When I was young, I used to admire a great running back. I had a poster of him on my wall.

His name was OJ.

Whether or not you’re a sports fan, you know all about the terrible tragedy that happened at Penn State. I come from Pennsylvania, from Paterno country. I may not have been a fan, but I admired Paterno’s reputation for winning and integrity. Over the last few days, I’ve read many accounts of his greatness.

I know a lot of Penn State fans want to defend their coach, their idol, their role model. I know how important football was to me as a kid…and still is today…although, lately, it’s really just entertainment.

What is it about sports heroes? Why do we want to make them role models, too? I think it was Dave Israel who wrote about how we quickly forget that the ability to do great things on the field does not mean that same person can or even wants to do great things in the world. And frankly, they don’t ask for that responsibility. We give it to them. Because they can dunk. Or hit a ball. Or run 100 yards faster than anyone else. Or throw a ball.

Why are we so surprised when they fail us? What do we tell our kids when our heroes, our supermen, let us down?

So now we have Joe Paterno and his staff in State College. Honestly, the whole thing makes me want to scream. How could these men not go to the police? How could they think that covering up Sandusky’s crimes was the right way to go? It’s mind boggling.

Obviously, the first thing we MUST do as a society is support the victims. What happened in State College is a tragedy. It was preventable. It makes me sick that even as of last week, Sandusky was working out on campus.

Paterno’s statement is not adequate. He said, With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.” You need the benefit of hindsight to know that calling the police was appropriate? This is garbage. Let’s be clear: this was a cover up of a crime.

He was protecting his job. His reputation. His University. He was going for a record to make him the king of college coaches. For all those reasons, he did the wrong thing.

Why?

How?

Football is a big business.  In Tuesday’s New York Times, Maureen Dowd likens the Penn State football program to the Catholic Church. She writes, Like the Roman Catholic Church, Penn State is an arrogant institution hiding behind its mystique. And sports, as my former fellow sports columnist at The Washington Star, David Israel says, is “an insular world that protects its own, and operates outside of societal norms as long as victories and cash continue to flow bountifully.”

So…again….what do we say to our kids? What do we say when their heroes turn out to be flawed people?

Well, we can turn off the TV’s. You can stop cheering until these leagues clean up their acts and punish guys definitively for breaking the law. Or we can avoid the conversation altogether. For young children, that might be the best choice. Save the discussion for later. Although in our world of media information, that doesn’t seem possible.

We can turn to books. As a writer, this might seem a bit self serving, but books can help kids through many new emotions and struggles. I’m not the first writer to create a book centered on heroism, including a sports hero. There are great books with moral fortitude that include sports by writers like Rich Wallace, Mike Lupica, Linda Sue Park, Dan Gutman, and John Ritter. There are also a lot of great books about children in trouble, and children who are abused. On the page, the victims find a voice. They show us how to speak out.

And that is what we have to do with our kids. We have to talk.  We have to turn off the computers and actually talk about what’s important. In this case, we can say the regrettable truth. “Joe Paterno (et al) made a terrible mistake. He did it for either ego…or reputation…or friendship…but whatever his reasons, his actions were wrong.” We can tell our kids that people make mistakes every single day, but that this mistake was avoidable. We need to remember the Golden Rule—the basic “do unto others.” If we just treated people the way we wanted to be treated, mistakes like this—mistakes that come from the fear of facing hard truths—would never happen.

Remember: (I’m talking to you, Herman), the truth always comes out eventually.

This may sound didactic, but how else will our kids know how we want them to live if we don’t take these ugly opportunities and be frank with them.

Last, we can remind our kids that there are REAL heroes in this world:

All they have to do is look around.

Today is Veteran’s Day, a holiday devoted to thanking our brave servicemen and women. Why not expand the thanks.

In my small town, there are many heroes. There are policemen and firefighters, people who have pledged their lives to keep others safe. There are dentists and doctors and social workers and teachers that do good deeds every single day. I know men and women who show up every morning to teach Sunday School for the fun of it. And I know a lot of people who volunteer at a variety of needy organizations.

We should get used to recognizing what everyday heroes look like. Thank the woman that bags your groceries as well as the nurse who jokes with you when she gives you a free flu shot. We should care less about ideology and more about actual deeds and actions.

When my son, Elliot, and I were researching Presidential quotes for Beyond Lucky, I couldn’t believe how many presidents spoke about the heroism of the common man. If your child wants to know what real heroes sound like, there are plenty of great speeches to read from our Presidential heroes. My personal favorite: the Man in the Arena speech.

Yesterday, Joe Paterno was fired. Today he hired a lawyer. The story will get worse before it gets better. They are calling it a conspiracy of secrets. So let’s talk. Be frank. Our kids need to know that they cannot be afraid to do the right thing, to stand up for what is right and to speak out when we see injustice.  I’m not saying that kids can’t have sports heroes. But they should find other heroes, too.

You don’t have to write me about them, although that would make me feel great. Today, just thank them.

HERE WE GO!!!!

I am so happy to be offering the following auction to benefit a WONDERFUL non-profit, GRASSROOT SOCCER.

FIRST AND FOREMOST: Thank you to everyone who donated.

SECOND: If you are kicking yourself and still want to donate, no problem! Send me an email to sarah@saraharonson.com. It is NOT too late!

THIRD: the directions:

Bidding is really easy. Scroll down for directions.

But first…….CHECK IT OUT!

There are books. There are gifts. There are some PRICELESS critiques and writing experiences. Remember: every penny goes to Grassroot Soccer! Thank you for bidding generously!!!!!

xo sarah

 Critique by Agent and Writer, Ammi-Joan Paquette

 Signed copy of Sarah Masters Buckey’s CLUE IN THE CASTLE TOWER

  Signed Copy of Tricia Springstubb’s What Happened on Fox Street

Beyond Beautiful Scarf from HELIUM, Hanover, NH

(daughter not included)

Two signed books by Ellen Wittlinger: This Means War and Gracie’s Girl

 Beyond chic Furla Bag, from Rare Essentials, Hanover, NH!

 Signed copy of Uma Krishnaswami’s The Grand Plan to Fix Everything

 Signed copy of Gringolandia, by Lyn Miller-Lachmann

One Week WRITING RETREAT in Cape May, NJ!!

  Signed copy of Tami Lewis Brown’s The Map of Me plus HEN BAG! (You have to see it to believe it!)

      Conversation with Literary Agent, Sarah Davies

 Signed copy of Amy Dominy’s OyMG!

Critique from Editor, Liz Waniewski!!!

 Beyond gorgeous silver necklace from Designer Gold, Hanover, NH.

  Signed copy of Sarah Pinneo’s The Ski House Cookbook.

TEN CLASS punch card, Upper Valley Bikram Yoga

Signed copy of Uma Krishnaswami’s The Broken Tusk.

TWO WINNERS!!!

 Two signed books by Jane Kohuth: Estie the Mensch and Ducks Go Vroom!

 Non fiction CRITIQUE by Tanya Lee Stone

FULL novel critique by Sarah Aronson

Signed copy of Louise Simone’s Prophecies: Heir of the Jaguar

 Signed copy of Julie Berry’s Second Hand Charm

 ONE HOUR private lesson with Jackie Stanton-Conley of BALLET 260

TWO WINNERS!!!!

Beyond stylish notebook and pen from THIS SPOT OF RED,

HANOVER, NH

  Signed copy of Kimberly Marcus’ Exposed

  Four Splurch Academy books signed by Author, Julie Berry

  Figment Tote Bag and Josh Lieb book

Hi again!!!

A little note about this auction and how it works:

I am THRILLED to have found a nifty little system called inlu.com to help manage this BEYOND FABULOUS silent auction.

Typically Inlu is used to organize personal events and let friends and family pitch in toward a group gift or to support a charity as a group. But the AMAZING team at Inlu helped me come up with a unique way to let eveyrone bid on the auction items. The good news: Inlu’s system is free for us to manage the auction, so all bids will go toward GRASSROOT SOCCER. The tricky news is that you’ll see some of their standard language that doesn’t apply to a traditional bidding system. For example, in order for your bid to be accepted, you must click on the “Contribute” button – eventhough you are not contributing cash.

Here are the step by step directions:

1. Select an item – OR MANY ITEMS

2. Click on the CONTRIBUTE button.

3. Add name and email information

4. In the “Pitch In” area select NO THANKS since you are making a financial contribution, just a bid.

5. In the MESSAGE area indicate what your bid is, then click on CONTRIBUTE.

That’s it!

THANKS AGAIN!

I’ll be posting auction SPOTLIGHTS on my blog until it ends on Sept 8! Please share this link! Thank you! I really am beyond lucky!!!  xo sarah

On September 9, there will be a party. Until then, this blog is officially your auction headquarters.

This is how it works.

Click on any item description. You will see a picture and description of the item.

Please bid.

You will NOT be charged ANYTHING.

The highest bidder when the clock strikes MIDNIGHT on 9/8 will receive a message. Bidding will end. Once payment is received, the award will be mailed to you!

Please note: EVERY single penny of money goes to GRASSROOT SOCCER.

There will also be a PARTY on September 9 at the Louis Black Community Center in Hanover, NH from 4-8pm. There will be a raffle and games and food and music and of course, a reading!

I am hosting these fundraisers in honor of the publication of my new book, Beyond Lucky. That is how I feel.

Now….may the bidding commence……

We started the event with readings from picture books, including Kelly Bennett’s NOT NORMAN. (That’s Erin Moulton, author of FLUTTER, acting like a fish.)

Then we heard scenes from middle grade and young adult novels like Erin’s FLUTTER, my BEYOND LUCKY and Jessica Leader’s NICE AND MEAN. Like my soccer shirts? Oh, you thought they were official? (I can do just about anything with a sharpy and a white t-shirt.)

Each reading was five minutes long. The audience was packed! VCFA alumni LOVE Bear Pond Books!

Read the whole thing HERE.

Today, the current students are choosing advisors.

I remember that!!!

I remember sitting in my room with Kellye Carter Crocker, talking about our different choices. How do you know whom to NOT choose?

We created a ritual: the magic hat.

We put all the names of advisors into the hat.  Then we asked the hat: Is this my advisor? Should I choose YOU?

And then… we pulled out a name.

And did a gut check.

What did we feel? Happiness? Sadness? FEAR?

Every semester, we consulted the hat. We helped narrow down our choices by discussing our gut reactions. And it always worked.

We got the advisors we needed. We also mourned NOT getting the advisors we could have gotten. It’s funny how that works. Now I look back on it, and I still believe those four semesters were the greatest privilege and gift I’ve ever given myself.

Good luck, current students!!!! See you tomorrow!

I can’t wait to get back to campus!

So I was sort of hoping that my horoscope would sound something like this;

Today is a day you will find fame and fortune!

or

Today you will be greeted with much fanfare and excitement.  Take it all in. Relish it! Today is the first day of the rest of your life.

Unfortunately, this is my horoscope:

You may be panicking because you think that you’re running out of time, but it’s smarter to wait a day or two before taking any drastic measures. Don’t overreact; it’s not the best time to rush ahead and show everyone how well you can handle an emergency. There’s no need to try to inspire others with your courage. Instead of mustering up false bravado, observe your emotions without trying to prove anything.

As Ari would say, “Luck is a cycle, like the economy or the number of Democrats versus Republicans in the Senate, or the sine wave we learn about in Math Class.  Sometimes your luck goes up. Sometimes it goes down.”

Maybe tomorrow fame and fortune will find me!

June 30th is the release date for my second novel, Beyond Lucky. I am going to do some fun things over the summer to celebrate…all leading up to a BIG PARTY on September 9th to raise money for Grassroots Soccer.

Today’s big news is a STARRED REVIEW from Jewish Book World!

Very exciting!

Sarah’s Not-So-Glamorous Do’s and Don’ts of Writing Subplots

Do create subplots that affect the conclusion of the main story line.

Do maintain tension with subplots! Look for turning points. Analyze what has to happen before and after your big scenes.

Do create subplots that engage secondary characters that are interesting.

Do know your secondary characters. What do they want? Why? How are they interesting?

Do uncover interesting themes that are important to you.

Do use characters, settings and events that overlap.

Do raise the stakes. But don’t forget: Do use LOGIC.

Do know WHAT YOU WANT TO SAY!

Do use subplot to create anticipation, foreshadowing, and lots and lots of microtension!

Do write with intention. Try the connectivity exercises. Try re-imagining. Talk about your story with friends. Really: try EVERYTHING!!!

Don’t use secondary characters that have no connection to the main character.

Don’t let your secondary characters overshadow your main character.

Don’t let secondary characters stay two dimensional or predictable.

Don’t write subplots that are too parallel or thematically too didactic.

Don’t settle for turning points that are not important to the characters or reader.

Don’t pull the reader too far away from the main story for too long.

Remember:

A plot is a series of events deliberately arranged so as to reveal their dramatic, thematic, and emotional significance. Subplots, like plots, are made of characters, conflict, complications, climax, and resolution.

Scenes are the dramatization of cause and effect. They have order. Random incidents neither move nor illuminate. We want to know why one thing leads to another and to feel the inevitability of cause and effect.

Every scene MUST have a good reason to be. It has a point.
In the end, what will hook the reader and keep them reading is caring about the characters. When your characters care about things that matter, the stakes go up. Tension goes up. The scene sizzles, because their actions have consequences. Conflict matters!

Remember: you have to fail before you can succeed! Writers, don’t be afraid to re-imagine! To try everything!

First, a great review for Beyond Lucky in Publisher’s Weekly.

Beyond Lucky

Sarah Aronson. Dial, $16.99 (256p) ISBN 978-0-8037-3520-0
Aronson skillfully dodges the predictability of sports-themed books by creating multilayered characters and an intriguing whodunit involving a valuable missing rookie card. Twelve-year-old goalie Ari Fish desperately wants to follow in the footsteps of his older brother, Sam, and hometown hero Wayne Timcoe, each of whom led their Somerset Valley soccer teams to greatness. As a kid who firmly believes in horoscopes, pregame rituals, and luck, Ari is sure he’s hit the jackpot when he and his best friend, Mac, find a rare Wayne Timcoe rookie card. But things quickly go from “beyond lucky” to wretched when the card is stolen. Mac, a hotshot player with a troubled family life, and Parker, already shunned because she’s the only girl on the team, accuse each other of stealing it, and Ari is caught in the middle. Aronson (Head Case) includes a lot of fun on-field action, but the off-field story is just as interesting: concern mounts for Sam, who’s fighting wildfires in California, and Ari, Mac, and Parker’s relationships grow increasingly complicated. Aronson’s graceful storytelling will keep even nonsoccer buffs turning pages. Ages 8–12. (June)

And then….even better…..

my stepson, Ed, a Captain in the US Army, returned home!

Watch the video HERE!!!

But get a tissue first…..

We are beyond lucky!!!!