Strokes of Lightning: Amazing Hero Stories The Bay Area Young Writers Anthology Volume I: Welcome to the wonderful imagination of Bay Area Young Writers! These characters and many more are the heroes in this collection of writings by 37 children, ages 6 to 13. Strokes of Lightning is the first anthology published for the Bay Area Young Writers Club, a growing community with over 100 members. These stories are culled from the many workshops that we teach in the San Francisco Bay Area. Our workshops include a weekly homeschooling group, a persuasive essay course, an after-school creative writing class at the Chinese American International School, Bay Area Young Writers Workshops, as well as a plethora of free workshops offered since 2009. Our dedicated young writers and their parents travel from all over the Bay Area to our programs in Mountain View, California. While our writers show varying levels of skill, all the entries represent hours of creative effort and revision. For us, what is most important is that these children are inspired to write for fun and can articulate their thoughts and ideas with power, clarity, and ease. Below are excerpts from Strokes of Lightning: Excerpt from The School of Diamonds Julian Pennington (Age 12) Joe walked by the janitor's room as he was going to his P.E. class. He heard people talking from the janitor's room, but it didn't sound like students. It sounded like thirty to forty adults talking and arguing. He looked through the vents to see a shiny metal door with a green, glowing, pulsating card insert as well as a number pad and a rectangular slot. This was strange because Mrs. Jones went in the janitor's room almost every day. As he took a closer look, he noticed four security cameras, one in each corner. One was pointing directly at him! He knew the only way he could not be caught was to venture forward. He used a paperclip to pick the janitor's room lock. After at least a minute, he had done it. Now I have to take out the cameras, he thought to himself. Joe covered the camera with a dirty towel from the janitor's shelf. But then the bright metal door opened! Out came two men wearing blue bulletproof vests and elaborate t-shirts with lots of gear. They both had guns at their waist! Joe almost ran, but was paralyzed with fear. One of the men spoke, "Come with me." Excerpt from Spectral Moon by Diego Herrera (Age 11) Jack Falcon didn't expect his story to start with an attack. In fact, he didn't expect to have a story at all. It was Halloween night and Jack had a bad feeling. He sensed that something was going to happen, something big. It was the year 2010 in Capello City, California. Capello City was once a part of Scott's Valley but, after much arguing, twelve miles of it were given up to a rich and ambitious man named Adrian Capello. Jack's family had all died except for his aunt, Betta Finch, and possibly his great-great uncle, Joss Raven, who had disappeared three weeks after his parents died. He'd be pretty old by now, but anything was possible. Betta Finch, also Jack's legal guardian, was a kind woman who took good care of him. Jack loved living in her house, but often wondered why she had chosen to live in such a small, remote city. Excerpt from Peeg Story by Audrey W. (Age 7) One sunny, hot July day, in the neighborhood swimming pool Peeg, Panda, Airplane and Rabbit were playing catch the ball. Then Peeg wanted to go play in the mud puddle. They went to play in the mud and played until midnight. Then Peeg saw the round, white moon. "Boy, I would like to visit the moon," he said. "We could," said Plane. "Hop on me!" So they all hopped on Plane. "One, two, three, take off!" he shouted. They all flew up. Airplane was so excited he went super duper fast. Soon, they were close to the moon. But, Peeg, Panda, and Rabbit all fell off Plane. "My, how light you are!" Airplane said. "Did you eat air?"
About the Author: Writing Coach Shu-Hsien Ho Since 1996, Shu-Hsien Ho has passionately taught youth and teens how to organize their thoughts and write with power, clarity, and ease. Students, ages 7-18, have worked with Ms. Ho to learn to write essays, research reports, poems, short stories, and even their first novels. Her students have won writing contests, including the Palo Alto Weekly Annual Short Story Contest. One writer published her 400-page fantasy novel at the age of 20. As a result of her coaching, students have been accepted into top colleges and universities, such as UC San Diego, Caltech, Carnegie Mellon, MIT, NYU, and Brown University. Shu-Hsien Ho has a B.A. from Pomona College and an M.A. from Lesley University. Ms. Ho runs two thriving Writers Clubs in the San Francisco Bay Area: Bay Area Young Writers and Bay Area Teen Writers. This adventure and hero-themed anthology is the first of many books to come.