In an effort to organize my writing space, I've resolved to post reviews on books that I read months ago but have put off reviewing. That's often because it's difficult to write a review that's worthy of the book. From the Publisher Barbara Abbott was eighteen when her father threatened to kill her if she… Continue reading A Head of Cabbage: A Poignant Memoir and A Mini-Interview
From the publisher: There are some friends you never forget. It's the summer of 1955. For Ethan Harper, a biracial kid raised mostly by his White father, race has always been a distant conversation. When he's sent to spend the summer with his aunt and uncle in small-town Alabama, his blackness is suddenly front and… Continue reading The Invincible Summer of Juniper Jones: A MG Review and Audiobook Giveaway
In honor of Black History Month, I'm introducing two books published by SPB Publishing. This publisher is a crossover of two Cherry Lake Publishing imprints: Sleeping Bear Press which specializes in fiction and nonfiction trade books, and the more academically-specialized Cherry Lake Press. Both books were published in 2021 but are still pertinent and will impact students for… Continue reading TWO MIDDLE GRADE NONFICTION BOOKS from SBP Publishing: Reviews and Giveaways
True confession. I am not a football fan. I don't know one play from another and when dragged to a high school game by my husband, will patiently wait until half-time and then beg to leave. (Let's hear it for the marching band!) But after listening to BACKFIELD BOYS (August, 2017 Farrar, Straus, and Giroux) by sports journalist John… Continue reading Backfield Boys: A Football Mystery- Audio CD Review and Giveaway
Congratulations to Joan Edwards who won RESTART from last week's giveaway. Thanks to almost five hundred people who read my second blog in this mini-series of posts about my WIP. That's a new record for a blog post about Half-Truths! In this post, Julian Daventry (the ring leader for these posts) challenged me and my fellow… Continue reading Shared WIP Tag III- The Story World
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a good title is worth at least as much. WHEELS OF CHANGE (Creston Books, 2014), Darlene Beck Jacobson’s debut middle grade novel, is exactly what it purports to be: a novel about change. And of course, about wheels. The story, based loosely on Jacobson’s grandmother, shows… Continue reading Wheels of Change: A Review, Autographed Giveaway, and Free Skype Visit!
As promised, today you're going to meet four women I have interviewed in the process of writing Half-Truths. I hope you'll enjoy a glimpse at their lives--"back in the day"-- and a few of their insights which have contributed to my book. Thereasea Elder T.D.'s Truths by Stanley and Janice Frazier In 1962, Thereasea was… Continue reading Meet My Experts–Part I
Ernest Gaines paints a compelling portrait of life in the late 1940's in a small Louisiana town. A young black teacher, Grant Wiggins, is caught in the middle of a number of struggles. A graduate of the local university, he is respected and the recipient of high expectations from the black community as well as feared… Continue reading A Lesson Before Dying