Swashbuckling Book Picks for Summer Reading

Summer means rest and relaxation for teachers (unless of course you're taking classes, working that summer job, or prepping for new responsibilities you'll have in the fall!). For many of us, it's a chance to pick up the gardening tools or a good book. But what to read?

Now through Saturday, June 13, The Seafaring Women of the Vera B. is on sale for .99 on Kindle. It's Book One in the Hearts of Oak series by my mother, Susan Page Davis, and my brother, James S. Davis. If you like stories of strong female protagonists, swashbuckling adventures, and exotic settings, this inspirational fiction pick might be for you. Prefer paperback? Visit Susan's Web site store to purchase.

Book Two, The Scottish Lass, has just been released, and you can pick up the Kindle edition for $4.99. This sequel promises kidnapping and a search for buried treasure. Both books are free to read with Kindle Unlimited.

Enjoy!

"The Bleak Wood," a short story, now online in Barely South Review

Writing mild horror fiction may seem like an odd side hustle for a Christian teacher, but what can I say? The imagination is a beautiful creation.

The spring issue of Barely South Review is out, and you can pop over there right now and read my short story, "The Bleak Wood" (if you are brave enough!). Basically, if ticks and other creepy-crawlies freak you out, this piece might not be to your taste. Other than that, it's appropriate for middle school on up.

Barely South Review is the literary journal of the Creative Writing program at Old Dominion University, and I'm thrilled to have my work appear in its pages. Hope you stop by and check it out!

Honorable Mention for my flash fiction story "A Backward Tragedy"

Stop by Maura Yzmore's site to read a collection of flash fiction stories that won or placed in her "Quarantine Quanta" writing contest. Maybe the best part is that you can download the ebook and enjoy all the top stories during your "abundant" free time! My "drabble" (a 100-word story) "A Backward Tragedy" received an Honorable Mention. This story is appropriate for high school age and up.

More Than They Bargained For

Teachers, I am smiling. It's not because I have two successful days of teaching from home under my belt, although that's something to celebrate. It's because of a book title.

Lessons on Love

I knew about this book before, but its title struck me as apropos today. Lessons on Love: 4 Schoolteachers Find More Than They Bargained for in Their Contracts.

Can't we all relate?

Teachers in America and beyond are on a steep learning curve right now, taking what once came from a textbook or the convenient workroom photocopier and scanning it, emailing it, posting it online. . .or finding an outside-the-box solution. We're learning Flipgrid, Zoom, Google Classroom, and dozens of other applications we might never have heard of two weeks ago.

And there's the emotional learning curve. We've always been there to support students in their learning, but now we can't be there face to face. There are screens between us, and sometimes our students don't have the tech they need to succeed. We're overwhelming parents with too much communication, even as we wonder if some of our students have dropped off the face of the earth. We want to pray for our students, but find ourselves crying out desperately in prayer for ourselves and our own families instead. How will we stock the fridge when the store shelves are empty? How will we keep our families safe?

We've all found more than we bargained for in our contracts this year.

And maybe it will prove, in the end, to be a lesson on love.

We've always loved our families. Now many of us have them close to us at all times. Can we still speak lovingly? Can we allay our children's fears?

We've always loved our students. Can we pray for their physical and spiritual needs now more than ever? Can we show up for each day ready to reassure our students that they can do distance learning?

Of course, to serve others, we have to first refresh ourselves.

The verse I have posted in my workspace is John 14:27, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

If I can make this verse my true belief, I'll rely on God to keep me safe, to settle my heart in this most unsettling time, to fill my cup. Then I can pour out for others.


Have you found "more than you bargained for" in your teaching contract this year? Tell us about it!