Those of us who live in upstate New York are blessed to be able to bask in the beauty of the Finger Lakes. Although I have never lived on one of the Finger Lakes, I have taken many day trips and a few overnights to various lakeside locations. As a child, it was trips to Roseland Park in Canandaigua for family picnics. I can still remember being stuck on the top of the Ferris wheel and being afraid to move. As an adult, it’s been wine tours, parties at friend’s cottages, boat rides on Owasco Lake,

or Christmas in Skaneateles. My favorite memories have been my daughters’ weddings, one at Casa Larga and the other at the Harbor Hotel in Watkins Glen.

So, it is with pleasure that I announce three booksigning and poetry reading opportunities in the Finger Lakes this summer. You can check my event section for details, but I’ll be at the Fingerlakes Mall in April, the Windmill in June, and Vineyard View Winery in July. Why would a children’s author sell books at a winery? My children’s books have local settings, and most children’s books are bought by parents or grandparents. Also, I believe that There Are No Buffalo in Buffalo, my book of poems about places in New York State is fun for all ages. Here is one of the poems:

Finger Lakes

Some say the Finger Lakes
were created by glaciers.
North running streams and
south stretching ice floes
married for a few thousand years

giving birth to long, skinny children
with deep roots in Western New York.

But the Iroquois say
the lakes are the imprint
of the Great Spirit who lovingly
reached out from heaven
to caress the land He created.

Who says God only has ten fingers?