It's been a long time since I've published a "You Heard It Here First" blog post. It's been an even longer time since I first began writing Half-Truths. My first blog was in 2007 when I wrote about attending a SCBWI-Carolinas conference and finding my character's voice. Since then, I've written over 100 blog posts about this… Continue reading YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST- HALF-TRUTHS HAS A HOME!
This post has been a long time coming. About 16 years long. There have been times when I thought I was ready to submit my middle-grade novel, HALF-TRUTHS. But now I KNOW it. IN THE BEGINNINGFrom the beginning, I imagined a story about a white girl and a light-skinned Black girl discovering that they were second… Continue reading On Submission
If you're a writer, then someone has probably said to you: "So, are you done with your book yet?" If the person who you are talking to loves you then he may say, "How's the book coming along?" Which is a softer, kinder way of saying the same thing. Either way, most people who are not… Continue reading Revision Revisited
Earlier this summer three of my friends attended the American Library Association's Annual Conference in New Orleans. I asked Jo Hackl, Rebecca Petruck, and Linda Phillips to share their perspective on presenting their books to thousands of librarians. I found this picture on Facebook. A writer just happened to be in New Orleans during the… Continue reading Triple Play @ ALA!
Congratulations to Rosi Hollinbeck who won BACKFIELD BOYS from last week's blog. Rosi is my California counterpoint since she reviews and gives away books too. You might want to follow her blog! Many of my faithful blog followers have read about how Rebecca Petruck has mentored me while I've written Half-Truths. She's guided me through… Continue reading Boy Bites Bug: A Review and an E-Book Giveaway!
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
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
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
"Great story, Carol! Honestly, I have very little to say except can I read more?? It sounds very polished, the writing is excellent, and I love the characters. It sounds from the synopsis that you have a very well thought out book and an interesting story. GREAT first line! Love it. You've gotten into the… Continue reading Conversations with Kathy: Summer Camp at Highlights Part II
Congratulations to Joyce Hostetter who won the autographed copy of "The Great Call of China" on last week's post. Trust me, her winning was independent of this post! A Bible Lesson The ancient Israelites had a problem. In a battle with their enemies the Amalekites, Moses and Aaron noticed that whenever Moses held up his hand,… Continue reading Aaron Moments: A Tribute to Friendship