I’ve been doing quite a lot of research lately for a young adult story involving high school football. Frankly, I’d forgotten a lot of the rules that differentiate professional, collegiate, and high school ball — things like the height of goalposts, ball placement for kickoff, and two-foot/one-foot rules for completed passes. All this research is […]
You’re supposed to treat your speedskates really well. They’re expensive and touchy and easily broken. So what do I do today on the ice but goof off, doing figure-skating spins on my long track speedskates. Naughty. That’s really bad for blades, but I figured I’d be resharpening the blades tonight anyway. Harmless fun. Then I’m […]
Should authors and illustrators who come into contact with children at schools be required to undergo a background check? Before you answer, picture a school reading — either at the individual class level where there might be 15 children seated around an author, or at the assembly level where a hundred children or more are […]
It’s now going to be one of my favorite places to write. Sure, the Starbucks I usually hit has a lively atmosphere, which can help set the mood for knocking out a fast, tense scene, but when you need to settle into the emotions of a character, loud music can stymie your progress. Don’t get […]
My test readers are done with my manuscript (Thank you, all!) and helped make it a better work. Now it’s in the hands of those professionals who actually make a living selling books. I’m sure they’ll find ways to improve it, which is a good thing. Meanwhile, I’m back to work on a young adult […]
I’ve finished rewriting an earlier manuscript that needed work, and it’s now at the stage of being reviewed by test readers. That’s a bit unnerving because you never know how people will view your work, but it’s also really useful and kind of fun to see their take on certain scenes and twists of plot. […]
The speedskating season is over, but you’ll find that the really dedicated skaters aren’t spending their newly-freed-up workout times sitting in lawn chairs, drinking margaritas, and finding shapes in passing clouds. Oh, I plan to do that at least once this summer, don’t get me wrong, but the point is we’re supposed to not let […]
I’m really pleased to announce that I now have a literary agent to help guide my career, the exceptionally professional and wonderfully warm Kimberly Witherspoon of Inkwell Management. We’re working on a very exciting project together, which I’ll explain as it progresses. You can learn more about Inkwell here. They’ve got wonderful agents and great […]
It just came out Tuesday and, so far, it’s a really fun read. I’m a little more than 100 pages into The Last Olympian, the final book in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, written by Rick Riordan. My daughter and I have enjoyed reading the series together, and this one looks like it’ll […]
Children’s Book Week is about celebrating children’s literature and the marvelous effect it can have in the life of a child. One very exciting event for kids is happening this Tuesday, May 12th, from 6 – 8 p.m. at the South Milwaukee Public Library. Kids and their parents can meet talented illustrators Jeff Miracola, who’s […]