Worst Day, Best Day Ever!

Posted on by Claremary P. Sweeney

IMG_1778Within the ten stories of  A Berkshire Tale, ZuZu is constantly amazed by the world around her. During her first year, the tiny tabby encounters many new people on her adventures with her buddy, Nick. Sometimes, she can be a bit overwhelmed and can’t seem to decide if it’s the worst day or the best day of her whole life. Her feelings and IMG_5026emotions are constantly  bombarded with new experiences to process. When the lovely violinist invites her to her first Mozart Concert, she is elated. But this elation quickly turns to disappointment when her mama informs her, ” It is too dangerous for a kitten to be moving around outside in the darkness.”

ZuZu goes to her loft bed, “…certain that this was to be the worst night of her whole, entire life. Everyone would be at the concert except for her.” Of course there’s a happy ending to this story. In ZuZu’s world, there are lots of happy endings.

On a snowy, January IMG_5335day,  alpacas arrive at the barn. ZuZu soon makes friends with the crias, Ginger and Twyla,  informing her mother at bed time,  “…this has been the best day of my whole, entire life..” She verbalizes for us, the  exhilaration and anticipation we often feel when beginning a new relationship or new endeavor.

Monarch Butterflies

In early spring, the  family goes to the Botanical Garden and the little tabby is left behind to grumble, “This is the worst day of my whole life.” Later, when she finally gets to go with them and finds out how to help save the monarch butterflies she loves so much, she turns on her back and kicks up her paws “…in a joyous dance, convinced that this was the best day of her whole, entire life.” Haven’t we all felt like dancing sometime when lemons turn into lemonade for us?IMG_5037

And you can imagine her feelings when she meets Santa at the Red Lion Inn and makes her first Christmas wish.

There are many things in this great big universe for tiny kittens and little children to grapple with. So many things in this world for all of us to grapple with. Our good days and our bad days, we can surely count on them.

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And so, Thursday was a good day for A Berkshire Tale.  Charley and I traveled to Upton Massachusetts to do an interview with Jan Lewis for her show “Be My Guest” on UCTV12. (I’ll post the YouTube video when it’s aired.) This was my first ever interview as an author and I was a bit worried about not having enough to say to fill a half hour show. Me of little faith! I could have filled up the rest of that poor woman’s 2015 schedule of events. We started by discussing the book and its origins, and my experiences as a self-published author and then moved on to the concept of reading with children at an early age and its benefits: parent/child bonding; encouraging imagination; de-stressing from the day’s happenings before sleep; providing a solid basis for future academic success….  The time just flew by.

After the taping, Charley and I  headed to Plainville to meet with Deb Sundin, General Manager Extraordinaire of An Unlikely Story. We delivered copies of A Berkshire Tale to be sold in this very special store. This bookstore/cafe is the brainchild of Julie and Jeff Kinney. Jeff writes “The Diary of a Wimpy Kid”  Series. Together they’ve created a  gathering space  where people can come to have lunch, hear readings, meet authors, listen to music, take workshops or yoga classes; participate in a family game night, a wine tasting, karaoke.  Jeff  actively encourages and promotes indie and local authors. It’s  a wonderful concept housed in a beautiful building, providing a magical place for the community right in the center of town – one of those Sanctuaries I’m always going on about.  Jeff’s goals are simple, “If one kid’s life is changed because of this bookstore, then the whole thing was worth it.”

When we arrived home, Charley helped me in creating a zip file to send out for my first book review. Lots of firsts happening lately. The coming months are already getting filled with activities  – Holiday Fairs and two major Book  Festivals in Rhode Island and Boston. After my initial marketing experiences during the past few months, I’m ready to continue presenting A Berkshire Tale  like a proud parent to the public. And I’m well aware there’ll be good days and bad days.

ZuZu tells her mother, after a particularly harrowing spring day, “I’m not sure if this was the best day or the worst day of my whole life.”

Her mother asks, “How do you feel now that you can look back on the ups and downs?”

“Well, it started happy and it ended happy, so I guess it was a pretty good day,” ZuZu declared.

“All’s well that ends well. Life can be like that, little one.”

Closing her eyes, a tired ZuZu  nodded in agreement.

And her mama told her little one a story with a happy ending to help her fall into sweet dreams.  ZuZu dearly loves happy endings.ZuZu in Quilt Bag

38 thoughts on “Worst Day, Best Day Ever!”

  1. What an amazing book shop Clare. I’m so glad you have Berkshire tales for sale there. I enjoyed the excerpts from your book and was pleased to hear your interview went well. Picture of ZuZu is adorable.

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    1. I’m in love with the place. Ah, if I were younger, I’d like to build something here in South Kingstown like that. Sales are coming along, but it’s tough writing, illustrating, marketing, and self-publishing. I think I’m going to have to look around for an agent. Yes, ZuZu is really adorable and I’m going to continue with the ZuZu series. I have 3 more ZuZu stories finished. We’ll see.

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  2. Congratulations on your first interview!! 😀 I can’t wait to watch the youtube video. It sounds like you’ve been super busy, how fun!! I’m glad you’re enjoying it all, you deserve it! You’re an inspiration. 🙂

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  3. You’ve been busy! Well done on all you’re doing to promote your book. Promotion and marketing is almost a full time job isn’t it? The Unlikely Story sounds like a wonderful place and I imagine it’s a great place to drop in. Hope your book sells well there.

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    1. I never see me in the reader, either and I’m following myself! I must be doing something wrong????Maybe missing a link? On reflection, not sure about “brilliant” but I do give off a greenish glow under a strobe light. Thanks, Lynz. (I would have gotten to your comments sooner, but they were in my spam bin. Again, I must be doing something wrong here???)

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  8. Love your post. What an exciting time for you! Can’t wait for the interview! 🙂

    And I wish that bookstore was close enough for me to visit. I like how storytelling is thoughtfully built into the bookstore. We are lucky to have two used bookstores in our neighborhood, but it seems like there are fewer independent bookstores around these days.

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    1. I’ve visited most of the Independent Book Stores in RI. I really believe in supporting them. I think Jeff has the right idea. Independent Stores today have to offer much more than books. I love his Center of the Community Idea and wished I lived closer, too. I’m about an hour away. Glad you liked the post. Trying to tie some interesting places into the weekly post along with stuff on my books, reading, storytelling and the happenings in our lives.Still finding my way. Thanks for stopping by.

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    1. Thank you. They can be fun if you go in with the right attitude. Not sure if it will help book sales, but it gives me material for the blog. and I really enjoyed sharing Jeff Kinney’s new book store/community center, An Unlikely Story, with other bloggers

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