I have a new post up on the Emu’s Debus blog about dealing with impatience and how my forthcoming book has grown alongside my youngest son. Check it out, y’all. https://emusdebuts.wordpress.com/
Writers and Illustrators in the kidlit world are special people, don’t you think? Our goal is to wrangle empowerment, entertainment, engagement, and hopefullness for children. Sometimes, remarkable things blossom from this community of children’s writers and illustrators. Today, let’s talk about two movements that we should all support: We Need Diverse Books is a grassroots… Read more »
Do you approach research as a chore or as a scavenger hunt? I easily get caught up in the awe of research. If someone had told my teenage self that I’d grow up to be a research addict, I would have spewed Orange Crush out my nose. Fast forward a decade or two to my… Read more »
Today is the birthday of Lyndon Baines Johnson. Yesterday was the birthday of Mother Teresa. Tomorrow is the birthday of Roger Tory Peterson. How do I know this? Because I’ve got a whopper of a cool blog, celebrating picture book biographies, one birthday at a time. By the end of 2014, there will be approximately… Read more »
A perennial favorite… Kid-Friendly books about the Writing Process There are wonderful books aimed at inspiring children to write and read. Now that school has started, I thought I’d share a bundle of titles that I’ve come across. Some of these books are useful during school visits. Others are wonderful classroom additions. All of them… Read more »
This was a fun package to open last week. Two books in Capstone Press’ new series about horses. It was pure coincidence that the first books they asked me to write were about horses. They didn’t know that I’ve been a lifelong horse lover/owner and that I spent my youth in horse show rings. Capstone… Read more »
What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything? –Vincent Van Gogh Writing is a scary endeavor, don’t you think? There’s that frightful blank page staring at us, taunting us, daring us; then the first sentence; the first paragraph; the first manuscript page; the ending; and all those paramount decisions we make… Read more »
**NOTE: THIS POST WAS WRITTEN IN 2014. I HAVE SINCE DIVORCED AND PUBLISHED FIVE MORE BOOKS. THANKFULLY, I CHOSE TO PUBLISH UNDER MY MAIDEN NAME. I’m having a whopper of an identity crisis. Well, not That kind of crisis. I mean, I’m not aiming for a red convertible, a party cruise, or a cute cabana… Read more »
UPDATE: PLEASE NOTE THAT I AM NOT INVOLVED WITH THE MOVIE, AND I DO NOT RECEIVE UPDATES ABOUT ITs PRODUCTION. THE MOVIE IS BASED ON THE BOOK, BEAUTIFUL JIM KEY: THE LOST HISTORY OF THE WORLD’S SMARTEST HORSE, BY MIM EICHLER RIVAS. I’m as eager as you are, but I cannot answer move-related questions. That… Read more »