I had a good time at my old high school yesterday. I sold some books, and I got to see several familiar faces from different spheres of my life. It was a learning experience for me, too. For one, I know I’ll need to jazz up my display some more at future events. My mom came along for emotional support, and I’m grateful for the help she gave. And yes, some people did notice my shirt.
Just like when I was signing books at my old middle school, I found myself thinking back to all the memories at Arundel High. Though I resisted, I did, over time, join quite a few clubs. Drama club was the most important to me. I enjoyed acting, and it helped me to come out of my shell.
I starred in six plays, including A Christmas Carol (as a Cratchit kid, which was my first theatrical role), Our Town (as the professor) and a Robin Hood play (as King John). I had minor roles the musicals, as I don’t have a good singing voice and didn’t have the patience for dance lessons.
Somehow, and it still amazes me, I was on my senior year’s prom and homecoming courts (but I went to both alone), and I was also nominated Most Likely to Succeed (though there have been times when I felt I haven’t lived up to that).
And, of course, it was during my time at Arundel High that I learned I was autistic as well as when I got even more serious about my writing. I received great encouragement from two of my teachers, who are among the three Mystical Greenwood is dedicated to. The songs in Mystical Greenwood, by the way, are available in an album courtesy of their composer, Lee Chapman! See my lyrics page for more information.
On a final note, I would like to thank Sandra Lopez for promoting Beneath the Deep Wave on her book club website and for helping bring both my books to new readers who’ve left some nice reviews.
Sandra’s Book Club: Spotlight: BENEATH THE DEEP WAVE by Andrew McDowell
This past weekend I had the opportunity to do a book signing at my old middle school (2001-2004), which was hosting an outdoor community event, a movie night, for the kids. I got to sell some books and, for the first time, accept credit card payments. It was the first time, technically, that I was selling books as an individual vendor rather than on consignment.
I even got to talk to some kids who were aspiring writers and refer them to the MWA’s teen writing program. It is my hope that some of them will join.
The school looked a little different from my day (mainly in a front extension), but that night, and when I knew I’d be there, brought back a lot of memories. There were two major highlights from 6th grade there. One was that was when I first showed an interest in writing, though it had not yet grown to be a commitment. But my Language Arts teacher recognized it, and she wrote about it in my yearbook. She was one of the three teachers I dedicated Mystical Greenwood too (the others were teachers from high school).
The other was 9/11. The day started off at school like any other. language arts went normal, but during social studies, early dismissal calls over the intercom began, and there were abnormally high, I remember. It continued into tech ed. It was during that class when we were told school was out early. I had to rush to get to my locker before rushing to the bus. Science and math never happened that day. There were rumors on the bus, and the driver said there’d be no school the next day as we got off, but it wasn’t until I got home that I learned what had really happened.
The major highlight in 7th grade was the science project I did that year on color-blindness in dogs. I used my own dog, whom I mentioned before, and jars with different-colored paper. The conclusions were that red and green were hard for her to distinguish, but blue and yellow weren’t. It went all the way to the county level and a few other places. Funny enough, at Balticon this year I listened in on a scientific presentation that involved apes, I believe, which mentioned the same sets of colors, or at least blue and yellow.
As for 8th grade, my algebra teacher would let students stay after once a week to do homework (last class of the day), and my mother, with some effort, finally got me to do it. I didn’t want to stay after. But I did, and in the end, not only did my grades get better, but my teacher said I was the most improved student in the class. Who knows whether I would’ve felt comfortable in high school with afterschool clubs had I not done that.
It was also this weekend that I learned I’ve been approved to sell and autograph books at the Arundel Craft Fair in two months, which will take place at my old high school! I imagine more memories will resurface by then. The event is also on Facebook. In the meantime, I’ve got the Maryland Writers’ Conference this weekend, where I plan to have books on consignment with The Last Word bookstore. The event is also on Facebook. Hope to see you at either or both if you can make it!
Ten years ago, I went to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor to talk about and read from my essay “Asperger Syndrome: An Affliction or a Gift?” It won second place in a contest hosted by the Maryland Writers’ Association, the first time I’d ever received a writing award.
I remember feeling like a writer and looking like one with my Tweed jacket. Though in some of these pictures and others, I admit my face wasn’t photogenic. I hadn’t created my author website yet, though my Facebook page was up.
A wonderful book signing at Page After Page at the Renaissance Festival! Fellow authors Anna Bright and Daniel M. Ford were wonderful company. I sold a lot of books and had a lot of happy customers. In fact, Mystical Greenwood sold out!
I can remember attending the Maryland Renaissance Festival many times as a kid. In fact, the hat (minus the feathers) and the pendant in my costume were both souvenirs from different visits. Nice to tie this author signing back to the past. And, of course, Page After Page is a place where I was always guaranteed to look for a souvenir. I’ve certainly gotten many memorable books from the festival over the years, including a collection of Irish myths and an internet-based world history reference book. But perhaps the most memorable was when, as a little child, I got Gail Gibbons’s Knights in Shining Armor, which my parents had inscribed for me as “Sir Andrew McDowell”–it certainly made me feel like a knight.
The last time I attended the Ren Fest as a guest was with the Tolkien Society, a fantasy and sci-fi fan club at St. Mary’s College, fourteen years ago. I did buy books then, and the most memorable part was having my palm read. After that, the last two times I was there was with my Masonic brothers volunteering our time to earn money for our Lodge. The second time was when I made the connection that led to me doing this author signing.
Well, I shall definitely have to do this again (as soon as some new books come out).
My signing will be on August 30th, a month away! I’ll be there alongside fantasy authors Anna Bright and Daniel M. Ford. It will be done with MDRF’s bookstore Page after Page. Tickets are required for entrance to MDRF and must be bought in advance, online only. They will go on sale August 4th at 10am Eastern Time.
There will be copies of Mystical Greenwood and Beneath the Deep Wave as well as three anthologies featuring my poetry and/or short stories: Faery Footprints, Fae Dreams, and Into the Glen: Into the Light. The novels will be on sale at $20 each, and the anthologies $10 each. If you buy both novels, or all three anthologies, you will get a 10% discount!
The event is on Facebook if you would like to join there or invite anyone you think would be interested. Please share it as well. The more people who see it, the better!
On a different note, today would’ve been the birthday of my first dog, Brandy. She was the inspiration behind Yseult in the One with Nature series.
She had a long life with us, and she even went to Japan with me and my parents and back. So, like her literary counterpart, you could call her a well-traveled dog.
Andrew McDowell 