Six weeks ago, I shared my excitement that HALF-TRUTHS was finally on submission. At that point, the answer to the question, "What's Next?" was to query agents and editors. For those of you who are writers, you know that process can take a long time. Agents and editors are backed up and although I've sent the full manuscript in response… Continue reading What's Next?
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
A few weeks ago I posted my You're Almost in Labor! blog. I shared that the next step in my publishing journey was engaging Deborah Halverson to help get my "baby" ready to send to agents and/or publishers. As I waited for her feedback and editorial letter, I got nervous. What if she didn't like HALF-TRUTHS? Or worse, what if she… Continue reading The Next Step: The Editorial Letter
If you're reading this and have been pregnant for nine long months, or if you've been close to someone during that-seemingly-endless amount of time waiting for a baby, then you know how pregnant mamas look forward to their delivery date.Many people compare publishing a book to having a baby. So, when I contacted Rebecca Kurta, Elliott Kurta's mom (my… Continue reading "You're Almost in Labor!" A Celebration of Stages
"This is the house that the Hinkle sisters lived in, and that's the muddy river where Thomas and Jackie fished together." Joyce Hostetter pointed out the car window as we drove around around her hometown, Hickory, NC--the setting for her Bakers Mountain Series. "See that old building? That's the hosiery factory where Junior worked for a few days. Over there… Continue reading STORIES IN JOYCE'S BACKYARD: A "PICK-YOUR-OWN" GIVEAWAY!
Congratulations to Connie Saunders who won Vijaya Bodach's new novel, BOUND. Thanks to all of you for your comments the last three weeks; both Vijaya and I appreciated hearing from you. ******* Many of you have been following my blog for years and some of you are new readers. My "old" followers are familiar with… Continue reading Celebrate Black History Month With These Books
Congratulations to Becky Scharnhorst for winning A Tough Act to Follow and Acting Innocent and to Mel Hager for winning WONDERLAND. One of my favorite stories to listen to as a child was, The Little Engine That Could. The voice of the little blue engine who took on the insurmountable challenge of bringing… Continue reading Plan to Persevere