Please, refrain from throwing rotten fruit, tomatoes, bricks and other paraphenalia when I make my confession. I am really not going berserk waiting for the final Harry Potter book. (ducking and covering my head) It's not that I don't like HP, I do. I just didn't read all of the other ones first. (ducking again) I read the first 3 and then got busy ( Read more... )

As my son and I headed out to the car this morning we startled a raccoon in the neighbor's yard and he took off. And ran straight into their plastic wading pool! I mean he really smacked it... Poor thing. Most of the critters are used to us coming and going so this little scaredy guy was a surprise. And Mama Deer is trotting around with her twin ( Read more... )

I'm not making as much headway with my writing as I would like. Too many distractions, I guess. And I have got to stop checking the Internet for reviews of IPP! No comments on amazon yet -- and I would know because I check several times a day. I need to forget about that book (sniff-sniff) and focus on the current writing project. It's hard because ( Read more... )

Yesterday I did a reading at B&N and had a nice group of kids. We talked about the 4th of July first and then I asked about other holidays. They answered with the usual, Easter, Halloween, July 17th... Huh? One little girl was pretty sure that was a holiday but she didn't know which one. The regular storytime woman was there and after I read she ( Read more... )

It was time for some serious action. My writing room was a mess! So much clutter it made me dizzy... I've been sorting, recycling, removing, shifting and labeling for the past few days and it's looking a lot better. I really think my brain functions slower when I'm surrounded by so much clutter! And I'm tired of looking for things from manuscripts ( Read more... )

I've had three very different book readings/signings lately! The first one was the Summer Reading Kick-Off Program at my local B&N. BIG event -- all day long. I was only there for 2 1/2 hours. It was like a circus with hundreds of kids running through the store... The Science Station brought hissing cockroaches. I expected them to be the size of a ( Read more... )

This was the first annual Whispering Woods Picture Book Workshop and I can sum it up in one word -- FANTASTIC! Such a great group of talented and creative women all willing to be bombarded with information from me and my instructor-buddy Jill Esbaum. For a few, this was their first time to have their work critiqued by a group -- which takes a lot ( Read more... )

Busy making final preparations for the Whispering Woods Picture Book Workshop Weekend... It will be chockfull of information to help pb writers hone their skills and revise a manuscript so it will capture the eye of a discerning editor. I could have avoided so many mistakes over the years if I had gone to something like this when I was starting out ( Read more... )

I never considered myself a "hat person." Sure, I own some baseball caps -- one with the Cat in the Hat on it and another that says "writer." But today I discovered my inner "hat girl!" We went to the Marion Arts Festival which was wonderful as usual. But one artist drew me in like a moth to a flame -- she had handmade hats, scarves and blouses. ( Read more... )

It's been a bit of a whirlwind around here. The Impossible Patriotism Project came out on May 10. There's been 2 positive reviews so far (whew!) and there's stacks of it at my local B&N store. And I have the photos to prove it! I've been asked to be a part of the Summer Reading Program Kick-Off Party at my hometown B&N and that will be fun! And it' ( Read more... )