While NaNoWriMo is a wonderful motivating challenge for writers who are able to devote a big chunk of time during November to writing, some of us find it nearly impossible to keep up throughout the month. In my case, it’s usually because I’m away for a week at a board gaming convention . . .
Sarah McGuire and Fred Koehler were once both awkward teenagers who mostly grew out of it. Each draws on their unfortunate adolescence to write stories for young readers. They met at a writers conference and decided to get married. In common they share: love of travel and adventure, dogs over cats, and sci-fi . . .
Thanks to Nancy Tupper Ling and Andrea Offermann for answering Three Questions for me today! Their picture book, The Yin-Yang Sisters And The Dragon Frightful, comes out on Sept. 18th from G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers. Curious about how the cover got created? Read Andrea’s behind-the-scenes peek (with sketches and photos) on an earlier . . .
Rejection and criticism are part of publishing process, before AND after publication. Work on developing a thick skin early on and you’ll not only enjoy the journey more but also increase your chances of longterm success.
I met Deborah Kerbel through our local Torkidlit group. Deborah is the author of eight books for young readers. She was born in a police station, smack-dab in the centre of London, England but moved to Canada before she was old enough to cultivate a love of marmalade. She’s the proud mom . . .
I first met Jen Betton at the 2012 SCBWI Summer Conference in Los Angeles when she came up to introduce herself. She said my blog post about getting an Illustration Mentorship Award at the Portfolio Showcase inspired her to attend (!). Up to that point, she’d always thought of the SCBWI primarily for writers . . .
I met Helaine Becker through Torkidlit and Dow Phumiruk through the SCBWI, and I was so excited when I found out that they were collaborating on a picture book: COUNTING ON KATHERINE: HOW KATHERINE JOHNSON SAVED APOLLO 13. Their book is geared toward ages 5-9, launches from Holt Books For Young Readers on June 19, 2018 . . .
I met Kari Maaren through a filk music convention, and fell in love with her song Being Watson (which almost always makes teary-eyed). She also is cartoonist with a webcomic, West of Bathurst, and an active one, It Never Rains. After being a fan of her other work, I was VERY excited to find out she . . .
A while back, I raved about how much I enjoyed Kevin Sylvester’s first and second MINRs books for middle grade. Here’s my #BookADay post about the first MINRS book. With the third book in the series coming, I asked Kevin to tell my readers about his MiNRS series, offer some advice . . .
