A few weeks ago, I posted book trailers and release dates for a slew of Austin authors. This past Sunday, November 14th, a trifecta book launch party was held at Austin’s Book People for Bethany Hegedus, Brian Yansky, and Cynthia Leitich Smith. For some reason, I’m unable to load the adorable photo of the day’s… Read more »
Happy Friday! It’s been a hectic week in my little corner of the world. I won’t bore you with the challenges of being home with a sick child while the refrigerator goes on the blink. And I refuse to paint the pitiful picture of ice chests now holding the contents of said fridge and freezer…. Read more »
Looking for a good book about the craft of writing? You’ll probably find one on my book shelves. Geez, I’ve collected quite a library of how-to books. You’ll note that some of these titles aim to improve writing conventions; some are geared to the researcher; some are geared to fiction; others are geared to the… Read more »
I recently submitted a NF manuscript to a few agents. Twenty-four hours later, a new worry crept into my mind. I hadn’t included an Author’s Note with my submission. I had followed the agents’ guidelines, keeping my query and cover letters to one page. I certainly didn’t want to add word count and pages to… Read more »
In a previous post, I mentioned the importance of having a fresh angle when writing nonfiction picture books. You might think historical subjects like George Washington, Charles Darwin, Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, Abraham Lincoln, and Frida Kahlo have been “overdone.” Here are a few titles that remind us of the remarkable and little known chapters… Read more »
Many of the nonfiction books I’ve featured have involved historical subjects and biographies. Today, let’s look at some titles set closer to home. Regional nonfiction for kids. After all, every kid should know about his/her home state. Now, my state of Texas is, well, BIG, and there are oodles of titles hitting the shelves each… Read more »
From Left: Lisa Wheeler, Stephanie Greene, Sarah Sullivan, Don Tate Obviously, I’m a little behind with blog posts of late. I spent the last two weeks putting a spit-shine on my current work-in-progress, which is now in the hands of my dream agent. Keep fingers crossed! I can’t let another day go by without sharing… Read more »
Mark your calendars folks. The good news in and around the Austin kid-lit community keeps rolling in. If you miss Cynthia Leitich Smith or Brian Yansky or Bethany Hegedus at the Texas Book Festival, don’t despair. They’re joining forces for one of the biggest book launch parties in Central Texas. Sunday, November 14, 2010. 2:00pm… Read more »
Featured Authors:Cynthia Leitich Smith Lisa RailsbackBrian Yansky Chris BartonApril Lurie Bethany HegedusI hope I haven’t missed anyone Every Fall, when the temperature finally drops below ninety degrees and the humidity plummets to an energizing low, I can feel Texas Book Festival weekend approaching. Well, here it is. The 2010 Texas Book Festival rolls out the… Read more »
My son is a talented baseball player. Besides his regular team instruction, Kiddo works with a private coach to more individually hone his pitching and batting skills. Coach Brock is a former pro baseball ball player and is wonderful at breaking baseball skills down to their most fundamental movements. It requires strategy, strength, and instinct…. Read more »
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