Inspired mere moments ago by @jab0217, @JonathonArntson, @Kim_Harrington, @WilowRedHouse & @annastanisz on Twitter, I have decided that the wacky weather we're experiencing in New England is due to Mother Nature's disconcerting lack of chocolate. Her mood swings are affecting us all and we're stumped with what to do about it. One week of summer bounty followed by the next of freezing rain is enough to drive anyone bonkers, which is the only sane excuse I have for creating a contest right this very minute. (Why not? I'm inspired and I'm stuck indoors on a yucky day.) So to appease Mother Nature and soothe my fellow confused earthlings enduring her moody wrath, I proudly present:

THE APRIL SHOWERS/MAY FLOWERS
RANDOM CONTEST OF SUNSHINE AND CHOCOLATE!
No, seriously. Why not? I've got some right here...

5 people will each receive:

1) A packet of Mixed Color Marigold seeds. Marigolds are the signature flower of Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, whose scent is highly prized and they are the most gorgeous, orange, sunshiny flowers. What better way to celebrate spring?
2) Chocolate! Chocolate needs no introduction. The food of the g-ds! If anything will appease Mother Nature (or calm our frayed nerves), this is it.
3) A signed LUMINOUS Bookmark. Might as well, right? It's my contest, after all.

And ONE lucky winner will receive the additional Grand Random Prize of a signed ARC of LUMINOUS!

There. That ought to bring some sunshine! :-)

Rules Thingies:

1) To enter: comment here. Include your email. This makes it easier to contact you if you win.
2) Tell others about this contest. Spread the sunshine on your social media of choice!
3) Heck, sunshine knows no bounds: let's open this up INTERNATIONALLY and have it run from now until March 30th.
4) Check back here on March 31st when I'll announce the winners & show off something new for LUMINOUS' one-month countdown to launch! YAY!

So: that's it! Sunshine & chocolate for everyone! And you can thank the other Dawn as well as Jonathon, Kim, Emily and Anna for this bit of inspirational randomness. Enjoy!

Go enter now. Umbrella not included. :-)

Instead of attending NESCBWI this year, I ran around the woods teaching kids about compassionate listening and communication skills with creative puppetry. Yes, this is the sort of silliness I do for a living and, oddly enough, it works! Taking a ton of either behaviorally mature or behaviorally challenged kids and presenting them with situations slightly left of center often brings surprising results and always *ALWAYS* inspires me. Nothing is quite so impressive as a child creating something magical out of the world, answering tough questions with honesty and undisguised ego and id. I got to see greed, excitement, compassion, quiet contemplation, that spark of understanding when the penny drops, and that incredible smile that sweeps the face when they are rewarded for getting the right answer. I am blown away every single time.

I'm very grateful for all the tweets at #nescbwi11 that kept me in the game and grinning at everybody's "popcorn" moments and sharing favorite quotes, but truth be told, I was pretty happy where I was: jogging through the woods with a script, a bag of goodies, a puppet, and a goal.

Today I'm sore, but smiling.

Happy Monday! Go be inspired!