Courtney Press

More Holiday Fun

2012-01-09T11:26:00.002-07:00

Maggie really enjoyed her time at the Silvertree Hotel over the holidays.

Thanks to all the children and parents who joined us at the Silvertree and the Hotel Jerome. Reading the Fraser books to children is a real joy for me.

I wish you all a very Happy and Snowy New Year!!

For those of you who have left the mountains, we finally got a lovely, well-needed snow storm on Saturday. This gives us all a big lift for January.

Winterskol is right around the corner.

Holiday Story Hour in Snowmass

2011-12-26T15:03:00.002-07:00

We had so much fun reading to the children at the Silvertree Hotel last week.

Here were some kids who loved the "fill-in" Fraser dog. They decorated him with reindeer antlers and a nose and generally had a great time taking off and putting on his life preserver.

I hope to wish any of our followers a very Happy Holiday season.

If any of you are in the Aspen area, we will be at the Hotel Jerome Tuesday, Dec. 27 at 3:30 for the 12 Days of Christmas story reading.

We will be back at the Silvertree Hotel on Thursday, Dec. 29th at 4:30.

We hope to see you all there.

Another Fraser?

2011-11-13T10:03:00.002-07:00

I definitely should learn to use a video camera and video the amount of real dogs that think this "Fraser" look-alike is "real."

At the Saturday market, I'm always amazed at how funny it is when other passing doggies stop and either bark, try to play, or are actually scared of this stuffed dog. Dog owners are amazed at their dogs' behavior.

OK, next year, I promise to get that video going.

Love This!

2011-11-09T10:15:00.002-07:00

I loved this saying that I saw carved on a plaque at a Farmer's Market in Canada.

Our gorgeous and warm fall is over and now Aspen is blanketed in snow and it's cold!

I've been writing, working, baking. I'm presently judging the Fraser Writing Contest for this year. I've read some amazing stories. The winners will be listed later this month!

Maggie Going to Wok

2011-10-13T10:23:00.003-06:00

Here's my little Maggie on her way to work at the hospital, the assisted living center and to visit the children at the Early Learning Center.

Maggie is almost 13 and her advice on getting older is to stay involved volunteering and to exercise daily. She learned a lot from Fraser and is trying to pass on those lessons to all of us.

Our last day at the Aspen Saturday Market is this Saturday, October 15th. Hope to see some of you there.

Maggie On Duty

2011-10-02T17:26:00.002-06:00

Maggie does more than come to book signings. Yes, she's a therapy dog at Aspen Valley Hospital. Here she is with a patient. She visits patients at both the hospital as well as the senior center every month.

Fraser was a volunteer first and now Maggie loves her job, too! More later.

My Kenyan Pen Pal

2011-09-16T13:56:00.003-06:00

I thought it would be fun to share this photo with you today. Nimrod has been my pen pal for the past 7 years!

I met his dad, Wesley, who was our safari guide in the Masa Mara in Kenya eleven years ago. I gave him Fraser's first adventure; Adventure on Snowmass Mountain. He, in turn, shared it with his children. Several years later, I received a nice letter and photo from his son, Nimrod, requesting that I become his pen pal. He said in the letter that he learned how to ski (in his head) by reading my book, which was such a wonderful thing to hear.

We have written letters back and forth (yes, snail mail) ever since. In 2008, our family went back to Kenya along with my daughter's good friend and her family. It was a total shock and surprise -- when we were in the Masa Mara, Wesley, Nimrod and his sister, Miriam arrived to surprise me. I had tried to contact them before I left with no luck.

It was such a pleasure to sit down with the three of them and talk. I had brought gifts just in case. Nimrod and Miriam told me they had never spoken to "whites" before. We all had such a lovely visit.

Just this summer, I realized that Nimrod now has use of a computer! I miss his handwritten letters, but understand how great it is to receive emails so quickly. He is studying hard and taking classes and hoping to go on to university.

A Balloon Day!

2011-09-06T10:46:00.003-06:00

Summer is coming to an end. But not before this gorgeous Labor Day weekend. I only have a few more Saturday Market days left before it comes to a close mid-October.

How can I resist posting these darling photos of these beautiful children?

Fall is in the air....

How Adorable?

2011-08-21T14:12:00.003-06:00

OK, you may be getting tired of these posts, but I can't help it--how adorable are these little girls who came to my Saturday Market booth and posed with their books. I think the little one on the right will be a wonderful cook someday! She was hugging my cookbook, Lighter Tastes of Aspen.

Storytelling on top of Aspen Mountain

2011-08-18T09:25:00.002-06:00

Every Wednesday during the summer, I ride the gondola up Aspen Mountain and do story time under the kids' tent. I read or tell the Fraser stories to kids of all ages.

It's one of my favorite things to do, as you can only imagine. The kids are always polite, great listeners and I enjoy meeting their parents and extended families.

Here are: Connor, Caitlyn and Arienna from Florida with their books and the gondola in the background.

Saturday Market

2011-08-09T09:15:00.002-06:00

Wow, yet another really fun Farmer's Market last weekend. No, these flowers are not from our market, but from the one I visit up in Canada, but they are so gorgeous.

I so enjoy meeting all my Fraser fans, new and old. If I can ever figure out how to get the latest photo downloaded, I'll post it ASAP.

I had one family come to my booth from Texas. The mom had read the Fraser book to her child's class and they ordered them for their school. It's stories like these that I love and make the market experience all worthwhile.

If you ever have questions for Fraser, he's still answering, so send them to us at: jillsheeleybooks@gmail.com

Summer Vacation

2011-07-31T15:03:00.003-06:00

Don and I are back in town after a wonderful vacation in Saltspring Island, BC where we spend a good part of July each summer sea kayaking.

Maggie was fine because Courtney took care of her.

We're looking forward to being at the Farmer's Market once again August 6th. We've been busy doing story hour at Generation X, on top of Aspen Mountain and on the mall on most Fridays.

Fraser Fans!

2011-07-10T20:13:00.002-06:00

I just love summer! I just did another Farmer's Market yesterday and thought you'd all enjoy this great photo of twins reading two of the Fraser books.

It's too hot to bring Maggie this summer, so I'm relying on my Fraser fill-in stuffed/almost real dog for kids to pet. I'm thinking I'll have to video the antics next market as dogs of diverse breeds love this "animal." He draws quite a crowd and dog owners are totally surprised to realize their "smart" canine cannot tell the difference between a real and "fake" dog. They can't believe it when their dogs are actually afraid of "Fraser." Too funny for words. I promise to get it on video.

U Tube here we come.

For now, please admire these adorable redheads!!

Farmer's Market summer 2011

2011-06-26T09:57:00.003-06:00

The Farmer's Market started up last weekend in Aspen. A market filled with colors, music, fruits and veggies, flowers and crafts. Most of all, our market is filled with people and dogs!! It's a wonderful social event to start the weekend.

I'm happy to be sharing a booth this summer every other week with Georganne Waggerman and Lee Shapiro, both wonderful local artists.

Here at my first market of the summer, is a photo of three darling children from our neighboring town of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. They had a few of my books but purchased ones they didn't have. It is so much fun for me to meet the children and parents who read my books. What a treat for me! Maggie stayed home as it was too hot that day for her, but we had her fill-in.

Shining Stars

2011-06-23T14:19:00.003-06:00

Every year in March, the wonderful Shining Stars organization comes to Aspen. So many children who have been dealing with cancer never get an opportunity to come and ski. Kathy Gingery is an angel I have known for many years and I so believe in her dreams that have become a reality year after year.

I'm always so impressed by the volunteers and the outpouring of love from our little mountain town. A few years ago, I decided besides giving $ I wanted to give my books away as a small token.

This photo was taken of a young man who will take a little bit of Aspen home with him. I gave away over 90 books with great joy!!

Maggie

2011-06-16T10:11:00.002-06:00

I thought you all might like to see a photo of the real Maggie. It's June in Aspen and the weather has been fabulous. Maggie has been thoroughly enjoying herself sunning, swimming in our pond and relaxing in her older years. We're taking a long walk today so she can see all her doggie friends.

We're excited to be a part of the children's events this summer in the Mall. We'll be reading to kids. I will have a booth this summer at the Farmer's Market.

Hope you're all enjoying summer as well!

Room to Read

2011-04-29T09:17:00.003-06:00

Room to Read is an amazing global organization dedicated to to bringing books to children in 9 countries across Asia and Africa. They help millions of children in the developing world gain access to quality educational opportunities.

I'm happy to be a part of the Aspen chapter of Room to Read.

Recently, we held our yearly fundraiser at the Viceroy Hotel in Snowmass. We had representatives from the national office in San Francisco!

High school students were on hand to read to our local children. Zak the yak made an apprearance and was loved by all he met!! The Fraser books were part of all the books read to the children!!

Author's Tea Aspen Elementary School

2011-03-21T10:30:00.005-06:00

AUTHOR'S TEA 2011

I always feel so honored to be invited to this 4th grade girls' "rite of passage."

Dee Searing puts together an amazing "tea" with the help of many mom volunteers. Every year the decorations are different and the small gym is transformed into a special space.

You walk in and can't believe the work that has gone into this day. The tables are set beautifully with flowers and the first course: caesar salad and fruit kabobs. We look at our seats and there are colorful "garden/tea" hats for all of us to wear. I sat at a table of 7 beautiful and very well behaved young ladies. We discussed books and I told them the story from Fraser's Memoir about the four bears in our house. We laughed and felt so very special when the moms served us our tea, tea sandwiches and a variety of desserts.

I love living in Aspen and I especially love the yearly Author's Tea. Thanks to everyone for making me feel as if I'm at the Academy Awards!!

Maggie the Yellow Dog Visits the Hospital

2011-03-17T11:19:00.002-06:00

Since Fraser has passed on to doggie heaven, Maggie has taken over his job as one of the pet therapy dogs at Aspen Valley Hospital. We certainly enjoy our job bringing smiles to the patients in the hospital. The children visiting parents love a visit as well. What a wonderful program Rita Cohen started years ago. We are so happy to be a part of it. People love the doggie photos on the wall just before entering the Patient Care Unit.

Besides the patients, the staff are always thrilled to pet our dogs. Maggie knows that at some point someone will give her a few treats so she is always very well behaved and patient. She loves it when a patient drops food onto the floor during their meal. She gladly cleans up so no sweeping is necessary!

After we make the rounds, we're off to the assisted living center to see the seniors. The seniors also love visits from the doggies. It sometimes really makes their day. Sometimes we are their only visitors and boy, they love having contact from others.

Really, we get as much out of our visits as the patients/staff/seniors do. Thanks, Rita, for establishing this wonderful program.

More later about my mentoring at the high school.....

Limelight Lodge hosts Jill and Maggie

2011-02-23T09:43:00.002-07:00

Maggie and Jill visited the Limelight Lodge Saturday, February 19th. As soon as I can figure out how to include the cute photos, I will. Sorry, this blogger is having some blogging issues! Maggie always enjoys the Limelight as she feels she's the "hotel dog" and visits all the guests in the lobby. Little Evan enjoyed his mom reading the Fraser book to him and as always I had to use will power to not eat the delicious homemade chocolate chip cookies they serve when we come to read to the children. Look for the cute photo soon!

2010 Fraser Writing Contest

2011-02-20T12:36:00.002-07:00

The Fraser Writing Contest 2010

I can't believe another year has passed and our 2010 Contest winners have been announced. We had over 65 story entries this past year. It is always a difficult thing to judge these stories as I feel each student has put their heart and soul into the stories.

I am honored to sponsor this contest year after year because I so believe in students' imagination and creativity to produce wonderful stories without it being required for school.

They really do it out of the love of writing.

We had full spreads in both The Snowmass Sun and The Aspen Times.

The contest is held at the Aspen Elementary School for 3rd and 4th graders.

This year's 3rd grade First Place Winner is Lauren Fox

This year's 4th grade First Place Winner is Cole Peterson.

The Snowmass Sun's article came out on December 22-28, 2010 edition and if you want to read the first place winners' stories, go to snowmasssun.com

The Blue Bottle Project

2010-12-29T10:23:00.003-07:00

Courtney and I had the honor of teaching my novel, The Blue Bottle to Kellie Schenck's fifth grade class. The students read and Courtney and I answered questions. We were absolutely amazed at the depth of questions the students had.

The project culminated with the students making their own bottles complete with favorite quotes from the book, images of the Caribbean and decorated with sea shells, sea glass and many other items. The students wrote letters to a favorite person and rolled them up and placed them into the bottle. Ms Schenck challenged the students to give the bottles to someone other than their parents.

Courtney and I were thrilled to talk to the students and find out to whom they were giving their bottles and why. All of the students poured their hearts and souls into this project. Some were giving their bottles to: grandparents, older siblings, past teachers, etc.

We were honored to receive 2 bottles for ourselves and a wonderful thank-you letter that was incredibly well written and was in and itself a lovely gift!

The students made a bottle for the REAL Esther in the book and Courtney and I delivered it to her in person when we sailed to her cafe in the BVIs. The next blog will share pictures of her opening the bottle and her amazement.

The Book Signing and Costume Party

2010-10-25T21:30:00.002-06:00

What a fantastic turn out for the re-launching of Adventures of Fraser the Yellow Dog, Rescue on Star Mountain book. We had a packed room at Explore Booksellers last Friday. Kids came in great costumes and pajamas. I read from the book as Maggie wandered around letting all the kids pet her!

As an added surprise, Landon Deane, who is on Mountain Rescue, came in uniform and told the children rescue stories and showed the kids lots of essential gear you should carry in the back-country. We were impressed how many children answered questions about what one should do in case of getting lost in the back country.

A really great time was had by all and thanks to Paradise Bakery for supplying Courtney's melt in your mouth chocolate chip cookies as special treats.

Finally Rescue on Star Mountain Returns!

2010-10-17T14:48:00.002-06:00

After popular demand, I've brought Fraser's third book, Adventures of Fraser the Yellow Dog, Rescue on Star Mountain back to life. That book has been out of print for many years but since everyone seems to want a full set of our books, we decided to listen to our fans!

The books are to arrive on Tuesday, October 19. I've sent out an email blast with a chance to order autographed copies.

Explore Booksellers in Aspen is hosting a book signing/costume/pajama party this coming Friday, October 22 at 5:30 pm.

We hope to see all you locals there.

Fraser Writing Contest

2010-10-11T10:46:00.004-06:00

Hi Again. It's coming up again. The Fraser Writing Contest. This is our yearly contest we hold at the Aspen Elementary School for third and fourth graders. It's such an exciting time. I will be introducing the contest at the end of October and the students will learn the theme this year. They will have several weeks to let their imaginations go wild and write their stories.

I, along with Mary Hayes, will judge the stories and come up with the results in time for the winter assembly. Everyone who enters receives a certificate. Then there are first, second and third place finishers including honorable mentions.

The stories are amazing and I'm always astonished with the talent that comes out of this contest. I can't believe the talent improves, but it does every year!

I'll post the first place stories on my blog this year. Keep looking for this in December or January.

Jill meets Authors in Salt Spring

2010-08-07T15:24:00.002-06:00

We recently returned from our favorite island in B.C., Salt Spring Island. We go there every year to sea kayak and relax in the peace and beauty of a Canadian island. We've made many friends over the years! This year, I had the pleasure of meeting two remarkable authors: Margriet Ruurs has written 28 children's books and owns a bed and breakfast which is a book lovers' paradise. We had a cup of tea one afternoon and shared our mutual love of writing for kids. We also enjoy teaching children the process of writing a book. Recently, she traveled to South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Mongolia. She even took a journey into the heart of the Gobi Desert--sounded amazing!

I also got to meet Wendy Orr, a wonderful author who has written numerous books including Nim's Island which was made into a movie. She was on Salt Spring staying with her parents so after we got in touch, I went over to her mom's beautiful home overlooking the western part of the island. It was a lovely visit--her mom talked all about living on Salt Spring for 30 years!! She also told me about their many adventures sailing! We didn't have a ton of time to discuss books but it was great finally connecting.

Salt Spring is a small island and yet has numerous independent bookstores (thank goodness) which I find so wonderful and exciting. Personally, I spend hours in Volume 11 where yearly, Betty gives me great suggestions that I love and pass onto my book club.

School Visits In Sandpoint, Idaho

2010-07-08T18:11:00.005-06:00

In May, I traveled to Sandpoint, Idaho and visited two schools-- Washington Elementary and Koontenai Elementary Schools. I felt so welcomed and couldn't believe the enthusiasm from both the students and from the faculty. In the photo is one of the winners from the button contest at Washington Elementary School. The students all drew pictures from my Fraser the Yellow Dog books. The two winning artists got their images printed on buttons that all of us wore at "Authors, Arts and Us" day.

Kootenai School had a similar contest but instead of buttons, they had stickers made. These future artists will take on the world!!

I will post some of the amazing artwork in future blogs.

I love to visit schools and pass on my joy of writing.

Jill

Fraser the Yellow Dog visits Sandpoint, Idaho!

2010-05-16T21:21:00.007-06:00

Here I am with my best buddy from 25 years ago, Shari French who lived in
Aspen. She now lives up in Sandpoint, Idaho. I'm up here visiting, enjoying the gorgeous weather, playing on the calm water... OK, so I arrived on May 11th and it was 70 degrees here in Idaho and Aspen received over a foot of snow. Yahoo. While here, I did two school visits: Kootenai School one day and then Washington School the next. Both days, I was lucky to be the featured author and to teach the students how a book is made. At Washington School, they have an annual author day which is so wonderful: they really go all out with parent participation, amazing meals, and the annual "button contest" where each student draws a prespective button to go along with my Fraser books. The students' artwork was incredible and the winners' art goes on the actual buttons. I will be featuring their art work and photos soon. Check back!

Jill visits Graland School

2009-10-05T12:38:00.002-06:00

I'm going to Denver on Sunday with Maggie, the yellow dog and visiting Graland School on Monday, October 12 to read to the students and talk to them about books. We'll be on hand to sign books at their annual Book Fair. Hope to see you there! Jill

Jill's cookbooks

2009-09-29T22:01:00.002-06:00

For anyone's information, Jill started her writing career by writing and publishing three cookbooks before writing her series of children's books about her rescue dog, Fraser. Jill used to and still takes part in the annual Food and Wine Classic put on by Food and Wine magazine. Years ago, Julia Childs used to come to Aspen and Jill and Julia met and signed their cookbooks side by side.

Fraser's Books Go To Denver

2009-09-29T21:58:00.001-06:00

Jill will be going to Graland School to talk to the students about her Fraser books and about writing and publishing. She will speak to the older students about her newest book, The Blue Bottle.

Jill would love to hear from her fans anytime.

Fall in Aspen

2009-09-24T11:00:00.003-06:00

Jill and her dog Maggie spent a beautiful Saturday at the Aspen Farmer's Market selling her books. Thanks to all our fans for a wonderful summer. Jill and Maggie

Reviews and Endorsements

2009-07-10T10:39:00.002-06:00

My name is Paula Prikryl. I am a Pre-Kindergarten teacher at the Aspen Country Day School. One of the highlights of our year is when Jill comes to our school and reads the Frazer books to my students and the older children. Afterwords she opens it up for questions. The children almost always want to know how she comes up with the plots and what is involved in writing and publishing a book. It would not be Spring in my classroom without Jill her dog Maggie and the Frazer Stories.

The Blue Bottle, A Caribbean Adventure

2009-06-26T11:45:00.001-06:00

Summer Book Signings!

2009-06-26T10:21:00.005-06:00

July 3, 2009

Afternoon story time at the Limelight Hotel in Aspen, CO.

July 8, 2009

Reading at the A.R.C. 11:00am-12:00pm

July 12, 2009

Vail market, far end of the mall next to the Mountain Dog.

July 15, 2009

Book signing at Explore in Aspen, CO at 3:00pm