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.
Last year, I mentioned how much I enjoyed The Blackthorn Key by Kevin Sands (as Kirkus said, “a spectacular debut”) from Aladdin/Simon & Schuster. I’m excited that the sequel, Mark Of The Plague, launches today! Since escaping from university with a pair of degrees in theoretical physics, Kevin Sands has worked as a researcher, a business consultant, and a . . .
I read books in all formats: print, digital and audio. If the story is good, I’ll read in any format. I got curious about whether other people felt the same way, so I recently posted a one-question poll asking: “In the past year, how have you read books? Check all . . .
Just read Kevin Sylvester’s MiNRS 2 in one sitting, on the train to Buffalo. Or almost one sitting: I had to stop reading for a few minutes at U.S. Customs to answer the standard border crossing questions (I did keep reading in line until the very last minute). We were all told . . .
Back in May 2013, I posted an interview with Celia Lee, an editor at Cartwheel Books / Scholastic, and Celia invited Inkygirl readers to submit manuscripts for a limited time; apparently Celia received over a thousand submissions (!). A couple of years later, I met Josh Funk at nErDcampMI and found out that he had . . .
It’s been four years since my first children’s book came out. One thing I’ve learned since then: to pay more attention to the people and things around me. EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE can be a source of wonder and inspiration: a snippet of conversation, a secret smile, even someone’s shoes. Ask . . .
(Quote above & others available as free, print-ready posters for classrooms, libraries, bookstores and elsewhere here)
Just got back from the SCBWI Summer Conference in LA. My roommate was the amazing illustrator, Eliza Wheeler, and I had a chance to see her just-released picture book, THIS IS OUR BABY, BORN TODAY (Nancy Paulsen Books / Penguin). So sweet! And of course, gorgeously illustrated. For ages 3-5. . . .
“Write, write, write… The world is full of people with good ideas. The published authors are the ones who sat down and got them written.” – Jennifer Fallon