Welcome to my new blog, which now includes content from many of the blogs I’ve created over the years. You can now also access content via category from this one page instead of having to search for my individual blogs, which were scattered over various platforms and websites.
Paul Coccia is a Toronto author with an MFA in Creative Writing from UBC and an avid home-baker. His debut young adult novel, Cub, is part of Orca’s Soundings Series: short, high-interest novels specifically for teens. Paul lives and bakes with his nephew, three dogs and a little grey parrot. You can find . . .
Ishta Mercurio is an author and actor. Raised in Cincinnati, she has traveled to England, Scotland, Italy, France, and all over the United States. She now lives in Brampton, Ontario, where she films and photographs plants and wildlife, from the tall to the small, in her backyard. I met Ishta through . . .
Pat Cummings was one of my first illustration mentors, through the SCBWI Illustration Mentorship Program, and I’ve valued her friendship ever since. She’s smart, funny, honest — and incredibly experienced in the world of creating children’s books. I’m thrilled to have her visit my blog! Author and/or illustrator of over 40 . . .
Although I’ve been embracing Donalyn Miller’s #BookADay challenge year-round, I don’t always have a chance to post about what I’m reading. You can see my archive of my #BookADay and book recommendation posts here. One of my #BookADay reads: BREAKOUT by Kate Messner, illustrated by Ellen Lindner (Bloomsbury). Also see Debbie’s Reading Journal as well as . . .
For more info about Cindy Pon, the author who said “Don’t let fear of writing poorly stop you from writing. That’s why we revise….”, see CindyPon.com.
THE VERY LAST CASTLE is written by Travis Jonker and illustrated by Mark Pett, and I adore the main character, Ibb! This picture book came out from Abrams Books For Young Readers last October. Read the *starred review* in Kirkus! SYNOPSIS: “A curious little girl watches the man who guards the last castle . . .
Reading any of Mahtab Narsimhan’s books always make me hungry for Indian food! EMBRACE THE CHICKEN is part of the Orca Currents collection: “short, high-interest novels with contemporary themes written specifically for middle-school students reading below grade level. Reading levels from grade 2.0 to 5.0. Interest level ages 10-14.” A thoroughly enjoyable . . .
“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” – Stephen King Related: How To Find Time To Read More Books In 2019.
No guarantee that my middle grade novel will ever be published; that’s out of my control. I’m trying to focus on what I can control: (1) Writing the best book I possibly can, and (2) FINISHING the book.