A New Rabbit in Red Introduction!

At my All Hallow’s Read event last week, I did an activity with the audience. They got to rewrite the introduction to Rabbit in Red!

It’s a writing game I like to play. I wrote the first sentence of the book on a piece of paper, then pass the paper around the room. Everyone adds a sentence. Here’s the catch though: We fold the paper so each person only sees the last sentence written, and not the entire thing. I have a lot of fun playing these games.

So for your entertainment, here is the NEW introduction to Rabbit in Red! Thanks, All Hallow’s Read crew. Again, the first line is the real first line from my book. Each line after that was written by someone else. Enjoy!

Bill Wise hunted the rabbit in red, and his best friend Jaime followed.

The rabbit flashed through the forest as fast as it could.

But Bill was faster; furthermore, he caught the rabbit before it climbed the tree.

As the soft light of dusk shone through the withered branches of the tree, the rabbit spoke, “Take me, wise man.”

The branches of the tree cracked, the rabbit’s gaze unwavering as I sat in silence. The rabbit continued. “The time draws near.”

The waiting was almost impossible. What was only a minute or two seemed like hours.

He decided it would be best since it was Valentine’s Day to get her flowers.

He bought the biggest bouquet he could find and hoped she was going to love it.

She did love it. And she waited in anticipation of what was to come next.

“Ring, ring, ring, ring.” Her cell phone blared and she jumped out of her seat, dropping her fruit drink on her lap. 

“Why does this always happen?” She yelled out loud. “Why? Honestly, this stains my clothes and makes me, like, look ugly!”

The second person smirked sarcastically. “I don’t know . . . I think it suits you.”

A soft look around. “Fits you smug, like a coffin in the ground.”

It slowly began to rain, the sounds of cars passing was sparse, the town was quiet. Calm, but eerie.

The temperature began to drop, freezing the tiny drops as they fell.

The drops of water glinted, reminding me how cold I felt inside. I smiled, saying, “But it’s not over yet, is it?”

And they all lived happily ever after. (Or did they?)

WOW. How about the shift in the tale at that Valentine’s Day line? What’s your favorite line? Maybe I’ll have to work some of this in to the next book!

Thanks for reading. You can get Rabbit in Red, print or digital, here. Be sure to check out my website for more options and lots of other cool stuff, and follow me on Facebook!

Tossing Shoes Out The Window

If there’s one thing I miss about high school, it’s throwing shoes out the window.

You see, one day a student had his feet up on his desk. I thought that was unprofessional. So in a moment of pure impulse, I yanked his shoes off, walked over to the window, and threw them out from the second floor of which my classroom was located.

His mouth dropped to the floor in pure shock. I smiled at him. The entire class, including my shoe-less student, burst into laughter. Perhaps my discipline was also unprofessional, but in my mind, it was a moment of genius.

Now I had the class's undivided attention. I continued with my lesson, and they sat forward, listening and waiting for me to have another crazy impulse.

From that time forward, I threw out shoes for random reasons. When a student wasn’t paying attention, I’d sneak up and tear off his or her shoes and toss them out the window. Fall asleep in class? You know those shoes are coming off. Today, some of the most interesting e-mails I receive from former students wanting to stay in touch or say hi begin with, “Do you remember the time you threw my shoes out the window?”

The administration knew of this of course, and they mostly looked the other way. Until one day, when I had a little too much fun and tossed out a good half-dozen pairs of shoes during one class. My classroom was located directly above a guidance counselor’s office, and she was new to the school. She saw shoes raining down from above, and called the dean and the principal thinking that some student had gone crazy. Close. It was a teacher who was having too much fun.

The principal and the dean burst into my classroom like it was on fire. I remember telling them, “It’s all under control. This is my doing. Don’t worry.” They gave me an evil look and left the room. They never brought it up to me again.

I wrote special hall passes for the students to retrieve their shoes. Now that I teach at a different school—at a college—I look at our classroom windows with longing and nostalgia. They don’t open in the rooms where I teach. My days of throwing shoes out the window are gone. For now, anyway.

Why do I share this? You may think it to be silly or even inappropriate, but I believe the best classroom memories come from moments of impulse and a little crazy. We can’t just stand behind a podium and lecture. Teachers must find creative ways to get our students’ attention. And if you have the right personality, bringing out a little crazy in the classroom may be just the thing to keeping them focused because they never will know what you may do or say next.

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