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Sunday 22, October, 2023
It was an honor to visit Carrie P. Weber Middle School last week! I’m always amazed at the excitement and enthusiasm students have when we talk about Edna in the Desert ! The readers’ insightful questions showed that they put a lot of thought into the story. We dove into what inspired me to write about a snarky 13 year-old, her summer without a phone, the Mojave Desert, and why a cute boy Edna meets is just a little too old for her. After our deep conversation, I led the class in a creative workshop designed to give anyone a...
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Tuesday 10, October, 2023
A story of women and war: Ava and The American Rhode Island International Film Festival: 2023 Screenplay Competition Finalist (winner announced Nov 2023) It’s the end of World War II. Ava’s a young, German actress detained with Nazi secretaries, housewives, and sadistic concentration camp guards as the Allies prepare cases for the Nuremberg trials. The women pass the time in captivity playing cards and spinning gossip. Many don’t believe the war is really over. Ava falls in love with the Black-American Captain in charge of questioning them, and when she overhears a plot to kill him, she sets out...
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Wednesday 12, July, 2023
Maddy’s screenplays landed Official Selection and Semi-Finalist status in competition! Growing Up in Palm Springs Official Selection: Ink and Cinema 2023 Adapted Story Showcase Kent, 18, has always struggled with having a famous mom, but he’s devastated when his girlfriend runs off with mom’s latest boyfriend. Mother and son are bitterly estranged, but a beloved uncle’s illness forces them back together. Based on Chekhov’s play, The Seagull, with a reimagined ending, this gripping family story blends the melodramatic style of Douglas Sirk with the social satire of Palm Royale, currently on Apple TV+. Influences: Chekhov’s The Seagull, Douglas...
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Tuesday 30, May, 2023
EDNA IN THE DESERT is now available online at Greenlight Bookstore, one of the best independent bookstores on the planet! “The mission of Greenlight Bookstore is to create welcoming spaces for discovery, conversation, and connection around books, through curation, programming and service that provides for the needs and interests of our customers and highlights creative work we love and value, based on a commitment to improving equity and sustainability in our company and our community.” Please click on Edna’s cover and support this awesome place! 📘❤️ #book #bookstagram #independentbookstore #reading #read #amreading...
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Tuesday 15, November, 2022
We had a fantastic time at Weber Middle School! We talked about Edna In The Desert, story telling, setting, and had a writing workshop. These kids were focused, engaged, and CREATIVE! I was so impressed! Students wanted autographs, and one drew scenes from the book on a post-it! So cool! Thanks to @spdramamomma and a generous grant from the Port Washington Education Foundation....
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Monday 11, April, 2022
Thanks to Shepherd.com for inviting me to participate in their new website! They asked me for five book recommendations relating to my book, Edna in the Desert . It was tough! After narrowing it down to my category, The Best Books About Young People Finding Themselves Without A Phone, the number of books I love is still overwhelming. I might have alternatively called this category “books you must read someday if you haven’t.” Here’s my five: Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer Emma, by Jane Austen The Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger Anne of Green Gables, by L....
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Wednesday 15, December, 2021
It was wonderful meeting with students at Carrie Palmer Weber Middle School in November after they read Edna in the Desert, and extra special as my first school visit since the start of the global pandemic! We just made it between the waves of Delta and Omicron. Mrs. Portmore-Davies and her English classes had insightful questions about the book and the Mojave Desert where the story takes place. I was surprised by so much curiosity about what Edna’s next moves might be! After talking, we had a writing workshop. The students came up with ideas for their own stories and, in...
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Tuesday 10, September, 2019
EDNA IN THE DESERT is on Get Schooled’s short list of Coming of Age titles…with Great Expectations and Lord of the Flies ! “In honor of your coming-of-age, here are some great books with characters who are going through some growing pains themselves. Maybe you’ll see yourself in them.” See the list here: https://getschooled.com/dashboard/article/2287-books-that-prove-growing-up-isn-t-easy ...
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Saturday 6, January, 2018
Talked about film production with the phenomenal Lara Shapiro in her Writing for Television class at The School of The New York Times. The students were so cool and inspiring! Loved visiting the awesome English students at Carle Place High School and their teachers, Mrs. Dietz and Mrs. Mehling! EDNA IN THE DESERT was featured on YA Wednesday! And…EDNA IN THE DESERT was added to more reading lists! So exciting to reach new readers at: Copper Mountain Middle School Holy Angels Catholic School Regis Jesuit High School Weebly.com-Modern Literature for High School ...
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Sunday 17, September, 2017
Thanks to Dr. Bickmore for this insightful analysis and interview! I love it when I come across a novel from a small press that is worthy of a bigger audience. This is without question the case with Maddy Lederman’s novel Edna in the Desert. Introducing Maddy Lederman and EDNA IN THE DESERT, by Dr. Bickmore I have to admit that the tag line on the cover (Can a Beverly Hills teen survive without a smart phone, Internet, and TV?) caught my eye and caused me to ponder my addiction to social media, not to mention the way my...
