Sign at the entrance to South Milwaukee's Seven Bridges, which reads, "Enter this wild wood and view the haunts of nature"

The Haunted States of America

Whoo hoo! A short story I wrote will represent Wisconsin in a middle grade horror anthology!

THE HAUNTED STATES OF AMERICA will be published by Henry Holt/Macmillan. HH joined forces with the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators to feature 52 spooky short stories, one from each state plus Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. All stories are inspired by local events or myths and written by SCBWI members with a connection to the place. I created a spooky tale of South Milwaukee’s Seven Bridges, a beautiful but supposedly haunted place  where I spent so, so many hours in my childhood. The pictures of it below show how lovely — and at times secluded — it is.

I’m guessing the book will come out in one to two years, which is the usual pace for book publishers. When it does come out, I’m hoping you’ll buy a copy and read all the creepy tales.

And isn’t life funny that I learned this news the same week that I left my job at Scholastic? haha. But book news is great, and I can’t wait to read about our Haunted States.

The entrance to South Milwaukee's Seven Bridges

The entrance to South Milwaukee’s Seven Bridges

Sign at the entrance to South Milwaukee's Seven Bridges, which reads, "Enter this wild wood and view the haunts of nature"

“Enter this wild wood and view the haunts of nature”

The Seven Bridges opening bridge, overlooking a deep gorge

The Seven Bridges’s opening bridge, overlooking a deep gorge

The opening bridge's drop

The drop, which is much steeper than this photo makes it appear

My daughter Antonia and Silvia Acevedo at Central Park

One adventure ends and another begins

What an adventure!

New York City has so much energy, excitement, and cultural relevance. Every bit of it seems famous, the food and social scene are incredible, and there’s goodness all around. I love New York, and I’ve loved my time here, but the adventure is coming to a close.After seven months at Scholastic, I realized the job wasn’t working out, which isn’t the end of the world. I’m proud of myself for recognizing it. Plus, I have forces pulling me back home, in a good way.

Experiencing the publishing world in its global heart was amazing. I learned so much, made great friends, and might continue in another capacity, just not in NYC and not in this moment. Here are a few final pics before I head back to a Great Place Near a Great Lake (aka, Milwaukee —- who remembers that jingle?)

Jeff Miracola and Silvia Acevedo outside NYC's main library

Jeff and me outside NYC’s main library

Main-library-rose-room

The library’s famed Rose Reading Room

Main-library-rose-room

And from the other side

My daughter Antonia and Silvia Acevedo at Central Park

My daughter Antonia and me at Central Park

Family on the ferry

And on the ferry

Silvia-Acevedo-at-the-John-Wick-Continental-Hotel

At John Wick’s famed Continental Hotel. Sanctuary!

Silvia Acevedo with her yoga group

My yoga group as we wish each other well 🙂

Manhattan-skyline-at-night

The endlessly gorgeous Manhattan skyline, this time at night. Goodbye for now, my dear NYC.

Snow-street-view

Snow!

Finally, some snow! Jersey City and New York City seems generally about ten to 15 degrees warmer to me than Milwaukee, and their weather events are a day behind. So when I saw that a snowstorm was expected to hit Wisconsin and travel on as a nor’easter, I was like, whoo hoo!!! Snow at last! It wasn’t deep, not a huge snowfall, but area officials and regular folks took precautions. It was a generally well handled storm, and yes, it was beautiful.

silhouettes of two cats on a cat tower

My cats sensing snowy weather

Manhattan skyline under a stormy sky

The sky above Manhattan portends a storm

snowy city from above

The snowy city from my top floor apartment window

Snow-street-view

Street view

Silvia Acevedo and Jeff Miracola smiling with snow and a colorful sunset behind them

Snow and a beautiful sunset would make anyone smile

 

Silvia Acevedo receives an outstanding service award - a glass diamond paperweight - from the Society of Children's Book Writer and Illustrators

A diamond award?! For me? *gasps and nearly faints*

Every once in a while someone does something for you that melts your heart. That happened today, when I received this stunning keepsake from Lin Oliver and the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators. I’ve been a member of SCBWI since 2007 and was so honored to eventually lead my home state of SCBWI-Wisconsin as regional advisor. This big and beautiful desk ornament will get a special place in my home, and I will treasure it always.

Lin officially retired yesterday from running SCBWI full-time. She has touched so many lives that it’s hard to quantify how she’s influenced the world. What a life she’s led and what an amazing organization she’s built, one that’s still changing and growing and learning. And what a legacy she passes to her successors. She’s the gem here. I just got to be in her light. Thanks, Lin and SCBWI. I’m touched and amazed by this.

Silvia Acevedo receives an outstanding service award - a glass diamond paperweight - from the Society of Children's Book Writer and Illustrators

Silvia Acevedo receives an outstanding service award - a glass diamond paperweight - from the Society of Children's Book Writer and Illustrators

Silvia Acevedo receives an outstanding service award - a glass diamond paperweight - from the Society of Children's Book Writer and Illustrators

Silvia Acevedo receives an outstanding service award - a glass diamond paperweight - from the Society of Children's Book Writer and Illustrators

The holidays in New York City

I’ve been at Scholastic four and a half months now, and there’s a lot I can’t talk about because the projects aren’t yet announced or the work is propriety and/or confidential, but here’s the good news: children and teens are reading, and Scholastic provides great stuff for them to lay their eyes on.

I’ve taken (no surprise) hundreds of photos, having seen great friends, enjoyed fabulous sites, and just gotten to know this amazing city. I mean, Rockefeller Center, Fifth Ave, Times Square, the Brooklyn Bridge, Little Italy, SoHo, the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, the Theater District, on and on. Family coming to visit. Snowstorms and nor’easters. Seeing cousins. Making new friends. The fantastic, oh-so-welcome diversity. And, and, and. This has been a cool thing.

I’ll post just a few pictures here because, honestly, a single post can’t encompass it all. But trust me. Visit New York City sometime in your life. Stay awhile if you can make it.

Photo shows Manhattan skyline from beautiful Liberty State Park adjacent to the Statute of Liberty

Scholastic!

The year 2021 is proving to be so transforming.

My previous post in July was about how this year has thrown unexpected things my way. Good things, for sure, like my job at Inkluded (which was temporary and remote), a furry addition to the family (Sketch, the kitten), and a new ride (my awesome orange Scooter).

A week later I was referred for a job at Scholastic, the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books.

You may be able to guess where this is going.

Another week later I was asked to interview for that fantastic job based in New York City. And as I’m typing this, I’m looking at the Statue of Liberty out my new apartment window. Also, the Manhattan skyline is gorgeous from my rooftop.

Say what?! you might be asking. I think I’m still asking that myself to myself, to be honest. Haha. But life is fun when it’s changing things up, isn’t it? This excellent opportunity is one that I certainly didn’t want to pass up and my family encouraged me to pursue. I’m so grateful for that as I’m loving it so far. It was remote for the five weeks it took us to move to the New York area. Now I’m going in once a week on an easy commute to the spectacular offices that are Scholastic Inc.

One more thing happened during all this. The week before we moved here, we adopted a kitten from the Humane Society! Yep, we did it both to give Sketch a playmate and to add some complication to the move because of course we would — haha! Meet Pixel, the once-fearful but becoming-more-confident-by-the-day addition to our family. I love this sweet little guy. Enjoy the cuteness.

So, I’ll leave you with some random pictures of a little bit of this and a little bit of that from the past few weeks. Here’s to new adventures!

Pixel the kitten

 

Pixel posing

 

World Trade Center transportation hub – Milwaukeeans will recognize the architecture!

 

Inspiring

 

Scholastic!

 

The Harry Potter themed stained glass above the Scholastic front desk

 

The Manhattan skyline from across the Hudson River

 

Photo shows Manhattan skyline from beautiful Liberty State Park adjacent to the Statute of Liberty

Manhattan skyline from beautiful Liberty State Park adjacent to the Statute of Liberty

 

Panoramic photo from Liberty State Park showing the Manhattan skyline at left, Ellis Island at center, and the Statue of Liberty at right. It's simply gorgeous.

Panoramic photo from Liberty State Park showing the Manhattan skyline at left, Ellis Island at center, and the Statue of Liberty at right. It’s simply gorgeous.

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