Blog: Writerly Ramblings
A Special Teacher’s Legacy
In early 2016, a teacher emailed me, looking for someone to conduct a week-long writing workshop for the all the third-graders in his school. We set up a phone interview, had a fruitful conversation, and before I knew it, Mr. Baker was referring to when my visits...
Book Love
You know that saying – you don’t really know what you have until it’s gone? In this case, it’s not really gone – just on hiatus. Hugs. From kids (who are not my own). The first time it happened at a school visit, I was surprised. I figured after an author does a...
The Heart of a Story
Pictures tell stories. Sometimes, those stories are placed in photo albums. Sometimes, they make their way into family lore. And once in a blue moon, they find their way into a picture book. Funny how the vision of a story begins, then evolves, and finally arrives at...
Literacy Gets Personal
2020 was a year of twists and turns, ups and downs—pick your cliché! Recently, my dad suffered a stroke. He has a road ahead of him and takes it day by day. Some days are and will be better than others. But my family is blessed to still have him. And as I say, he is...
Puzzles
When I was a kid, my family spent time in the Adirondacks. No TV. Just board games and...puzzles. And I’m talking big puzzles with lots (millions?) of pieces. Everyone seemed to get into it. Everyone, that is, except me. Spatial relationships—ugh, too much like math!...
The Picture of Joy
I’m very grateful to have received this photo! For an author, there is no higher compliment than to see a child react so purely and joyfully to something we created. In the life cycle of a story, we begin with this same unbridled enthusiasm. Let’s call this the...
Renewed Gratitude
Early in my writing career, a colleague mentioned that the writing is life is not for the thin-skinned. After all, she said, why would you want to be in a business where two of the most frequently-used words are “submission” and “rejection?” At the time, I laughed at...
Libraries
I’ve had some very special library experiences over the last few weeks, which inspired me to think about the importance of libraries in my life, overall. As a kid, the library was a haven for me. Our neighborhood branch was less than a mile from our house. On...
Right on Time
January 7, 2020, is publication day for my picture book Hosea Plays On (Sterling Children’s Books, illustrated by Shane W. Evans)! Based on a real street musician and community advocate, Hosea was originally slated for September 2018. I won’t tell you I wasn’t...
Gratitude & Empowerment
On August 26, 1920, Congress adopted the 19th Amendment (also known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment) to the U.S. Constitution—prohibiting denying the right to vote on the basis of sex. Working from the July 1848 first Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls –...
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