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Bonnie Doerr: On Book Series, School Visits, and Story Lines

As promised last week, here is the follow-up interview with Bonnie Doerr, author of three eco-novels for middle grade students.  CAROL: When you wrote Island Sting, did you have any idea that there would be two more books? BONNIE: Island Sting is a rework of Kenzie’s Key. The publisher of Kenzie's Key went out of… Continue reading Bonnie Doerr: On Book Series, School Visits, and Story Lines

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Tangled Lines: A Review and an Autographed Giveaway!

With the publication of TANGLED LINES (Seek, 2016), Bonnie Doerr completes her eco-mystery series that began with ISLAND STING (2010) and STAKEOUT (2012). All three middle grade books star "detectives" Kenzie Ryan and Angelo Sanchez figuring out an ecological crime that threatens their beloved Florida Keys.  Since many of you tell me you appreciate it when I interweave book reviews… Continue reading Tangled Lines: A Review and an Autographed Giveaway!

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This & That

Congratulations to Linda Andersen for winning a copy of Stake Out by Bonnie Doerr.  This week I am honored to be a guest blogger on Kathleen Fox's Funbrarian blog. Please mosey on over to her blog, read how librarians can encourage students' writing, and download some free handouts from my book, Teaching the Story: Fiction Writing… Continue reading This & That

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Stake Out–Giveaway!

Bonnie Doerr has done it again. Continuing the adventures of Kenzie of Island Sting fame, Doerr presents Stake Out (Leap Press, 2011) her second eco-mystery to take place in the Florida Keys. In the first book Kenzie helped to rescue the miniature Key deer. In this sequel, another great middle school novel for boys and girls, Kenzie… Continue reading Stake Out–Giveaway!

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My Next Big Thing

My friend and role model, Joyce Hostetter, tagged me last week in a work-in-progress meme called, "The Next Big Thing." You can read about Joyce's WIP here, and since I've had the privilege of reading parts of it, I can tell you that it will be great! Now it's my turn to answer eight questions… Continue reading My Next Big Thing

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Two Boy Geniuses & One Book Giveaway

I discovered Freak the Mighty (Blue Sky Press, 1993) and The Reinvention of Edison Thomas (Front Street Books/Boyds Mills Press, 2010) when I was preparing for recent workshops at NCRA. Both books feature strong boy protagonists and include science and math elements. Conventional writing wisdom is that the first few lines of  a story should grab the reader.… Continue reading Two Boy Geniuses & One Book Giveaway

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Island Sting

What better way to hook your readers than have your main character almost drown as she rescues an endangered Key deer and is fished out by a cute guy--all in the first 10 pages of your book? Those are the ingredients that author Bonnie Doerr uses to keep 5th-8th grade readers from putting down this… Continue reading Island Sting

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Island Sting

What better way to hook your readers than have your main character almost drown as she rescues an endangered Key deer and is fished out by a cute guy--all in the first 10 pages of your book? Those are the ingredients that author Bonnie Doerr uses to keep 5th-8th grade girl readers from putting down… Continue reading Island Sting