Don’t you love to find an actual letter in your mail box? One addressed to you by name, in beautiful script, with a real stamp peeling away on one corner. Not something with advertising splashed across the envelope and a pre-sorted, bulk-mail, postage meter imprint giving away the low-class value of the information inside.
I love letters. Yet, I rarely write or receive one. Until this summer, of course. Now, I’m getting two or three per week from the wonderful granddaughters in my Serendipity Circle. Now, Dear Reader, I’ll let you in on our game, and even tell you how to play if you want.
After I wrote The Secret of Serendipity, I wanted to gather all our granddaughters in a room and have a book club with them each week to discuss the story, the characters, the conflicts that arose. I wondered what their amazing minds would dream up from what they had read.
One problem: We live more than five hours apart, and I have day job. Or two.
Thus was born the Serendipity Circle. It is a long-distance book club we do through letters. I created a set of discussion questions, had stationary desgined, and put together a kit that even includes pretty stamps. Each girl answers one question and mails me a letter. I respond with my thoughts on the same question. And around we go. Of course, I’m answering each question several times, but that is perfectly fine with me!
And their answers are dazzling. They see things in my characters I had not expected, and they reveal things about themselves at the same time. I’m not sure we would have gotten to this same place sitting in a room together or talking over Google Chat. There is something about pencil on paper that allows one’s thoughts to flow in a deeper way sometimes.
If you would like to start a Serendipity Circle with a child you love, I’m happy to help. I can mail you a full kit including the book, questions, stationary, and stamps. Or I can just send you the questions. I can even send an electronic copy if you are reading on Kindle.
You can contact me in the comment sections below or send me an email at kathy@kathynick.com to talk about details. Or find me on any of my social media sites.
You can also just make up your own questions and start writing letters! Any child you love will be happy to hear from you this week. I guarantee it.
Love it! my mothers family years ago used to do the round robin, the letter started with my Grandmother and then went to each child and progressed around the country. Most of her children live out of state. as the letter went to each household everyone got caught up on each other. Days gone by. (sigh). I do love getting a letter. But do I send them? NO! shame on me.
Oh, yes! Wendell’s family did a Round Robin for years, too. It was wonderful.