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Debbie’s Blog

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.

A comic for picture book writers

Revamped this comic for use in Part 2 of my “How WHERE ARE MY BOOKS? was created” series. The post also includes a free, downloadable 32-page picture book thumbnail sketch template.



Winning Halloween comic caption: Megan Maynor

Congrats to my Halloween comic caption winner, Megan Maynor. Megan’s first picture book, ELLA AND PENGUIN STICK TOGETHER, comes out from HarperCollins in 2016. You can see Megan signing her contract in her “Wait, It Took HOW Long To Sell A Book?” post on Word Disco. Here’s Megan’s winning caption: Runners-up: . . .



November is Picture Book Month! (and PiBoIdMo, NaNoWriMo)

November is Picture Book Month! Each day, you can find an inspirational essay by a children’s book writer or illustrator about the importance of picture books. ALSO, teachers and librarians can find curriculum connections compiled by educational consultant and children’s book author, Marcie Colleen (Marcie did the Teacher’s Guides for I’M . . .



Guest Post from Paper Lantern Lit Co-Founder Lexa Hillyer: Character WANTS and NEEDS

From Debbie: Thanks to Paper Lantern Lit for letting Inkygirl premiere their new series of GET LIT videos. In this video, YA author Lexa Hillyer talks about how to establish the right WANTS and NEEDS for your characters: Hello from Paper Lantern Lit, the “story architects!” We’re so excited to premiere our new video series, Get Lit, . . .



Comic: Personal Muse

And speaking of inspiration, don’t forget to check out the previous post from Paper Lantern Lit and former HarperCollins/Razorbill editor Lexa Hillyer about how to establish the right wants and needs of your characters.







CANSCAIP’s Packaging Your Imagination Conference

Thanks so much to CANSCAIP for inviting me to be a speaker at the Packaging Your Imagination conference at Humber College this past weekend. I had a fantastic time and once again appreciated what a wonderful kidlit/YA community we have here in Canada. I’ve posted some of my photos on Facebook and on Flickr. Kate Blair Thanks . . .