Last week I pressed send. Not to an agent or an editor. But to 10 beta readers. I finally have a draft of Half-Truths, which is ready to be critiqued! Eight years ago Joyce Hostetter challenged me to join her in NaNoWriMo. I'd been thinking about writing a novel and had a rough idea what… Continue reading Marking a Milestone
Congratulations to Linda Phillips who won an autographed copy of BE LIGHT LIKE A BIRD on last week's blog. Several years ago I bought Karen Harrington's book, SURE SIGNS OF CRAZY (Little Brown Books, 2013) at a SCBWI conference. As my bookshelves fill up with newer books, sometimes older ones take a back seat. Deciding it was… Continue reading Sure Signs of Crazy: A Review and Autographed Giveaway!
It's been over a month since I've returned from summer camp at Highlights. In this last post I leave you some of my lasting impressions from the week. When you attend a workshop at Highlights Foundation, this Welcome sign on the Barn will greet you, as well as a sign on the screen window of your… Continue reading Moments and Memories: Summer Camp at Highlights Part V
Today I'm pleased to bring you a distillation of Susan Campbell Bartoletti's excellent key note, "The DIY Home Guide to Repair for Your Story." Her lecture was rich and I can only touch on some of her presentation--but look for a future book review that will use additional material from her talk. In preparing for… Continue reading Susan Says: Summer Camp at Highlights Part IV
I first met Jan Cheripko, author of Rat; Sun, Moon, Stars, Rain; and Imitate The Tiger, when we both presented at a South Carolina Reading Association conference several years ago. I admire his tight prose in which young men face peer pressure and/or tough choices. His workshop at camp was on secondary characters and transitions. Since I'd… Continue reading Gems from Jan: Summer Camp at Highlights Part III