Antarctic expection blog- -fiction

Hello, all-- Let me introduce myself. My name is Nancy Etchemendy, and I'm a writer. Most of my books are for children and teens. Through an unlikely series of events, I was recently invited to join two marine biology expeditions to Antarctica and write one or more children's books about them. On May 26, 2008, I will step out of the cozy room where I usually spin my tales, and will head south for the first of these expeditions, a month-long voyage aboard the National Science Foundation's icebreaker Nathaniel B. Palmer. Before, during, and after the voyage, I will be posting to two blogs, intended to provide interesting, informative, interactive reading for different age groups, and classroom opportunities and science facts for teachers. BLOG FOR TEENS AND ADULTS: "Rime of the Modern Mariner." Subtitled "A Horror Writer's Journey to Darkest Antarctica," this blog targets teens and adults in a traditional blog format, with each day's events and science activities mingled with my observations as an award-winning horror writer and amateur naturalist. BLOG FOR MIDDLE-GRADERS "Unarctica: Gib Finney's sequel to The Power of Un." For children ages 8-12, this blog tells the story of the expedition from the point of view of the three middle-school protagonists of my novel, The Power of Un. The blog weaves each day's factual and scientific events into an adventure story bound to hold the attention of even the most reluctant readers. Both blogs, as well as a press kit and fact sheet, can be reached from http://icebreakerblog.org. All best, Nancy Etchemendy