Here's a cool thing to do: go to author readings. Your public library or your local bookstore might have them, and they're usually free. It's heartening for the author, even if you don't buy their book; it boosts the library's attendance statistics, if it's at a library; and you get to be read to like a kid and entertained. And, if you're a writer ( Read more... )

Well, I have finished buying a ton of books as holiday gifts for friends and family - can I just say thanks to my pals who are having kids for giving me an excuse to buy Mo Willems books?


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You may recall me deciding, back in January, that this year I would read a bunch of the books I was embarrassed not to have read already. I made a list of fifteen "shame unreads" to cross off this year. Most are classic or new-but-wildly-popular YA or middle-grade books. I posted an update in May, at which point I had read six of the books ( Read more... )

My writers' group, a little local chapter of SCBWI, met today. Per usual, we had some good fun and batted around a few pieces of writing like kitty cats, only more concerned with character development and commas.

When we were talking about scene versus summary (the old "showing versus telling" business), I remembered that I once wrote a blog post ( Read more... )

Brian Jacques, author of the Redwall series, just passed away at age seventy-one.The Redwall series was a big deal to me as a kid and teenager. It was the first set of books I liked so much that I was willing to throw down my money (which was pretty scarce before I got old enough to babysit) for any one of them without having read it first. Even ( Read more... )

So, I just read The Hunger Games and its sequel, Catching Fire. Besides the fact that I am wildly in love with this trilogy, literally missed a meal one day while reading them because I forgot to eat, and would pretty much trade Suzanne Collins a kidney to get the last book, Mockingjay, before August because I MUST KNOW* . . . yes, besides all ( Read more... )

. . . is what I keep having to tell myself as I press on through the last fifth or sixth or so of The Dogwatchers. It's wildly exciting to be so close to the end, but there are definitely things over which I pause, torn, before saying, "FIRST DRAFT!" and continuing to write ( Read more... )

Grade school is relevant to me just now because we at the library are taking down our Summer Reading display. (Which is on the wall. And it's books for schools. So there's a Pink Floyd reference. See? NO, I AM DEFINITELY NOT REACHING.) These are the books either assigned or recommended by several of the local public schools. We get special ( Read more... )

. . . who'da thunk ( Read more... )

I've been spectacularly remiss in updating this journal, but lo! It is not forgotten. And I assure you that I've been much better at keeping up with my actual editing work and applications to graduate school. (I've now finished and submitted seven of those. Four more to go ( Read more... )