Lesa Boutin

Clint the Snake Man!

I will never look at a snake the same way again, thanks to Clint Pustejovsky, the Snake Man. Clint is the owner of Texas Snakes and More and very graciously let me bring a team of people with me to his home to take the photos for the next book.

 

There was a time in my life when I wouldn't have been caught on the same side of the street with this big, yellow beauty. But Clint helped all of us there overcome some of our fears. I will admit, I thought he was out of his mind. Everywhere you look in his home, there is a snake. But his family is so at ease and comfortable with the animals, that we all began to relax and enjoy them. I couldn't even begin to tell you the different kinds of snakes he has. At one point, I got a little kick out of it, as I realized Clint and his family live sort of like my character, Amanda, and her father. Animals everywhere! It's almost a zoo. He told me about stopping on a busy highway to get a snake off the road so it wouldn't get run over. That sounds like something Amanda Noble would do.

Clint lives to educate the public about snakes. He does school visits, birthday parties and other events, teaching safety and how to determine a dangerous snake from a harmless one. His website, http://www.texassnakes.net/index.html has loads of information about them. In fact, while at the park with his kids, my son ran across a snake and snapped a picture of it. He went home to look it up on Clint's site, and discovered it was not poisonous. I realized then how much our visit with the Snake Man had affected us. Our entire outlook on the animal has changed.

So here's a huge thanks Clint, Michelle, and kids, not to mention Joe, the Burmese Python, and Toby the tortoise, for welcoming us into their slithering home. We got some great photos, but more than that, we got an education.

crazy week!

Been one wild week--literally. Spent a day with a wonderful group of people at a library expo is East Texas, and sold every book I had with me. Then my first day at the zoo was Saturday. Already learned some amazing things and had a great time.

But by far, the best part of the week was taking the photos for the next book cover. Olivia--like with the alligator--was a trooper and handled the 8 foot Burmese python like a pro. We got some awesome photos, several that are perfect for the cover. Now we'll just have to choose a particular one. Thinking of having a contest to make the choice....???

Since it's sort of an ongoing joke at work, I decided to do an author photo. The reason it's an ongoing joke is they tease me about doing an author photo--didn't wanta do one--and I like to make fun of a particular author who is literally standing in front of a 10 foot self portrait!! in one of the back covers. So I decided to yuck it up and do a few photos myself. (See below) I swear the entire time we were working with the snake, Joe, it never stopped moving, but when I sat down with it and opened my book he stared at the pages as though reading it!! Honestly, it was bizarre! And the turtle, Toby, was on the move constantly. Definitely could have won a tortoise and hare race!

 

volunteering at the Houston Zoo

When I wrote Amanda Noble, Zookeeper Extraordinaire, I hadn't thought about a sequel. Then when the kids started asking for one, I decided to do Amanda Noble, Special Agent, because I had an adventure in mind for Amanda. But about half way through Special Agent I knew how I wanted to end it, and the ending would be a cliffhanger, sooo here I am trying to come up with #3.

Finding myself needing inspiration, I came up with an idea, the Houston Zoo. Living close by we have visited many times, but I went on their site and signed up to volunteer, committing to 50 (or more) hours over the course of the year. After an initial 20 hours a volunteer can apply to be a keeper-helper.

Cool! At least I thought so until the ride home. It dawned on me that I must be crazy! I don't even have time to clean my own house, much less clean animal cages. My poor husband eats cereal for supper because I don't have time to cook! And my bathrooms are starting to be of the outhouse quality.

Oh well, guess I'll just have to hire someone for the house, and buy hubby a mega box of Peanut Butter Captain Crunch, I'm goin' to the zoo!

Monte Cristo for teens

My favorite book, ever, is the Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas. I've always wanted to share it with kids, but its complicated plot is long, and  not many are willing to hang in there to finish it. So when I saw that Airman, by Eoin Colfor, was being likened to Monte Cristo I knew I had to read it. Fantastic book. I was not disappointed,

In the 1890s,Connor Broekhart is literally born in an air balloon, and without a doubt is destined for greatness. When, at the age of 9, he saves the king's daughter he is greatly favored and knighted for his actions. By the time he is 14 Connor is groomed to be a great man of science, educated by the best. When he realizes, and proclaims, his feelings for the king's daughter, and the feelings are reciprocated, it seems Connor's life is set. But like Edmond Dantes, in Monte Cristo, favor brings enemies. And when Connor stumbles into a plot, and the actual assassination of the king, he is falsely accused of conspiring in the act and sentenced to prison on an inescapable rock island. As Colfer describes life on the prison island you wonder if Connor will be able to survive. On the first day when he's beaten and battered, then dunked in water with feeder mites, you would think it can't get much worse. But when Connor meets Malarkey, a thug hired to beat him daily, and you read the tattoos on the mans chest, a price list of the cost for beatings, stabbings, and mamings, you wonder if he'll make it through another day.

This is a fabulous read if you like swashbuckling, betrayal, poison, and even some humor. I do!

About the video clip below

In 2001 Christopher Paolini came to our small town for a school visit. Unfortunately, I didn't get to go--somebody had to stay behind with the kids who didn't qualify for the visit. But, it didn't take long for the buzz to get around the school. The kids loved! the book. Over time I learned some of the young man's story and I was inspired. Here I was,at 40 something (exact age and weight go to the grave with me) and a coward who was still afraid to even let my friends and family know I was writing a book, and this young man had written and self published one! I believe it was a real boost for me to get over some of my jitters and get busy.

I salute you, Christopher Paolini and hope you not only do book 4 in the Eragon series, but go on to do all that your heart desires.

Christopher Paolini Interview

making a fool of myself over a book

You know it's a good book when reading it in an airport makes you gasp aloud. Or when you're sandwiched in the middle seat of the plane, and you absolutely screech at a scene that evokes mirth and excitement, causing you to pitch forward, hoping the people on either side of you don't think you're a lunatic for reacting to a book like that. I was not at all prepared for this book. I was told it was fantasy, and to a degree it is, but it is sooooo much more.

Andrea is a rebellious princess in a medieval world who longs to be her own person, but her parents demand that she become a lady. Sound like a plot you've heard before? Just wait. When Andrea finds an opening (for lack of a better word) that allows her to leave her world and enter a parallel world, modern day California, she believes this to be the place she belongs. I like the way the author reveals Andrea's experiences as she adjusts her archaic lifestyle to that of the twenty-first century. Andrea is awed by the "cubical rock" called a mall! and amazed at the way clothing hangs ready made for purchase.

Still, this is only the beginning to an action packed adventure. As Andrea inadvertently ends up back in her world, setting off a chain of events that plunge that world into war, a much more complicated story evolves, yielding many unexpected twists and turns. You will not be able to put this one down.   

Read this book!!

The inner beast

This is a twist on the traditional Beauty and the Beast. Kyle Kingsbury is an arrogant, spoiled, rich kid who gets his kicks hurting others. But his latest prank, embarrassing the Goth girl at the dance, lands him in a heap of trouble. Goth girl turns out to be a witch who puts a spell on Kyle, turning him into a beast. Kyle has two years to find true love or remain a beast forever. This a great read (during a snow storm at midnight) and if you care for fairy tales at all, you'll love this one.

Keturah and Lord Death

This is an achingly beautiful love story. I find it hard to say much about it without giving anything away. When Keturah is lost in the woods, she finds herself face to face with Lord Death. Of course he wishes to take her life, but Keturah makes a deal which postpones his demand, and she sets about changing things around her, the village, friends, and even herself. This is a bitersweet love story for the romantic at heart.

Skulduggery Pleasant

I admit it, I'm a sucker for cheesy, and this is cheesy at its best. Skulduggery Pleasant is a detective, a wisecracking skeleton, modeled after old film noir gumshoes, and well, it just doesn't get any better. Skulduggery comes into the life of 12 year old Stephanie Edglie after her uncle dies, leaving her his home. You might wonder why a 12 year old girl would willingly, not only believe in, but get involved with, a walking talking skeleton, but somehow the story just works. Probably because Skulduggery is a hoot. When he tells Stephanie the story of how he came to have the head he was now sporting (not his original) I absolutely laughed out loud.

I listened to this on CD, which made it even more fun, since it is so well done. Sorry reading teachers, but it's good. After the end of the book Skulduggery is interviewed and it's hilarious! If you can't get the audio version, get the book and read it. Then follow this link, http://www.skulduggerypleasant.com/us/world/ and listen to the interview there.

Cheesy--you gotta love it!