Ellen Leventhal | Writing Outside the Lines |

12 Nov Writing, Marketing, and Living in the Age of Social Media

Posted at 23:11h in authors, children's literature, failures, kid lit, marketing, picture books, reflection by Ellen Leventhal 12 Comments

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In the nineteen sixties there was an ad campaign titled “The Pepsi Generation." The people in the commercials frolicked on the beach, danced at amazing parties (where nobody was left out or feeling anxious), and when they smiled, their perfect mouths were filled with sparkly...

04 Apr Gayle Krause, New Book, Fabulous Giveaway!

Posted at 13:12h in authors, children's literature, critique groups, kid lit, marketing, picture books, publishing, Uncategorized, writing by Ellen Leventhal 10 Comments

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One of the best parts of being involved in the children's literature community is the friends I've made. I am so happy that the prolific author, Gayle Krause, is one of those friends. Thanks for dropping by, Gayle. I am thrilled to have you. Thank you for...

22 Dec ON FLOODS AND WRITING

Posted at 20:08h in authors, children's literature, critique groups, flood clean up, floods, Houston, kid lit, new year, picture books, publishing, reflection, revision, Texas, Uncategorized by Ellen Leventhal 5 Comments

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I was recently asked how long it took me to write Lola Can’t Leap. The answer is far from simple. And I absolutely would not have gotten it done without the love and support of all my friends in the KidLit community! I started thinking...

08 Dec Holiday Hero

Posted at 16:29h in children's literature, holidays, kid lit, rhyme, Uncategorized by Ellen Leventhal 11 Comments

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IT'S BACK! SUSANNA HILL'S ANNUAL HOLIDAY STORY CONTEST! We all know that children's stories shouldn't be long, especially when holiday treats are scattered all around! What child wants to listen to a long drawn out story when visions of sugar plums are dancing in his head? ...

08 Apr Author Cynthia Surrisi

Posted at 13:58h in authors, children's literature, critique groups, kid lit, middle grade, picture books, publishing, revision, Uncategorized, writing by Ellen Leventhal 2 Comments

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I am thrilled to highlight the versatile, talented, and all around wonderful author, Cynthia Surrisi. I "met" "Cynthia in The Best 2018 Picture Book Release Group Ever", and I'm glad I did. Sit down, grab a cup of coffee and a cookie, because Cynthia has...

02 Mar Nancy Takes Her Shot! An Interview with Nancy Churnin

Posted at 02:12h in authors, bullying, children's literature, diversity, kid lit, marketing, non-fiction, picture books, publishing, revision, Uncategorized by Ellen Leventhal 2 Comments

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A few years ago, I was fortunate to meet fellow Texan, Nancy Churnin, while at Kristen Fulton’s WOW retreat in Georgia. I knew that Nancy had written a book about a Deaf baseball player, and I was intrigued. I couldn’t wait to meet her. The...

31 Oct Author, Jenna Grodzicki

Posted at 21:28h in authors, children's literature, critique groups, kid lit, picture books, Uncategorized, writing by Ellen Leventhal 5 Comments

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Today, Jenna Grodzicki popped in to visit. I first met Jenna at Kristen Fulton's WOW retreat in July 2016. I clearly remember talking to her on a shuttle on the way into town. She was telling me about her upcoming book, Pixie's Adventure, and I was...

03 Oct Unnatural Disasters and Children’s Stories

Posted at 18:10h in children's literature, failures, floods, Houston, kid lit, Texas, Uncategorized by Ellen Leventhal 5 Comments

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Show of hands. Anyone else find it hard to keep going? I know, I know. So many of us, right? It’s been a difficult month. Earthquakes, fires, hurricanes, and floods. Natural disasters of great magnitude. I can speak for Houstonians when I say that we...

28 Sep Author, Melissa Stoller

Posted at 18:36h in authors, chapter books, children's literature, critique groups, Houston, kid lit, publishing, revision by Ellen Leventhal 5 Comments

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Since Horrible Hurricane Harvey decided to pay an uninvited visit to Houston, I have been trying to keep my head above water (pun intended). I was stuck in flood mode for a long time, but happily last weekend, I went to the N. Texas SCBWI...

04 Aug Love Your Story

Posted at 03:01h in authors, children's literature, critique groups, failures, kid lit, middle grade, non-fiction, picture books, Uncategorized, writing by Ellen Leventhal 11 Comments

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A group of writers and I are reading a wonderful book called Fearless Writing by William Kenower. I won't say it has been life changing, but I will say it has made me look at my writing and other parts of my life in a...