Author: Andrea Green Burton
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Saturday Six #21: Colors for Easter

One of the most gratifying things I do at my job is creating egg dyes from natural ingredients, so I’ve decided to post a Saturday Six early this week, in case anyone is inspired to give it a try. Typically, we would make the dyes and take them, along with a history lesson, to hundreds…
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Saturday Six #20: Concerts

Even though I love music, I’m not a huge concert-goer. I can’t really explain why. Music often moves me to tears, especially live music, but for some reason, attending concerts was never a priority for me. Even so, I have been to a handful of good ones (some of which will prove what a nerd…
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An Open Letter to My Dad

Dear Dad, I’m sorry. Every time you pulled out your 3-disc set of rock hits from the 1970s, I rolled my eyes. Aside from the fun melody of “Crocodile Rock,” I did not understand your obsession with this music. It was old. It was boring. I wanted The Lion King soundtrack instead. But 25 years…
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Saturday Six #19: Why I Loved This Winter

Today is the first day of spring. Usually, I am ecstatic over this change. Winter, to me, often feels like a long, drawn-out, ugly season that can never be over soon enough. I long for sun, warmth, flowers, and thunderstorms. Spring is not my favorite, though. In fact, I love all the seasons for different…
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“I think I’m still a writer.”

In 2011, as the new mom of a 4-month-old, I was invited to my very first book group. This was in the middle of my long hiatus from writing, the decade or so during which I went to grad school, met and married my husband, moved seven times, had four babies, and started five new…
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Saturday Six #18: COVID Anniversary

I came across a hand-written list at work yesterday, compiled a little over a year ago when I was preparing to take a natural egg dyeing museum program to almost 40 local classrooms. Not a single one of those programs happened. The note felt like it had been written in another lifetime, by another person.…
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Saturday Six #17: Six Things I Got Out of a Twitter Pitch Contest

This week I participated in my very first pitch contest on Twitter. It wasn’t a contest in that there were “winners” and “losers.” It was simply an opportunity to share a teaser for my completed book and see if any agents were interested, which they would indicate by liking or favoriting my pitch. What’s a…
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Saturday Six #16: Rides of Terror

I grew up just a couple hours from Cedar Point, one of the largest amusement parks in the U.S., and when we lived in Florida, we were only a half hour from Orlando, plus we visited family there and I went twice with my high school band. I love roller coasters, but I am generally…
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Birthin’

Today, my youngest turns four. As I always do on each of the kids’ birthdays, I’m reflecting on the circumstances of his birth: when and how it started (pathetic, infrequent contractions the day after his due date); how long it took (4 hours of active labor); those final moments before we met him (in the…
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Saturday Six #15: Freighter Fun Facts

Sometimes I’m on the fence about doing research for my historical novels. I absolutely love making discoveries that will fit into the books, but I confess to being a terrible nonfiction reader. It takes me forever to complete research, whether using primary or secondary sources, and I get distracted very easily. It’s a wonder I…