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April Fools Hijinx, TLA, Free Stuff, Oh My!

In what section of the library can you get bitten by a snake? —Hisssstory! What does a prank-loving author like me do when she’s booked for fourth-grade expository writing workshops on April Fool’s Day? Why, prank the librarian (sorry, David!) and infuse the workshops with a few shenanigans, of course. It was great fun to… Read more »

Spring 2019 Newsletter, a School Visit Offer, & a Cover Reveal

 Welcome to my March/Spring E-newsletter, reproduced here for your convenience. If you’d like to subscribe to my newsletter so that it arrives in your inbox, click here.  Special School Visit Offer Happy almost spring! Thank you for taking a few moments to read my e-news. While 2019 snuck in and raced through the first months,… Read more »

Meet me at TLA 2018!

I look forward to a school visit in Arlington the day after Easter, followed by three days at the Texas Library Association conference in Dallas. I’ll be schmoozing as many librarians and educators as possible during that time. If you will also be at TLA, please introduce yourself. Here’s my schedule:

MFA-Bound. Because I am Good at Doing Things Backwards

Hello, dear blog readers. Remember me? Once upon a time, I blogged very regularly. Then I got Very busy with writing projects in 2014. My year wrapped up something like this: I celebrated the January 2014 sale of En Garde! The Dueling Words of Abraham Lincoln (Peachtree, 2016.); I wrapped up two Capstone books for… Read more »

Two Causes Worth Supporting: We Need Diverse Books and Never Counted Out

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 »

A half-mast kind of day. Reflecting on the Connecticut Tragedy

  Like the rest of the country, I’ve been in a state of shock, grief, and confusion since last Friday’s horrifying tragedy in Connecticut. My heart goes out to the families of the slain victims, to the responding emergency personnel who will be forever changed by their traumatic duty, and to the Newtown community whose… Read more »

What’s coming up next on my blog

Whew! I polished up my newest WIP, sent it through my trusted critiquers, and buckled down in revision mode for a while. A few days ago, I sent this new project off to my agent. It’s likely she’ll ask for more revisions before it goes out into the world. That’s okay.  It’s all forward motion…. Read more »

Lookee! A Letter of Merit from SCBWI

A nice surprise flashed across my screen and into my mailbox this week. I’ve received a Letter of Merit from SCBWI in response to the 2012 Nonfiction Research Grant. *smiles* Back in February, I applied for the work-in-progress grant, hoping to nab the $2000 award to offset travel and other related research expenses related to the… Read more »