Middle Grade and Young Adult Author
Candie Moonshower’s hands-on workshops and author talks are tailored to age-appropriate grade levels and cover material geared toward brainstorming ideas, historical research/writing and journaling. She has worked with elementary school-aged classes to groups of high school students interested in writing.
Her recent award-winning novel, THE LEGEND OF ZOEY, is an historical novel based in West Tennessee. Zoey, a feisty, funny thirteen-year-old, leaves home for a boring field trip to West Tennessee and Reelfoot Lake, only to find herself on the ride of her life as she is thrust back in time to the winter of 1811 and the New Madrid Earthquakes that will devastate West Tennessee. Told in alternating journal entries between Zoey and her 1811-friend, Prudence, Zoey won the SCBWI "Sue Alexander Award for Most Promising New Work Award" in 2003 and was recently selected as a Volunteer State Book Award Nominee for 2009-2010. The Legend of Zoey is an AR book.
Moonshower can talk about her early writing life (relating it to kids and their desire to write these days), how to find ideas and get started, and how to turn dry history into entertaining stories. Other possible activities include interactive writing exercises that work with small and large groups, and exploring the writing of a novel with students who have read The Legend of Zoey in advance. Please call for details or to brainstorm workshops appropriate for your groups.
School Library Journal said this about The Legend of Zoey: "Set in two time periods, Moonshower's novel is a riveting look at actual earthquakes in New Madrid, MO, in 1811-12 and a compelling drama. The narrative alternates between Prudence and Zoey, using a journal/diary format to relate the story. Zoey helps Prudence's mother with the birthing process and gains a new respect for her mother's work. The experience makes her appreciate her background and gain knowledge of history and her ancestors. Some clever details are mixed in with the conclusion to give readers a feeling that the whole time-travel incident really happened. Moonshower captures the perfect blend of fact and fantasy, past and present, adventure and characterization to make this a compelling first novel. It's is a must-purchase for libraries in the Tennessee and Missouri regions. Other libraries should also consider it worthwhile." –Debbie Whitbeck, West Ottawa Public Schools, Holland, MI Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Moonshower teaches college English and works regularly as a freelance business writer, publishing in regional and national magazines. In 2009, Enslow Press published her biography of young adult author Vivian Vande Velde, Vivian Vande Velde: Author of Fantasy Fiction. For more information, go to: www.CandieMoonshower.com, or www.scbwi-midsouth.org/speakers.htm. References are available upon request.