In between all of this life stuff, I have been working on my 2nd book and selling my Champion Book when I go to competitions with my students. I have been having a great time because the skaters are starting to know who LambieAnn is and my book is continuing to have wonderful reviews.

People always ask me as to what age level is my book, The Champion Behind the Champion, written for and my answer is really…all ages. There is something in it for everybody. It is fun, it is educational & it is factual. I am so excited that Mom’s Choice Awards thought it was excellent also, because it gives my work even more creditability outside of skating. The really neat thing is, the story does apply to any endeavor a child may decide to put time into learning. It could be the piano, gymnastics, skiing, soccer, really anything and the information applies.

During the next week I will continue to work on my next book, and I’ll be watching the Olympics at the same time. I do not sit still well. However, my computer and Wacom Tablet are never too far away…so I am always busy. That’s way my next book will happen!

Although, I have to say, I definitely took time out to watch the fabulous Pair Skating, the Men’s skating, the snowboarders half pipe ,the curler’s and the skiers. Wow! Great skating,Skiing & Board tricks! The Chinese pairs were unbelievable! I wish I could have been there in person…It was very exciting to see Evan win the Men’s Figure Skating Championships! While I haven’t been a fan of IJS because it makes me still slightly crazy choreographing programs.  ( if you are a skater, you will know what I am talking about)  The good news is that  the IJS system did work as it was designed to. We saw it actually work!  According to the IJS Standards, Evan was the winner. Evan had beautiful clean triple jumps landed effortlessly, wonderfully centered combination spins, great footwork and an overall quality Olympic program. So what if he didn’t have a quad! The GOE gave him the edge, as it should have and for whatever it is worth, in my opinion, skating is not just about jumping up in the air and rotating around 4 times. I personally find a jumping program without artistry quite boring. Skating is an art form that incorporates athleticism, creativity, showmanship, presentation and great artistic skill. Figure Skating is an exciting and very difficult sport/art. It takes a lot of work and dedication to do it well!  I don’t think that Cleveland’s wonderful Basket Ball star, Le Bron James has to consider pointing his toes, keeping his head up and landing in the correct position after he makes a basket! He is wonderful, but add all the rest of a skater’s requirements into making a basket and then you can really talk about greatness!

And furthermore…The best was yet to come after Evan Lysacek was declared the Men’s Olympic Figure Skating Champion.  Evan handled his interview with maturity and graciousness in the face of a  controversy made by a certain opponent/competitor. Everyone is very proud of Evan. He is more than a championship skater, he is a champion human being!

So, back to the Olympics for more great athletes!

8/30/09 So, I have returned and obviously I have  put some time in between my writtings… but I have been very busy with the development of LambieAnn as a prototype stuffed lamb ( who will beultimately marketed with my book, The Champion Behind the Champion) and teaching since returning from the ISI World Competition in San Jose, CA. There are only so many hours in the day to do it all…. If I xeroxed myself, I think there would be more time to accomplish what I would really like to be able to do.

Anyway, ISI Worlds were truly fun!!! I plan to incorporate events that they host, which I think are so beneficial to our sport/art. I think ISI has a great outlook on the development  and purpose of skating. Everybody cannot be a national or world champion, but they can be accomplished skater in their own right! That may be a tough concept for some, as I think there are many levels  of perception of accomplishment. The bottom line in my perception is whether the person has benefited from having learned something to some level of expertise in the art/sport of figure skating which will enrich their life or someone elses. 

I plan to precent an excerpt from the ISI  Competition in my next book. This was the first time I had the opportunity to experience an ISI Competition and I detected  and felt a a very positive overall atmosphere attached to the events. I liked that and was impressed!  The kids & parents seemed  quite happy and excited with their particpation in their chosen events. The kids were a joy to meet as they dropped  by my venue  to say hi to LambieAnn ( who was really “Christiana Lambie”.

 Now that I have finished the actual prototype of LambieAnn, she  is a reality! The kids who have met her love her and the adults chuckle . They are  getting a charge out of her! I am posting pictures shortly of my little LambieAnn that is the size of a three year old on skates. She is a hit! She is a diva! She took me 3 days to design and make from scratch, but she is now a real skating lamb as a result of my efforts! 

I will post LambieAnn’s picture and  also post the pictures of the cute kids from  the ISI World Competition… By the way, LambieAnn is on Twitter, but she is so busy, she rarely has time to let people know what she is up to. Sorry about that.

Creativity takes time and it can’t be rushed. Sometimes the ideas just flow and other times, I just have to put the pencil down. I am familar with the process. Writing and illustrating is very much like choreographying a program on the ice…there are specific elements that must be included for it to work correctly.

Well, this is all I have until I know what event I will be selling and signing my book at….

So, here are a few comments from my readers…

My former neighbor from childhood, who is a great grandmother to three, purchased three books. Here is her note:

 Dear Barb,

Your book is terrific! Please write some others. My Massachusetts kids loved their copies.

Your creativity plus the good healthy principles which you laid out in “The Champion Behind the Champion” makes this book valuable for all sports. Horray!!

Love and Sincerity,

Arlene Carter

Arlene is a retired high school physical education teacher and still plays tennis in her 80’s!

Here’s one from an very accomplished skater, who is a long time childhood friend of mine, Lee.

  He writes: “I was in Cleveland for a day the first week in March and Gay (his sister) let me read yourbook. Very nice, well done! The illustrations are great…but how come LambieAnn doesn’t have a skating boy friend?”

I told him he would have to wait for a while…LambieAnn is a very busy girl!

Another friend, who is a skating judge wrote: LambieAnn is adorable and the book is well written and and beautifully illustrated.”

She must have especially loved the judges outfits. I will have to ask her.

Another skater by the name of Pat wrote after receiving her book wrote…” It is so much better holding it and reading it then seeing it on the computer. ”

( I had sent a digital copy of my book to her to proof read) 

She goes on to say, ” I must say I’m mighty impressed. The work that you put into it is staggering, yet I think, all in all, you did it very quickly once the idea jelled…BAM!!”

The answer is yes & no…

Pat is a friend from my high school days when I was training at the Skating Club of Boston. She has all sorts of creative ideas and is fun to bounce my creativity around with her.

One of my very favorite responses to my book came from a little 4 year old girl while selling my book at Worlds in Los Angeles, CA. The little girl was looking through my book and her father asked her if she liked the book. She looked up at him and said, “LOVE”  I said, “SOLD!”

All in all, I have received thumbs up from kids. I have hear.. Great Book, “Love it, way to go…when is the next one coming out?” I could go on…it is all very positive and fun for me!

So, as I always say… stay tuned…I’ll write more here when I have more time, but I have to end for now.

My sister flew in from Florida and I chose to drive from Ohio…quiet time for me to think and listen to music, so I don’t mind the hours by myself in the car. Kathy and I had the opportunity to stay with one of her high school friends who lives on Staten Island. We had “6 star” accommodations thanks to Lorinda and Lynn.  My sister’s friend, Lorinda, was just the same as I remember her when she was a senior in high school and I was a 7th grader. I was very, very shy then…my sister’s friends made me what I am today. It is called survival! 

Anyway, on Thursday morning we took a bus, the ferry, the subway and another bus to the Javits Center ( 1 1/2-2 hr.  commute) and spent the day going to different lectures that we thought would be interesting and beneficial. We then milled around watching the many publishing businesses get their exhibits set up and checked out the international set up that we had no real knowledge of, but asked a lot of questions. I so know how parents must feel coming into the world of skating. It can be very confusing until you figure out how it all works and that doesn’t happen over night. Questions, questions and as a result, we met a lot of very interesting people!

On Friday morning, Kathy & I attended the Children’s & Authors Breakfast at 8am. Julie Andrews was hosting and Tomie de Paola, Meg Cabot and Amy Krouse Rosental all spoke. They were engaging as well as entertaining. Julie Andrews even  brought a surprise with her…Peter Yarrow of Peter Paul and Mary. Peter came to sing for us…what a treat. We all know “Puff the Magic Dragon!” The room was filled and I am glad we chose to go….besides we met Stephan B. Wise from New York who saved us our excellent seats. We found that many New Yorkers helped us out when we were in need. New Yorkers get a gold star.

   I think one of the main things that I brought back from the Expo was how much I have to learn about the industry, but also how much my sister Kathleen and I have done correctly with my book. My book was well positively received and the title definitely had multiple enquires from various and sundry people.

By Sunday, I think everybody had about had it. We were all “booked” out, but I am excited about this second or third, or 4th new career I have fallen into. I am excited, willing and able to see where it is going to take me. The ride has been fun thus far and it is so neat to see and hear about how much enjoyment different people are receiving from my book… so I will just keep going.

Oh by the way LambieAnn is now on Twitter, but as LambieAnnWooly, which is her full name. So, look for her..she has a lot to say. Stay tuned.

My book has been enjoyed by so many different people of all ages since its publication in January, that when we were asked about the age range my book was written for…the answer became obvious 2 to 102!

The children were wonderful. Some people even came back to tell us how good the story was. Some came back to just say hi again. Some children came back to give me thumbs up and said the book was more than good, it was great! One parent told us they had to ask their child to put her book down and watch the skating! Another mom told us that it was great her daughter had my book because  she, the mom, could then watch the skating. Another parent asked his daughter if she liked the book as she turned the pages. The child looked up at her dad with big blue eys and said, “LOVE” very sweetly. Of course we said, “SOLD!” Oh it was so interesting!

Patrick Chan’s mom bought a book chuckling as she flipped through the book (before we knew whose mother she was). JoJo Starbuck bought a book, wrote a loving note to Julie Lynn Holme’s daughter and asked  Evan Lysncek’s for his autograph for Julie’s daughter. I was very touched. There were so many fun moments…too numerous to tell all. Darling kids, wonderful grandmothers and great mom’s and dad’s. Pictures will be posted very soon. Just know it was a positive experience and  I would go again…Torino, Italy anyone?

 Kathleen and I were exhausted flying home on the red eye late sunday night. I arrived in Cleveland at 6:30 am and Kathleen arrived in Tampa, Fl  about the same time…which brings me to my next adventure within a couple of hours of landing. I like to schedule events back to back to challenge my ability to stay awake and on the ball….just kidding.

Highland Drive Elementary School Book Bash, Brecksville, Ohio

~March 30, 2009~ 

I was tired, but excited to present the workings of how my book was developed to 4 classes of first graders. I showed them how I developed my characters and some of the magic behind the scene with the use of Photo Shop and the wacom tablet. They thought the magic was pretty neat when I made a newly drawn apple multiple twice on the big screen. The kids today have so many more tools then I had growing up. I can’t imagine what they are going to be showing their children in 20 years.

Anyway, when the skating questions started, I got them on their feet and taught them a lesson of how to get up correctly when you fall down on the ice. They learned balancing on one foot, rotation, and the basics of jumping intersperced with pictures of my original drawings. I showed them how I developed the drawings from sketches to the final painting. I taught them “shoot the duck”  on the floor just like Lambie Ann does in my book. I gave them an idea about skating,so that the book might mean a little more to them. I had a great time!!! I especially loved when the first graders asked me how old I was and then guessed 44… You have to love them!

The day was over about 2pm for me and I saw four classes of darling first grade kids. They all voted to make a stuffed LambieAnn and  I promised I’d be back with the how to make a plush LambieAnn. And Pictures, I hope to get them from Highland Drive to put up on my site.

Well,this is the run down of the past two weeks and now I am back to teaching, working on my next book about “Woolie” and trying to figure out my summer skating  schedule. Stay tuned…