I am happy to be part of the Calkins Creek blog tour for Larry Dane Brimner's new informational book, Without Separation. INTRODUCTIONSince I'm interested in writing nonfiction picture books, I've taken several webinars recently with The Writing Barn. (BTW, they're affordable and a fantastic way to learn a new genre!). The last one I took was… Continue reading Without Separation: Prejudice, Segregation, and the Case of Roberto Alvarez- Picture Book Biography and Giveaway
Congratulations to Linda Andersen Gutheil who won FREE LUNCH from last week's blog. She plans to donate it to a local school. Thank you, Linda! This Promise of Change: One Girl's Story in the Fight for School Equality co-written by Jo Ann Allen Boyce and Debbie Levy is a book you won't be able to put down.… Continue reading This Promise of Change: A Review and Giveaway
Congratulations to Jo Lynn Worden for winning "You Are Mine, Porcupine." She is my cousin-in-law and has several porcupettes she'll read the book to! ******* Some writers use prompts or free writes when they're trying to figure out what their character is thinking or feeling, or what happens next in a story. I use poetry.… Continue reading After I Passed: Lillian's Poem
Congratulations to Connie Saunders who won Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop from last week's blog. When I read the blurb about MOTHERS OF MASSIVE RESISTANCE: White Women and the Politics of White Supremacy (Oxford University Press, 2018) in the Tantor Audio catalogue, I thought it might provide a different perspective on the Jim Crow era. It definitely did. … Continue reading Mothers of Massive Resistance: White Women and the Politics of White Supremacy: A Review and Audio Book Giveaway
Congratulations to Joyce Hostetter who won the autographed copy of Darlene Jacobson's book, WHEELS OF CHANGE. As promised several weeks ago, I want to share more about Vermelle Ely, one of my generous experts for Half-Truths, my WIP which takes place in Charlotte, NC in 1950. Vermelle and I in her Charlotte, NC home March,… Continue reading Meet My Experts III- Vermelle Diamond Ely
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"
Congratulations to Kathy Wiechman who won FIRE, COLOR, ONE from last week's blog. Three years ago I posted a blog about some of the people I'd interviewed for Half-Truths. These experts as well as other men and women willingly shared their life stories with me in order to make my story more authentic. Since I'm… Continue reading Meet My Experts – Part II
Congratulations to Jessica Jacobson, a new blog subscriber, who won SOLDIER BOYS from last week's blog. When Alan Gratz, a prolific NC author, presented a workshop at SCBWI-Carolinas in 2010 on Plot and Pacing, my blog was only a few years old and I was learning how to review books. Fast forward to 2016, and I've… Continue reading Liberty: A Review with a Focus on Writing Craft
Congratulations to Joyce Hostetter who won LONGBOW GIRL from last week's blog. I had promised you would hear the results of Sydney Kirsch's NaNoWriMo experience. But in typical "I-want-it-to-be-better" mode, Sydney wasn't quite satisfied with her guest post and is continuing to tweak it. Stay tuned, you'll read it soon! ***** As many of you know,… Continue reading The Lions of Little Rock: A Review
“As an African-American child growing up in the segregated pre-Civil Rights South, Sarah Bracey White pushed against the social conventions that warned her not to rock the boat, even before she was old enough to fully understand her urge to defy the status quo. In her candid and poignant memoir, Primary Lessons, White recalls a… Continue reading Primary Lessons: A Memoir by Sarah Bracey White