The perils of Junior High

by | Feb 3, 2008 | Uncategorized

Nobody told me my face would break out if I started writing Middle Grade fiction, but it has! And do you think it’s a coincidence? Hmmm??? I don’t think so. The universe has decided if I’m going to embarrass my characters like that, then I too shall...

Books for boys vs. books for girls?

by | Feb 3, 2008 | Uncategorized

As most of you know, I have recently moved to a small community. I have been very fortunate to make friends with Susan, the library manager, and lover of children’s books. She, being the nice person that she is, asked me to accompany her to visit the Grade 7...

An interview with Eileen Cook

by | Feb 3, 2008 | Uncategorized

The release date is February 5th, so order yours now! To celebrate this momentous occasion, here is an interview with the always kind, and definitely hilarious, Eileen Cook. I asked her to answer five questions, but she couldn’t pass up sharing her most...

My Writing Room – Finally!

by | Feb 3, 2008 | Uncategorized

When we bought this house, this is what my future office looked like: Now, after lots of painting, some trips to Ikea, and a lot of hard work, I have a lovely writing room! In this picture, the wall looks a little more blue than it is. It’s really a deep, rich,...

Reality Chick by Lauren Barnholdt

by | Feb 2, 2008 | Need to Read

This is a really fun book. It’s reality TV, it’s chick lit, and it’s really well done. When I read one of Barnholdt’s other books, a while back, I was appalled at the number of continuity errors. I just couldn’t imagine how they all got...

The Liar’s Diary

by | Jan 28, 2008 | Uncategorized

In the book world, you could probably call Tuesday, January 29th, Patry Francis Day. Today her debut novel is released and bloggers around the world are stepping in to help her promote it because she can’t do it herself. Just when Patry should be concentrating...

Louisanna’s Song by Kerry Madden

by | Jan 27, 2008 | Need to Read

This is the second book in the trilogy. You’ll notice that the first book, Gentle’s Holler, is on my Fave Fifteen for 2007. It’s a long year ahead, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see this one on the 2008 list! It’s really, really good....

Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

by | Jan 24, 2008 | Need to Read

I don’t care what anyone says, I loved this book and think if you liked the first one, you’ll like this one. I’ve heard, although I am not going to go looking for them, nor am I going to read them, that this book did not get good reviews. Who cares?...

Who says boys don’t read?

by | Jan 23, 2008 | Daily Writings

Many “experts” say that too many boys don’t read, when in reality, what they mean is boys don’t read fiction, which for some reason, seems to be the only thing that counts. Even Jerry Spinelli said he didn’t read as a child, and then he...

Reading yes, posting…slack

by | Jan 17, 2008 | Need to Read

Hi. I’ve been reading loads, but I haven’t been posting because I’ve been writing. I keep putting it off until I have time to do it properly, but I never make the time, so I’ve decided to cut myself some slack. Here’s what I’ve read...

Irresponsible characters

by | Jan 16, 2008 | Daily Writings

In the MG that I am working on now (yep, I made a choice to write the MG series), I am dealing with some very irresponsible characters. My husband and I believe in leaving a small footprint. We downsized our house to 900 sf, and if my husband could talk me into it,...

Irresponsible Characters

by | Jan 16, 2008 | Uncategorized

Part of the story of my new book has to do with my character’s impending move into a McMansion. My character is worried about somebody hiding in her walk-in closet, but she, nor her parents, is the type to consider it a bad thing for three people to move into a...

Choosing Character Names

by | Jan 13, 2008 | Daily Writings

When I was a kid, I had some really good names picked out for my twenty or thirty children that I’d need to use them all. Luckily, I became a writer, so I get to use them now. My main characters often tell me their names, but when it comes to secondary...

Something old? Something New?

by | Jan 11, 2008 | Daily Writings

I finished my revision last week. Now I am in the odd position of choosing a new project. I say odd, because I almost always have something that someone wants me to revise (an agent, an interested editor, me, etc.) and now I don’t. I do have a manuscript that...

Peace, Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson

by | Jan 4, 2008 | Need to Read

Of course I’d heard of Jacqueline Woodson, but somehow her books seemed to have slipped under my radar. There’s one pretty good explanation for this…if you are a very popular author then your books are usually checked out and it’s not very...

First Sale of the Year

by | Jan 4, 2008 | Daily Writings

  Made a sale today. Not bad, eh? Not a book, but another article to the Society of Children’s Book Writer’s and Illustrators. I don’t think this one will be as topical as my last one, Red Hair Is Not As Uncommon As You Think, but hopefully it will...

Bridge to success?

by | Jan 1, 2008 | Daily Writings

Bridges are not my favorite things. I don’t quite have a phobia about them, but let’s just say when the bridge in Minneapolis collapsed last year, I was not reassured about any bridge. Ironically, I was born and raised in Bridgetown (aka Portland, OR)....

Bridge to success?

by | Jan 1, 2008 | Uncategorized

The Fremont Bridge, Portland OR For as long as I can remember, I have had dreams about bridges and they are never good. Generally, the bridge either ends about half way across, or it goes up and up and up and then I drive off the end of it into the air and I’m...