Most of the time being a school librarian is a great day job for being a writer. Lots of access to both kids and books. However, one negative is that working in a school makes it almost impossible for me to visit any other schools as an author. It seems that my staff and students [...]
Here it is. My latest project.
Wow. I always feel a little awed and mystified as to where all those words and pages came from when I first see it printed. Anyone else?
And now to figure out how to get it to all make sense….
It’s not DONE done, or even Done done, but it’s done: I finished my draft of MALCOLM. Whew! It’s only been….um…a little over two years. Granted, I did have 13 other books under contract that I had to write during the first year and a half. But, yeah, I’m a slow writer. Both my boys [...]
All the winners have been announced now.
It’s funny; I’ve never once considered what I’m working on to be an “animal fantasy.” But I guess that does fit. Who knew!
Well, today began with a full-body sidewalk sprawl on my morning run, but it ended up with a call telling me that I’m the runner-up for the SCBWI General Work-in-Progress grant! For MALCOLM AT MIDNIGHT!
Aside from being delighted overall, I’m encouraged that it was for this story. I’ve been describing it as a humorous middle grade [...]
Yes, I am! In fact, I’m presenting there. And signing books (Lerner booth, Sunday 12:15). Come see me! Here’s the scoop on the presentation:
Nonfiction Book Blast!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Convention Center Room W181
10:30 am to 12:00 pm
ALA Annual Conference, Chicago
wiki at http://nfbookblast.pbworks.com/
Track: Children & Young Adults; Literature & Collection Development
Despite the emphasis on fiction for leisure [...]
Eek! There’s an interview with Don and me about our Last Night for Dinner series in our local arts/entertainment newspaper, Volume One. It’s out now so you can pick it up when you’re out and about. Or go read it here. (But only if you promise to promptly erase any memory of what I look like in [...]
“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.” ~ Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a snow day is the single-most exciting occurrence in a school year. There’s nothing like it. Christmas break? Spring [...]
The last time someone fell through the ice at Shay’s pond was nearly a hundred and fifty years ago.
It was me.
When I fell through it was just a [stupid] accident. My cap blew off in that March gale. It cartwheeled over the snow drifts and across the pond. I ventured out after it. Craaack—ker-splunk. [...]
Non-writer friends often ask how I find time to write with 2 kids and a full-time job. Here’s one of my tricks:
It’s especially effective if you turn up your iPod and lock the door.
I just found out from Scholastic and Booklinks that my Booklinks interview with Cynthia Lord is going to be included in a new paperback teachers’ edition of Cynthia Lord’s Newbery Honor-winning novel, RULES. The entire article will appear in the back of the book–including the sidebar on the literature circle blogging unit I did at my school with the book! [...]
