22 Dec My Sideways Life!
I have no idea why the pictures on my last blog post came out sideways! I hope it's not an omen on the new year! My apologies!! ...
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
5 Comments
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
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
2 Comments
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
2 Comments
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
5 Comments
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
5 Comments
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...
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
11 Comments
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...
02 Mar #50PreciousWords
Posted at 20:17h
in authors, children's literature, Dr. Seuss, kid lit, picture books, publishing, Uncategorized, writing
10 Comments
It's time! It's here! It's short!! In honor of Dr. Seuss's birthday, Vivian Kirkfield has challenged writers to write a short (very short!) story using only fifty words. Did you know that Green Eggs and Ham has only fifty words? Well, only fifty unique words. Dr. Seuss shuffled and repeated them...
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
6 Comments
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...