132180339 - ProfilesArchive

About Me

Hi! My new gig is at About.com, and I'm loving it. I'm the Guide to Continuing Education , and my site covers everything that adults returning to school need to know, whether you're earning your GED credential, getting or finishing a degree or professional certificate, or simply improving yourself by attending community ed. classes or listening to learning CDs in your car.
I'm working hard to build content. If you don't see what you're looking for, let me know, or spout off about it in my forum. I look forward to seeing you there!
Now about my book:
My first book, The Lost Twins (Zodiac, Book 1), is available through links on my website www.debpeterson.com or at www.amazon.com . It's the story of CK (because she's a Computer Kid with a capital C and a capital K), a girl genius whose science fair project goes terribly wrong, sending her and the most popular boy in school to the mystical land of Zodiac. There, they master newfound powers, discover who they truly are, battle an evil countess for control of all communication in the universe, and CK meets the family she has never known---an oddly identical twin brother.
If you like futuristic fantasy, astrology, and all things mystical, you just might love your trip to Zodiac.
pssst: there are no dragons there...
About me: I love to laugh, and I laugh often. I like trying new things, and I do as often as I can. I love being outside, but I really hate bugs, especially bugs that bite or sting, which is a conundrum. I can also be very happy in my quiet house all by myself, introvert that I am, and I hate bugs even more when they're inside with me. I collect children's art; the really great stuff that's filled with color. I make chocolate chip pancakes on Sundays. I have a wall of books.
Originally from Minneapolis (I lived most of my life there), I now live on the beautiful White River in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas with Tim and our little dog Jimmy. (There's a very cute photo of Jimmy in the pic section.) It's the Natural State. They've got diamond mines here and clear blue lakes.
I'm blogging for my local newspaper now, The Baxter Bulletin .

My Interests

I'd like to meet:

I like meeting people with wide open minds, people who are willing to consider all possibilities, people who respect differences in others and just want to live a happy, peaceful life. I know conflict exists and that we need it. Especially in stories. Stories really aren't very good at all without it, but I don't understand why we, as a species, seem to need to fight.

I love creative people who see the beauty in this world. The Navajo people have a mythology about walking the pollen path: beauty above, beauty below, beauty all around. I try very hard to stay on the pollen path in my life. It's difficult sometimes, and I fall off it now and then, but I do my best to promote beauty, kindness, respect and love. I seek the place where science and mysticism meet, and I love meeting people willing to talk about that place.

I'd like to meet people who enjoy reading fantasy, especially futuristic teen fantasy. It's my favorite genre. It's what I like to read, so that's what I write. I consider it on the edge of sci fi. Soft sci fi you might call it. If you enjoy contemporary fantasy, come on over to the Contemporary Fantasy group to meet a really fun bunch of fantasy lovers.

I love kids who read. Kids who read are smart, informed, open to possibilities (one of my favorite things), and usually very funny. People don't give kids the credit they deserve. They're really wonderful creatures.

There are lots of teen authors I'd love to meet, among them Eoin Colfer, Philip Pullman, and Terry Pratchett. Such creative people. I would have loved to have met Madeleine L'Engle.

I'd like to find Suzanne Robinson, Carla Minor, Kim Read, Mary Recker, and Cindy Lundell. I found Cindy Lundell!

My Blog

Gift Ideas in a Poor Economy

A lot of people are on very tight budgets this holiday season. Most of the people on my own list will be getting gift baskets of goodies I canned last summer---pickles, jams, relishes, that sort of th...
Posted by on Wed, 10 Dec 2008 14:27:00 GMT

Clearing the Old to Make Room for the New

One of the qualities associated with Saturn in astrology is the clearing away of what you no longer need in order to make room for the new. New events, new relationships, new projects, new anything. I...
Posted by on Tue, 04 Nov 2008 11:36:00 GMT

Is Your Desk Messy or Organized?

Most of my life I've been fairly neat. Maybe it's because, as a child, I was required to make my bed before I could go outside to play. You don't hear that very often anymore---go outside to play---bu...
Posted by on Sun, 02 Nov 2008 08:16:00 GMT

The Upside of Insomnia

When it gets to be 38 degrees at night, my down comforter comes out. It's one of my favorite fall rituals. I have one of those Company Store comforters that make a soft crinkly sound. I fluff it up in...
Posted by on Sun, 26 Oct 2008 06:31:00 GMT

A Good Day at School

My first day back in the classroom as a sub was a good one. Sharon had a smart and clear plan for me, and the kids were interested in their assignments. AP English was a breeze. The kids in that class...
Posted by on Tue, 14 Oct 2008 06:27:00 GMT

The Substitute Teacher

Last winter I thought for a while, quite seriously, about getting my teaching certificate, so I signed up to sub in Yellville. Why Yellville when I'm cotterdeb? I chose Yellville because I know severa...
Posted by on Sun, 12 Oct 2008 05:56:00 GMT

About Grace by Anthony Doerr

Imagine dreaming of someone's death and then watching it happen. It would be enough to make you more than a little neurotic. Reading About Grace by Anthony Doerr, I cringed over and over again at the ...
Posted by on Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:27:00 GMT

Spider Bites

I mentioned the other day that while I consider tarantulas more animal than insect, and remarkably beautiful, I don't want spiders of any kind in my house. And while I hate to admit it for sounding un...
Posted by on Wed, 08 Oct 2008 08:50:00 GMT

The Stunning Zebra Swallowtail

One of the things I love most about my gardens is the seemingly constant stream of migrating visitors---birds, butterflies, even spiders. I don't actually know that spiders "migrate", but I do know th...
Posted by on Tue, 07 Oct 2008 03:47:00 GMT

Annis McGuire and Flat Stanley

The other day I had a nice conversation over the back fence with my neighbor, Annis McGuire. Well, minus the fence. She had with her a very flat doll called Flat Stanley. I had only just heard about F...
Posted by on Sat, 04 Oct 2008 04:08:00 GMT