Today I’m sharing a post about some of my favorite holiday treats on Avery Olive’s blog as part of Day 15 of her 18 Days of Christmas Giveaways. Check it out for some tasty recipes and sign up to win some great prizes! Hope you are all getting ready for the holidays. I’m nearly there!
The shooting at the elementary school in Newtown is still much on my mind this week. Today I have a special guest blogger, Kate Lutter, who is a fellow CMP author and was previously an elementary school principal. Kate has offered to share her reaction as a former principal and her insights. The important thing is to use this tragedy as an opportunity to start a dialogue about how we can make a change for the better. I’m not sure anyone has the answers yet, but we need to start talking. Feel free to leave a comment–all opinions are welcome as long as they are polite and respectful.
After the Massacre at Newtown, if We Do Nothing Now, Can We Keep Our Students Safe?
by Kate Lutter
Let me put my cards on the table.
I write novels for a living. But I used to be an elementary school principal in Edison, New Jersey. I ran a building for K-5 (kindergarten through fifth grade) for eight years, and although the population varied (the highest student populaation was 640 students) the median number was about 500 students. I had one full time nurse and one full time counselor.
The front of our school was glass. My school sounded a lot like Sandy Hook in Newtown, Connecticut.
When I heard what happened, when the news slowly eeked out, when the facts became clearer–who had done the shooting, what weapon had been used, how the shooter had gained access to the building, and eventually how the staff inside reacted once they realized an intruder was present–I have to admit, my heart pounded. And then I cried.
I imagined myself in that same scenario, and I asked myself what I would have done as principal if someone entered my building, blasted their way through the glass with a semi-automatic rifle, clearly intent on murdering the children?
When I became principal, we were on the verge of instituting many security procedures that are now common place in most elementary schools:
A single entrance into a school–a front door which was locked after the students entered in the morning, and which included a camera and a buzzer system.
Lock down drills which required extensive staff and student training.
Evacuation procedures which also required extensive planning and again extensive training for both staff and students.
Name tags that every staff member was required to wear and visitor tags which every visitor to the building was required to procur once they entered the building and wear, which made it easier to spot anyone in the building who did not belong there.
What prompted this “high security” was the shooting at Columbine High School in Colorada in 1999. That incident pushed the education community to re-evaluate what needed to be done to keep our students safe.
Now, it seems, that bar needs to be raised again. And I do not make that statement lightly. Schools are not a prison. And although some schools in the inner cities and even some high schools may have a police officer that roams the building armed with a gun to keep the peace, most schools do not have a guard or a police presence.
The plain fact is that even if you legally own a weapon, you are prohibited by law from bringing that weapon onto school property. The culture of school is that it is a very special place, and it is believed by many that the risk of bringing weapons into such a protected zone far outweighs the benefits. Classrooms are not equipped with safes where teachers could store weapons. We do not want to turn a school into a shooting range if and when an incident occurs. It would be unimaginable.
And yet . . . Newtown, Connecticut forces us to re-examine the dilemma we are in as we fight to keep our schools safe.
Here are my thoughts as an ex-principal:
All of the security procedures that we and most schools instituted after Columbine are valid, but are they enough to keep our children safe?
The intruder, using a semi-automatic rifle, was able to shoot his way through the glass window and gain entrance through the locked door.
The intruder, using a semi-automatic rifle–the only person with a weapon in a “weapon free zone”–was able to make his way down the corridor of a school after having murdered the principal and counselor and within a matter of minutes or, perhaps, it was seconds, murder twenty children and four more teachers.
In fact, the reports that are now coming out say that a single child had as many as eleven bullets in his/her body. No wonder there were so few survivors. Although I did hear of one first grade girl who pretended to be dead. She later exited the building covered in her classmates‘ blood.
That was how she survived.
The “lock down” procedure, no doubt, protected other students and teachers, but I wonder if the intruder had wanted to, could he have shot his way into other classrooms and taken more lives?
It’s believed he had enough ammunition on him to do so.
The “lock down” procedure I used in my building was predicated on a code word that would be spoken over the intercom. I don’t know what they used at Sandy Hook Elementary School. In theory, the code word would kick in “lock down.” Teachers upon hearing that word were instructed to lock their classroom doors, turn off the lights, huddle the children in the safest part of the classroom, keep them quiet and wait.
How long does it take for the police to arrive? Five minutes. Ten minutes.
It became glaringly apparent to me as I ended my tenure at Martin Luther King Elementary School in Edison, New Jersey, and as more and more schools became the battlegrounds for intruders and more and more lives were taken, that the security procedures put into place after Columbine were not enough.
Now I am absolutely convinced of it.
This is what I rest my case on–that schools are very special places where we bring a large quantity of children together in a so-called protected environment. Because we try to eliminate all possible risk of accidental death, we establish a “weapon free zone” in the schools, which means that no one is allowed to bring a gun or knife or any kind of weapon into the building or onto school grounds.
The only defense the staff had against the intruder was the “lock down procedure” which clearly has its limits against a semi-automatic rifle.
I believe in the Constitution and the second amendment. I have friends and relatives who legally own guns. They like to hunt.
A ban on assault type weapons would not impinge upon their right to hunt and bear arms. A ban on magazine clips would not impinge upon their right to hunt and bear arms. A law that abolishes the loop hole that now exists which allows people to buy guns at gunshows with little or no background checks would not impinge upon their right to hunt or bear arms.
I am calling for balance here.
Our children have a right to be protected in school against assault-like weapons that can kill twenty children and put eleven bullets in a body in less than five minutes. There is no way to protect children in a building when that kind of weaponry exists on the market and is easily accessible.
President Obama said it best. Our hearts are broken. We all feel the pain.
I hope that pain galvanizes us to do what is right here and protect the children.
Kate Lutter has taught high school, coordinated a school district’s staff development program, and served as an elementary school principal, before she jumped off the cliff and decided to write full time.
Now, she lives in New Jersey with her husband and five cats and spends her days writing, studying Italian, gardening, travelling, volunteering at a local cat shelter, and hanging out with her extended family.
Writing is what keeps her sane on a daily basis.
Check out her website at www.katelutter.com
Today I’m blogging for Kate Evangelista’s 24 Days of Guest Posts and Giveaways about spending Christmas with my character, Sydney, from Thief of Hope. Would Sydney make a good holiday guest? You’ll have to read to find out: http://kateevangelistarandr.blogspot.com/2012/12/day-7-cindy-young-turner.html.
You can also enter the Rafflecopter giveaway to win an ebook of Thief of Hope.
I’m hopping around websites this week. Yesterday CMP author Sasha Summers featured me on her blog as part of her Tuesday Talent series. Sasha and I have traded interviews before for the Midsummer Night’s Blog Hop when our characters, Sydney (from Thief of Hope) and Poseidon (from Medusa, A Love Story), were forced to have a conversation that turned out to be not quite friendly. This interview went much better!
Today I’m over at Savvy Authors talking about the challenges of being an introverted writer: http://www.savvyauthors.com/vb/content.php?2364-Breaking-an-Introvert-Writer-Out-of-Her-Shell-by-Cindy-Young-Turner. Hope you’ll stop by and share your thoughts!
I’m pleased to welcome author Louann Carroll to the blog today! She has a great post to share.
Thank you, Cindy, for inviting me onto your blog today. I generally blog about my books or what’s going on in my life, but this time I’m trying something a little different. I have Kate Kelly, from Gemini Rising, and Kellyn O’Brien from A Shadow of Time, meeting in a bar to discuss their ongoing concerns with their creator.
Once again, thank you for the opportunity.
Kellyn O’Brien stepped out of her car, the rain whiplashing the roof of the old hotel to her side. She’d stolen a few moments for herself and had agreed to meet Kate, a fellow main character, at a bar their creator had made. She hurried inside, letting the door slam shut behind her. Shucking her coat, she glanced across the room. An attractive blonde-haired woman sat on a stool at the far end of the bar. Obviously startled, the woman turned to look at her, blue eyes piercing. Kellyn hurried over, pulled out a bar stool and sat down.
She said the first thing that came to her mind. “I hear you’re a whiner.”
Kate laughed, flicking her hair over one shoulder. “That’s what our so-called writer wants to make me. In fact, I’m strong and getting stronger every day. You know what I mean?”
Nervous, Kellyn looked away. This woman was not the mealy-mouthed creature she’d thought to expect. But then, she wasn’t the same either. The author of their creation didn’t realize that what she wrote in a book went on to fruition in another dimension. At least that’s how Adam explained it when her consciousness didn’t end after the telling of the story, A Shadow of Time.
She frowned, saying, “Yeah, I get that.” She glanced at the waitress. “An Appletini, please?” She shifted a little then bent down and snugged up a boot. She had a matching set of kitchen knives tucked into the neck of her Uggs. “I’m not as clumsy as she says, either.” She continued under her breath, “At least not anymore.”
Kate grinned. “I’m glad you decided to meet me for a drink. I have so many complaints about the way we’ve been represented. Like, when was the last time she really looked at me? In case she hasn’t noticed, I’ve grown.”
“Me, too.” Kellyn looked up, wondering if Kate subscribed to Adam’s theory. Glancing around, she found the bar cozy—like a neighborhood tavern they had in the sixties. The walls, painted a bright pink, were offset by the wood of the bar shining a dark mahogany and smooth with age. Cigarette smoke tinged the air. There was even a jukebox in the corner playing something about broken hearts. She could relate.
She asked, “When did your book come out?”
“A few years ago. I know she’s working on the next one in the series, but she’s taking long enough.”
Kellyn took the drink from the server and sipped before speaking. “She has been sick and she did write another novel right after mine. Redemption is its name. In any case, I’m a stand-alone. No series here.”
“How come?” Kate tipped back a shot of Irish whiskey and downed it. “Can I have another?” she asked the barmaid.
“Coming right up.” The woman shuffled down the walkway. She passed the kegs, the bottles, and the one bag of nuts hanging crookedly on metal slats. Dust sprinkled the air as she moved.
Running her fingers around the rim of her glass, Kate added, “The writer got the title of my book, Gemini Rising, from the Gemini Observatory. That was the first place that noticed the comet. I get that the world ended and all, but right now she has me in the middle of a war with a bunch of screwy angels. I mean, it would have been nice if she’d stopped the telling with me and the kids reunited with Noah.”
Kellyn straightened and winked. “I heard he’s a hunk.” She’d seen a picture of him in the creator’s mind. Dark hair framed a face of chiseled perfection. And his eyes…
Blushing, Kate picked up the shot the server plunked down before her. “That he is.” She tipped back another one. “It would be nice to see him once in a while.”
Kellyn wondered if the color on Kate’s face was for Noah or the alcohol she was downing. “Do you always drink so much?”
“No. In fact, I don’t drink at all.”
“Then you’d better be careful.” Kellyn glanced at her watch. She’d left Scott with Leanore. He was just three and tended not to do well away from her. Besides, there was the house to consider, Shadow Ley. That miserable gothic mess that haunted her steps as well as her mind.
Kate sighed. “I heard you inherited a mansion. Must be nice. All I got was a place in the Olam.”
“Where’s that?” Interested, Kellyn put her worries aside.
“It’s the home of the angels—where worlds are created.”
“I’ve enough trouble with the one I have. Shadow Ley is haunted.”
“I’ve heard. Shenahobet is it?”
“Yeah, a djinn. Somehow we got our dimensions mixed up.” She cocked her head. “I have no idea where the creator came up with that one.”
Kate flicked a finger at the bartender, indicating another shot. “She has a wicked imagination.”
“What happened between you and Noah?” Kellyn had heard that he’d saved Kate from death and whisked her from Earth.
“He was thrown out of the Olam. We’re bond mates and since we share emotion, and I wasn’t ready for the responsibility, he was asked to leave by Michael.”
“Who’s Michael?” Kellyn noted Kate’s drawn brow, the determination in her eyes.
“An archangel.”
“You don’t like him?”
“No. Well, in some respects he’s okay.” She glanced over. “What about John Aldrich? I heard you have the hots for him.”
Kellyn frowned, feeling a little insulted. “I’m in love and that’s not the same as having the hots, at least not in my world. You see, we share the same nightmares. They’re from another dimension—another life. Shenahobet is freakin deranged and it’s out to destroy my family.” She finished the rest of her Appletini in a single gulp.
“Another?” The waitress appeared—an unnoticed intrusion.
“Please.” Wary of strangers, Kellyn kept an eye on her. Shenahobet could take many forms. Her hand crept down to the knife in her boot.
“I’ll get her someday.”
Kellyn glanced back at Kate. “Who?”
“That woman—the author—the one you call the creator. How dare she take liberties with our lives!”
The bar door slammed opened. In walked a frail old woman, her dress dragging on the floor, apron stained with mold. A sense of disgust filled Kellyn as she recognized the djinn. Her hand, like quicksilver, brought up a knife. She glanced at Kate and thought of her son while nodding her head in agreement.
Gemini Rising
In the beginning was the Light. And the Light was good. From the Light came all manner of civilizations spreading across the universe. Only human beings chose to come to know the Light on their own. For this, the Light loved them best. There is also darkness, a creature so filled with jealously; it vows to destroy the human race. Created by the Light for Its own purpose, Belial keeps the planets in place.
Over 5,000 years ago, Sumerian stone tablets warn future civilizations on Earth about the coming of Nibiru. The 10th planet will cross the planet’s orbit, turning the axis by 90 degrees.The Gemini Observatory in Hawaii has discovered a comet on its way to Earth. Some say it’s a left over fragment of the big bang. Others say it heralds the end of time.
Jason Kelly, a renowned archaeologist, rips his wife Kate and their ten year-old son from their home in San Francisco. Off to a dig outside of Sedona, Arizona, Kate must make her way in the hot, dry, desert. She misses the fog, the lights, the sounds of people, until one night, a UFO appears in the sky.
A Shadow of Time
Consumed by a childhood filled with terror and pain, Kellyn O’Brien strives to create the perfect family. Then, disaster strikes. Her husband is dead. Three weeks later, she discovers her son is heir to Shadow Ley, a nineteenth century estate located in the Sierra Nevada foothills.
Still reeling from Michael’s death, Kellyn moves to Shadow Ley. Soon after her arrival, the ordinary becomes the extraordinary: broken drinking glasses repair themselves, stair rails that were once old are now new, and suddenly the estate of Shadow Ley is not what it seems.
She turns to the local historian and hears the tale of Shenahobet, the portal guardian, and the Hutto-pah, a tribe of Native Americans related to the Maya. She meets John, a doctor, who experiences visions of other times and places. Her dreams turn into nightmares with windows into past lives, hints of multidimensionality, and the promise of life beyond death.
Legends abound and so Shadow Ley, the home Kellyn had hoped would bring peace to herself and her children, becomes mired first in doubt, then in terror, and finally in love eternal.
Biography
Louann loves to hear from people who read her books. You can reach her by email or visit her website.
Cindy Young-Turner 