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.

Sunday's Serene Teen: The Two Wolves Inside Us

     An old Cherokee told his grandson, "My son, there is a battle between two wolves inside us all.  One is Evil.  It is anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, inferiority, lies, and ego.  The other is Good.  It is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy, and truth"
     The boy thought about it, and asked, "Grandfather, which wolf wins?"
     The old man quietly replied, "The one you feed."

This is the abridged version of the Cherokee legend.  To read an expanded version go to Edel O'Mahoney's Path of the Peaceful Warrior at

http://www.edelomahony.com/2011/08/04/two-wolves-inside-us-all-a-cherokee-legend/

     My thanks to Stephen Matchett for sending this to me.
     May you choose wisely which wolf you feed.
     Love and Light surrounds you.
     ~Ariella

Five Star Review For Spell Check!

5.0 out of 5 stars spellbinding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, February 28, 2012

By 

Tifferz - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spell Check (Kindle Edition)

Ms. Moon has crafted a spellbinding story. I was entranced within the first chapter, The story moves along at a nice pace and never drags. I liked the plot of the story and felt happy at the end of the story. This is a sweet romance that had moments I found myself laughing out loud! My son looked over and asked what was so funny. I explained and he laughed as well. My heart went out to Evie, her mom and Jordan at times. They have to deal with some hard things. I enjoyed the differences between Parvani, Evie, Salem and then Jordan and Zhu. I liked the real life elements that went into this story. I also loved the magic. What to do when a spell goes wrong? Read the book to find out. I would recommend this clean free of swearing and any sex book. I hope that Ms. Moon has many more stories to share with us.

I hope you enjoy this read as much as I did.

Wednesday's Wisdom Card

Today's card is SEKHMET ~ Be Strong.
Sekhmet is the Egyptian Goddess of Fire, Lightning, Dance, and Volcanoes. Her name means, "One Who is Powerful." See yourself as Sekhmet sees herself, strong and victorious. Your energy and aura will brighten when you tap into your inner strength.  Project yourself as a person of strength instead of a victim, and new people and opportunities will be attracted to you.

The Sekhmet card was drawn from my deck of Doreen Virtue's powerful Goddess Guidance Oracle Cards, Hay House, Inc.

I have tremendous faith in your power to make this shift.  May shining strength be yours.
~Ariella