Newsletter – April 10, 2026
I’m looking forward to attending another Spring Author Fair at our Tippecanoe County Library where I’ll be doing my elevator pitch about The Most Amazing Museum of Los Angeles and talk a bit about the sequel, The Most Amazing Museum of Chicago.
Because a giant maze is featured in the first book I’ll be giving away free mazes that I found on line (including the website where they can find more). I really enjoy talking to people, especially hearing from children about their interests. Several adults have bought copies of the book to read to their children or grandchildren. That really warms my heart.
I’ve written about a third of MAMCHI including quite a lengthy section where two girls go back in time to The Great Chicago Fire. Two boys, meanwhile, have a rainforest adventure which results in a torrent of water almost pulling them under. And the young teacher and her student find themselves in a toy workshop where unexpected things take place.
Beware The Game Master! He keeps on showing up and making trouble for the young people.
I’ve also been writing more poems for my side project of Verses Versus Curses, a collection of verses that I think children will enjoy. I’ll read a few of them at the Author Fair to anyone who wants to listen.
(My speech seems to be improving, but still gets a little slurry by the end of the day.)
I’m sharing my latest poem with you below. This time I’m inserting a hashtag between the stanzas to give them clear separation.
Thirteen is a Lucky Number
Thirteen is a lucky number, everybody knows,
I have thirteen fingers when I use three of my toes.
A basement should have thirteen stairs if someone builds it right,
I always count my thirteen steps when I go down at night.
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They say to break a mirror gives you seven years of bad
Luck is just a silly notion, or so says my dad.
My black cat’s name is Shadow and her eyes glow in the dark
Sometimes just to scare her I will crawl upstairs and bark.
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Thirteen is a baker’s dozen, I like snicker-doodles.
Let’s make a batch and split them up, as long as I get oodles.
The seasons each have thirteen weeks and I like autumn best,
Next Halloween I’ll wear a scary mask when I get dressed.
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Poems that have thirteen lines are better than the rest!
TTFN
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Here’s another of my entries in the weekly caption contest by “The New Yorker.”
Yes, a little morning flute music is nice, it’s the midnight drum solos I can’t bear.
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My middle grade novel, The Most Amazing Museum of Los Angeles is available through The BookBaby Bookshop at https://store.bookbaby.com/book/the-most-amazing-museum-of-los-angeles
Eric Margerum 