writing process as well as my experiences with agents, Big Six Publishers, and small press publishing. Bring your questions and your friends for a fun night.  Hope to see you there!

 

Thursday, April 26, 2012

6:30 pm – 8:00 pm

Lafayette Library and Learning Center

3491 Mount Diablo Blvd.

Lafayette, CA 94549

(Ask the librarian at front desk for room.)

 

Wednesday's Wisdom Card

Messages of Life

I had planned to pull from my animal totem deck this week. But on Monday, I met a woman whose teenage daughter, Laurel Alice Williams, had died in a drunk driving accident. The woman created a foundation in Laurel's memory, and as a fundraiser, was selling huge, heart-shaped chocolates stamped with an image of Laurel with angel wings. The mother's story stayed with me. If you'd like to learn more, please visit: The Laurel Alice Williams Foundation. laurelalicefoundation.org.

I wasn't too surprised when I was unable to find my animal totem cards tonight. Instead, I unearthed Mario Duguay's Messages of Life, a deck I do not use too often. The deck was given to me by a friend who had lost her young son in an automobile accident many years ago. Clearly, the angels wanted to be heard. I asked for their guidance. "Which card will my readers need to see this week?" The answer was: Truth.

Your soul knows the truth. When in doubt, look inward. The truth will come to you.
Please. Never drink and drive, and never drive with someone who is drunk. Call your parents. Call a sober friend. They will come get you.

May love and light always surround you.

~Ariella

April Fools Day

Sunday’s Serene Teen

Did you all survive April Fools Day? When I was a pre-teen, every day felt like April Fools. My mother’s second husband was a practical joker, and my brother, sister, and I were his constant victims. It was hard to be a Serene Teen when we had to be constantly on guard. Jim went far beyond food jokes, like substituting salt for sugar. No, he plotted much bigger than that. On the bright side, his jokes provided early lessons in reading signs and energy.  Practical jokers can barely contain their glee, so their energy changes whenever they are up to something. 

One day, a package arrived for me. Instead of a return address, someone had drawn several hearts with a red pen. Jim seemed way too pleased with the package. Anticipation crackled his energy field. He all but rubbed his hands together. “Open it! Let’s see what your secret admirer sent you!”

That’s when I noticed the stamps on the box hadn’t been stamped by the post office. Jim was a fisherman. The box was about the size of a fish head. I went with my intuition and said, “No thanks. It contains a fish head.” The shock on Jim’s face was priceless. I had guessed correctly.

Finally, my siblings and I reached our limit. We turned the tables. We had often gotten into trouble for jumping on our parents’ bed. So one day, while Jim was out of the house, we removed the bedspread from their bed and lined the edges of the bed with pillows. When we tossed the bedspread back on the bed, it looked as though the bed had broken and caved in.

For years we had perfected masking our emotions over practical jokes. So when Jim came home and we sheepishly led him into the bedroom, we were the epitome of dejection, shame, and worry. We looked like three kids who had done something wrong and knew they were going to get a belt to their backside. We showed Jim the bed. I think I even squeezed out tears of regret.

Blood rushed to Jim’s face when he saw the “broken” bed. “You @%$#& kids!” As he reached for his belt we flipped back the covers and threw his favorite tag line at him. “Gotcha!”

He gaped from us to the bed before breaking into a smile. “You got me. You got me good!”

Jim died several years ago. I always know when his spirit visits me. An impish energy ripples the air. My bracelet squirms then flies off my wrist and shoots across the room. Inside my head I hear him. “Gotcha!”

So if you have the misfortune of living with a practical joker, look on the bright side. They are training you to become quite the actor, or shaman, or energy worker. Hang in there. Some day the tables will turn.