It’s been a summer. Pool time. Lazy reading time. There was a lot of cleaning up after three children and feeding them and ALL the things.

 I even missed my newsletter last month because, well, summer.

 But I’m back and ready to get to work. I’ll be dropping kids off at school in a few weeks, and suddenly — or finally — I can take a whole hour in a row and do some work.

One of the things my family and I have done this summer is explore several National Parks. I love being out in nature. Mountains, lakes, trees, ocean, wild animals… these are a few of my favorite things!

Here are a few pictures from our trip to Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.

We also explored Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. It was a very unique place to go… there were parts where it feels like you are visiting another planet.

The photos don’t even do it justice. This view, directly above, is breathtaking in person. The grandeur of creation, the power of the water erosion, the absolute beauty and fresh air and wilderness. 

 Ahh. It just makes you glad to be alive.

Project Updates:

I made a new portfolio piece, which I showed you the sketches for last newsletter. 

Otherwise… I have other works in progress. I’ve written some new stories, and done some edits. 

 Also, I have a surprise coming on September 1st. If you want to be sure to see what I have ready – please take a second to subscribe to my YouTube channel! I would be very grateful for your support.

 Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@charlottejglaze

Books I’m Reading and Recommending:

Picture Book:

Snail Crossing

by Corey R. Tabor

A sweet and funny tale of a snail who really, really wants to cross the road to get to the cabbage on the other side. A favorite for my kids.

When Snail spies a plump, crisp cabbage across the road, nothing will stop him–not a speeding car or even a hungry crow.

But then kindhearted Snail stops to help a crew of antsy ants in a rainstorm, and he loses his way. It looks like he will never get his treat–until Snail’s new friends come up with an ingenious idea. . . 

Middle Grade:

The Trumpet of the Swan

by E.B. White

This is the third E.B. White book I’ve read-aloud to my kids. I think my kids have enjoyed it a lot, and my son even referenced it when we were discussing something else at the dinner table. I love when that happens!

Like the rest of his family, Louis is a trumpeter swan. But unlike his four brothers and sisters, Louis can’t trumpet joyfully. In fact, he can’t even make a sound. And since he can’t trumpet his love, the beautiful swan Serena pays absolutely no attention to him.

Louis tries everything he can think of to win Serena’s affection–he even goes to school to learn to read and write. But nothing seems to work. Then his father steals him a real brass trumpet. Is a musical instrument the key to winning Louis his love?

Adult:

Mistborn

by Brandon Sanderson

The first book in a fantasy I’ve been meaning to read for years, and it’s very page-turning. I like Sanderson, he is a writer who can craft an engaging story all around, with action, tension, and character development. Plus, a super interesting world. Great read (although violent).

For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the “Sliver of Infinity,” reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler’s most hellish prison. Kelsier “snapped” and found in himself the powers of a Mistborn. A brilliant thief and natural leader, he turned his talents to the ultimate caper, with the Lord Ruler himself as the mark.

Kelsier recruited the underworld’s elite, the smartest and most trustworthy allomancers, each of whom shares one of his many powers, and all of whom relish a high-stakes challenge. Only then does he reveal his ultimate dream, not just the greatest heist in history, but the downfall of the divine despot.

But even with the best criminal crew ever assembled, Kel’s plan looks more like the ultimate long shot, until luck brings a ragged girl named Vin into his life. Like him, she’s a half-Skaa orphan, but she’s lived a much harsher life. Vin has learned to expect betrayal from everyone she meets, and gotten it. She will have to learn to trust, if Kel is to help her master powers of which she never dreamed.

This saga dares to ask a simple question: What if the hero of prophecy fails?

Until next time,

Charlotte J. Glaze