Just a quick note to pass on some news from my cousin, Brynn Olenberg Sugarman, who has written a new novel for 10-14 year old readers titled Midnight at the Taj Mahal. The description on Amazon reads this way:
Hailey and Zach are out of school on a year long adventure. First stop: India! The excitement begins the moment they step off the plane. Hailey and Zach are entrusted with the magical diary of Shah Jahan, legendary builder of the Taj Mahal, and are whisked off on their first real adventure. The Taj pool shimmers in the full moon, and suddenly the twins are not just traveling the world but traveling back in time, sent on a mission to free the shah and his princess daughter from their prison tower. With the help of their ingenious friend, Sushil, anything seems possible. Can they help the shah win back his rightful place on the throne? Will they change India’s history forever? Time is running out! Will they succeed before their parents’ work in India is done, and it’s time for them to move on?
For more information about the book, visit this link.
Brynn’s first book is a children’s book titled Rebecca’s Journey Home and was published by Kar-Ben publishing. That effort was inspired by Brynn’s own experience as the adoptive mother of a girl from Viet Nam.
Although Brynn now lives in Israel, we both grew up in the States and I spent many childhood weekends in upstate New York climbing trees, collecting ceramic animals, and practicing gymnastics with her. Once she brought a rooster home from school to her 18th floor apartment in Co-Op City in the Bronx, and the neighbors were less than thrilled when the rooster began to crow at sunrise.
Best of luck on both of your literary efforts, Brynn!
Thanks so much for the kudos, Faye! Good luck to both of us in the world of literary achievement.
I will also always treasure our shared childhood memories. As for the rooster, I covered his cage according to Grandma Tema’s instructions, shutting out all light. But I felt sorry for him, sleeping alone in a cage and not in a bed! So I opened the cage, carried him out, and tucked him in beside me: would you believe that he put his head on the pillow and slept through the night -that is, until the “dawn’s early light” crept through the venetian blinds…! Cock a doodle doo! I sure got some funny looks as I waited for the elevator the next morning!
Neither you or I could ever resist bringing an animal home! I love that story, Brynn.