Dallas, TX Book Tour Schedule!
I am so excited for my Dallas-area book tour! I love Dallas! My family and I spend nearly six years living in the area. I am happy to announce the schedule for my tour. Other events may be added. I will be sure to update this post if that happens.
Thursday 3/3 1:30 PM- Private Event for a Homeschool Group
Friday 3/4 3:30- Private Event at an Elementary School
Saturday 3/5 8:00 AM-12:00 noon- Chestnut Square Farmer’s Market, McKinney TX Public Event!
Monday 3/7 2:3o PM Robert Muller School for Ethical Living, Fairview, TX Public Event!
Tuesday 3/8 11:oo AM. Sci-Tech Discovery Center, Frisco, TX Public Event!
Come on out, listen to me read and speak a bit about the book, the process of writing a book and girls in STEM!
This is absolutely one of my favorite parts of being an author. I LOVE to meet young readers and interact with them. I am ecstatic that I get to go back to one of my favorite places in the world to share “Nellie Nova Takes Flight” with the community.
I hope to see you in North Texas!
“Nellie Nova” Author Events
I have been doing a lot of book events and it is so much fun. I absolutely love meeting young readers and hearing what they have to say. Today, I did a reading and presentation about writing at St. Michael School in Cary, NC. I met kids in the 3rd and 4th grades and I was really impressed with these kids. They had a lot of great questions!
I have events coming up in NC and TX. Events I have done or have scheduled range from homeschool groups to schools to science centers. These speaking engagements are quickly becoming one of my favorite parts of being an author. Upcoming public events include:
Academy for the Performing Arts, Apex, NC Feb 25th at 6:00pm
Robert Muller Center for Ethical Living, Fairview, TX- March 7th at 2:30 pm
Sci-Tech Discovery Center, Frisco, TX- March 8th at 11:00 am.
I also have several private events coming up in NC and TX at homeschool groups and schools.
It’s great to be with young readers and see them react to my story. I love talking with them before and after these events. At many of these events, I give a quick talk about writing or world-changing women. It is great to be able to connect with kids and hear their thoughts on these subjects. I hear a lot of people complain about “kids today,” but I have met so many bright, engaged kids. I think the young people of this generation are amazing!
If you are interested in hosting a reading at your school, homeschool group, or any other venue, feel free to contact me at stephie.peterson@live.com. I am local to Raleigh, NC, but I am open to travel.
STEM-Inspiring Gifts Under $20 for your Little Valentine
With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, why not skip all the candy and stuffed animals and foster a love of science in your little Valentine? I’ve included a list of products under $20 as I know most parents are always looking to save a bit of money.
This post include affiliate links.
Snap Circuits Jr. SC-100 Electronics Discovery Kit
All three of my kids love Snap Circuits. They are a great way to encourage STEM play and enjoyed by a wide age range.
Klutz LEGO Chain Reactions Craft Kit
Lego and STEM- need I say more? My oldest got this for Christmas and we’ve been LOVING it.
Learning Resources Primary Science Lab Set
Why not give them science tools made for their little hands?
Extract DNA from fruit! Build a double Helix! Help your kids to learn the basics of molecular biology in a fun, easy to understand way.
I love eco-friendly toys! The kit can make up to seven different toys, including a race car, a gravity-powered walking robot and a tornado inside a bottle. All for under $10!
Ok, you knew I had to throw it in the mix, right? If you don’t know about my book yet, here’s the premise:
Nellie appears to be a normal nine year old girl. But Nellie is not normal. Nellie is an amazingly gifted scientist who lives in a family of amazingly gifted scientists. One day, her brother, Niles, who is eleven, teases her (as all respectable big brothers do). This time, however, Niles goes too far when he tells Nellie that girls are silly and no woman has ever changed the world. This sets off a spark of an idea in Nellie’s most amazing mind and sends her down the path to create a time machine and meet wonderful women who made a mark on the world. First stop, Amelia Earhart! With a few bumps along the way and a government agency out to steal her technology, Nellie and Niles are in for an incredible adventure!
If you don’t have a copy yet, it is a great way to encourage kids, especially girls, to love science.
STEAM: Preschool Activities for STEM Enrichment
This book looks great for the five and under crowd!
This looks great for little engineers over the age of seven!
Nellie Nova in Learning Tangent Homeschool Magazine!
“Nellie Nova Takes Flight” was just featured in “Learning Tangent Homeschool Magazine!”
Check it out!
https://www.learningtangent.com/nellie-nova-takes-flight-review/
Rave Reviews for “Nellie Nova Takes Flight”
After a few weeks on the market, reviews for my book, “Nellie Nova Takes Flight” have started to accumulate on Amazon. I am so happy that it’s been well-received!
“This book is rich with empowerment and keeps you hooked throughout the whole story with it’s quirky adventures. There is never a dull moment in the Nova family!”
“Nellie Nova is a character who exemplifies what it means to be an intelligent young person. Such a wonderful story. Well written, keeps your child engaged throughout”
“This entire book and story line is an attention grabber.”
“Stephenie Wilson Peterson tells an amazing story that’s just great for kids. In a world full of male protagonists, story for our daughters that really tells them, “you, too, can do anything you set your mind to” is a great thing! I would absolutely recommend this to anyone.”
“I read this aloud to my 6 year old son, and he was intrigued the entire time. He enjoyed the suspense of the unknown, and I agree the storyline was engaging. I appreciate an author that ties in history with fiction – It’s inspirational.
I am so happy to hear that people are enjoying my book!
If you hadn’t had a chance to do so, check it out!
Dear Tired, Busy Mama
Life isn’t easy for me.
I have three kids with differing special medical and dietary needs. This includes everything from intractable epilepsy to autism to 16 combined food allergies.
Until a few weeks ago, my oldest child, who is nearly nine, had never slept through the night. NEVER. No one in my family has slept well his entire life.
My husband lost his job last May, which resulted in a 12oo mile move to a new state where we knew no one.
Within a few days of closing on our house in our new state, my dog, my best friend of 10 years died.
A month later, my son had a terrible seizure that lasted 3.5 hours and landed him in the hospital. We were in Nashville – on a layover from visiting family in Seattle-when it happened. We had several months of awful medical struggles afterwards.
During all of this, I was homeschooling my kids and trying to finish my first book, “Nellie Nova Takes Flight.”
I am not telling you all of this so that you can feel bad for me. I am telling you this because I want to you to understand where I am coming from before I tell you this:
Dear Tired, Busy Mama,
You may think that your dreams have to be pushed aside. That there’s no time in your schedule for you.
You’ve convinced yourself that whatever it is your heart desires will have to wait for another season.
But, Tired, Busy Mama, it’s not true. You are still your own person, in spite of all of your responsibilities.
In spite of – and because of- these responsibilities- you need to have an outlet. You need to leave a portion of yourself for you.
Mama, you matter. Your dreams matter. Your soul matters. Your happiness. Your success. Your joy.
It all matters.
Whatever it is that you’ve been pushing aside- go for it. Don’t make yourself a martyr to your circumstance.
You can do it. You can go back to school. You can write that book, paint that painting, get that job, volunteer for that amazing charity you support. Whatever it is, Tired, Busy Mama, that lingers in the back of your mind, whispering,“What if.”
Please leave room in your life for yourself.
If I can do it, so can you.
Sincerely,
Another Tired, Busy Mama
Art and Working with an Illustrator
It’s been a really interesting process to work with an illustrator. I had this vision in my head of what Nellie and her family looked like. It’s been really fun to work with an artist, Elie Dagher, to bring them all to life.
The first character we brought to life was Nellie.
After a few rough sketches, we’d found her.
I have to say, this was one of the most exciting parts of this process for me. Nellie came out of my mind and onto the screen.
There was also similar work done with other characters- here are early sketches of Niles.
Here are some sketches of Niles and Nellie’s parents, Fox and Annie.
And an early draft of the cover.
And here it is, just about finished! Seeing this just makes it all so real. My book will truly be ready soon.
And a few of the illustrations from the book.
I mean, lunch with Amelia Earhart?! How cool is that?!!
I can’t wait to share this book with you all!
Coming Soon, “Nellie Nova Takes Flight.”
Can I just say how excited I am right now?
I have been working on my first book, “Nellie Nova Takes Flight” for over a year. Writing a book when you are homeschooling kids with special medical needs can be difficult to say the least. But I did it, and it will be available for purchase soon!
Let me tell you a little about the book!
“Nellie Nova Takes Flight” is the first book in the Nellie Nova series.
Nellie appears to be a normal nine year old girl. But Nellie is not normal. Nellie is an amazingly gifted scientist who lives in a family of amazingly gifted scientists. One day, her brother, Niles, who is eleven, teases her (as all respectable big brothers do.) This time, however, Niles goes too far when he tells Nellie that girls are silly and no woman has ever changed the world. This sets off a spark of an idea in Nellie’s most amazing mind and sends her down the path to create a time machine and meet wonderful women who made a mark on the world. First stop, Amelia Earhart! With a few bumps along the way and a government agency out to steal her technology, Nellie and Niles are in for an incredible adventure!
All of the wonderful artwork created for “Nellie Nova Takes Flight” was made by Elie Dagher.
I can’t wait to share more about my book!
Thanks for reading!