Ellen Leventhal | Writing Outside the Lines |

25 Aug Commemorating the “Almost Original” FLOOD OF KINDNESS and a GIVEAWAY!

Posted at 06:46h in children's literature, empathy, flood clean up, floods, friendship, Houston, kid lit, kindness, memories, nature, picture books, reflection, Texas, tropical storm, writing by Ellen Leventhal 14 Comments

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Dear Readers, I usually post interviews about other kid-lit creators, but today, the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Harvey, I'd like to tell you a little about the background of our book, A FLOOD OF KINDNESS. I know the book is not new, but I hope it's...

31 Dec Here We Go! Happy New Year!

Posted at 21:22h in authors, children's literature, critique groups, friendship, kindness, masks, new year, pandemic, reflection by Ellen Leventhal 12 Comments

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Here we are at the end of another challenging year. But somehow, we made it. I'm not sure I like the "new normal," but we don't have much choice. When my friends had books releasing in 2020 and couldn't do much in-person publicity, I felt so...

01 Jan A YEAR THAT WILL LIVE IN INFAMY

Posted at 00:23h in authors, children's literature, holidays, kid lit, kindness, new year, pandemic, picture books, reflection, writing by Ellen Leventhal 10 Comments

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With apologies to FDR, I am happy to say good-bye to “a year that will live in infamy.” The pandemic, economic problems, and social and political unrest were the earmarks of this year. It makes me sad, but not without hope. Although this blog is usually...

17 Jun Summer Reading 2020

Posted at 23:19h in authors, chapter books, children's literature, diversity, kid lit, middle grade, non-fiction, pandemic, reflection by Ellen Leventhal 4 Comments

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It's Summer 2020, and most of us find ourselves in a new, strange position. Years from now, how will we remember this time? Historic? Uncertain? Unprecedented? Maybe The Summer of Zoom and Heartbreak. I've sat down to write this post countless times. It didn't feel right...

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...

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...

09 May Ten Year Anniversary! But Why?

Posted at 01:27h in authors, children's literature, kid lit, marketing, picture books, publishing, reflection, revision, writing by Ellen Leventhal 2 Comments

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People always ask me why we “reinvented” Don’t Eat the Bluebonnets and published a new version. After all, it was a good story. It’s a great question that deserves a great answer. So I'll try to answer it as best I can. We really liked the old...

07 Jan Small Successes

Posted at 09:23h in authors, children's literature, critique groups, failures, holidays, kid lit, marketing, new year, picture books, reflection, revision, Uncategorized, writing by Ellen Leventhal 6 Comments

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Each January first, I beat myself up. Not literally, of course, but it's still pretty painful. I focus on everything I did not accomplish during the past year. Was I lazy? Not good enough? What was it? Turns out that type of thinking is not...

24 Nov Thank You, Charles Schulz

Posted at 20:03h in children's literature, kid lit, reflection, Uncategorized, writing by Ellen Leventhal 2 Comments

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Like most people today, I'd like to wish all who celebrate, a Happy Thanksgiving and all who don't celebrate, a Happy Thursday. This is the time of year when everyone takes a break to be thankful. I love that, I really do. BUT, here's the...

31 Mar Bluebonnets Part Two…Moving On

Posted at 18:08h in children's literature, kid lit, picture books, publishing, reflection, revision, Texas, Uncategorized, writing by Ellen Leventhal 9 Comments

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Ellen Rothberg and I loved our book, Don't Eat the Bluebonnets. Lots of other people loved it too. It had heart, great illustrations, and kids connected with it. Ahh...