Congratulations to Jo Lynn Worden who won an autographed copy of "God's Blessings of Fall." Thanks to everyone who entered this popular giveaway. ******* I've been plotting and thinking about my next book, which is tentatively titled, TOXIC. It will be a sequel to HALF-TRUTHS with Kate's younger brother, Woody, as the main character. In… Continue reading Meet My New Experts: Four Korean War Veterans
Congratulations to Theresa Milstein who won Tomorrow's Bread from last week's blog. ******** One of the television shows my husband and I enjoy is Chopped. Besides watching the incredible creations the cooks come up with out of their mystery baskets, I like the final second when the cooks' time is up. They throw up their hands and step away… Continue reading I Finished My Book, Now What? Some ABC's of Being Between Books
Congratulations to Clara Gillow Clark and Dorothy Price who won the downloadable version of Eyes on the Prize from last week's blog. The night that I stayed up late to finish reading Joyce Hostetter's fourth book in the Bakers Mountain Stories series, DRIVE (Calkins Creek, 2018), I texted Joyce: "This is going to be a hard book to… Continue reading DRIVE: A Review and Two Giveaways!
Congratulations to Joyce Hostetter who won THE HERO TWO DOORS DOWN and to Clara Gillow Clark who won PACO'S PAINTBRUSH. Clara Gillow Clark is the blogger from whom I won FOOD FIGHT FIESTA. (And no, I didn't rig the contest. Random.org always picks my winners!) ******* Several weeks ago when I blogged about teaching at Write 2… Continue reading Fundamental STEPS to Writing Historical Fiction– Highlights 2018
As I mentioned last week, this is the second post in a two-part series on the variety of stages writers go through when producing a book. Thanks to Jean Hall who said that she is "always in the middle of creation or revision of picture books." Julian Daventry said, "I'm about to start editing my… Continue reading Four Writers and Four Writing Stages–Part II
I am honored to share the cover reveal for DRIVE, Joyce Hostetter's newest middle grade book that will be released in September by Calkins Creek. In this interview she gives you a glimpse of the backstory behind the latest in the Bakers Mountain Stories as well as the nitty gritty research she did. Take it away, Joyce!… Continue reading You Heard it Here First: Cover Reveal for DRIVE by Joyce Hostetter
Congratulations to my Grand Prize Winner, Charlene Lutes, who won a Hattie doll and an autographed copy of Hattie On Her Way; and to Connie Saunders who won an autographed copy of the book. Thanks to so many of you who entered this giveaway. Make sure you check out Clara's blog for a wonderful writerly giveaway! *********** I… Continue reading Shared WIP Tag IV: Questions on Writing
Congratulations to Joan Edwards who won a critique from Gayle Krause from last week's blog. ******* You pick up a book at the library or bookstore and start reading it. Maybe it catches your interest, maybe it doesn't. But one thing is for sure, if you're not a writer, you have no idea how much… Continue reading Re-Vision
This blog post is courtesy of Augusta Scattergood who gave me a copy of Linda Williams Jackson's debut middle grade novel, MIDNIGHT WITHOUT A MOON (Houghton Mifflin, 2017) and Vijaya Bodach who recommended Donald Maass's book, The EMOTIONAL CRAFT of FICTION (Writer's Digest Books, 2016). Since Half-Truths is on hold right now while I'm waiting for feedback from my readers,… Continue reading Midnight Without a Moon: A Review, ARC Giveaway, and Focus on "The Emotional Craft of Fiction"
As I mentioned two weeks ago, I recently completed teaching an eight-week class in writing fiction. I knew Joyce Hostetter's recent book, AIM, would appeal to both boys and girls and chose it as a mentor text for the class. Here are a few more reasons--from the perspective of my teen students--why you should read… Continue reading Teaching Fiction, Using AIM as a Mentor Text, and a Giveaway!