Banned

In honor of Banned Books Week (9/26-10/3/09), I would like to encourage you to read banned books, encourage others to read banned books, and open a dialogue about censorship and free speech.
I recommend Laurie Halse Anderson’s post last week regarding the attempts to ban her books, Twisted and Speak.
I applaud Ms. Anderson’s calm manner in [...]

Doubt

In response to my own recent post On Pursuing the Dream, I now offer the QueryTracker blog’s post Overcoming Self-Doubt.
This was exactly what I needed to read at the time I was inspired to write my post. (I don’t want to get into what temporarily brought me low. Suffice it to say, this [...]

Tembo: A Story

Tembo the Elephant
 Tembo had been wandering in the savannah for hours.
 “How did I lose my way?” he wondered aloud.
 The sun rose higher in the sky.  Sweat ran down Tembo’s trunk and dripped onto the dry, dusty ground.  In the distance, Tembo saw a tree moving.
 “That can’t be right,” he said.  “Maybe thirst is making me [...]

On Pursuing the Dream

I have been writing, in some form or another, my whole life.  All through school, into college and even grad school, I wrote poetry, short fiction and started one novel.  In Rwanda I kept a journal at the beginning and wrote a series of erotic stories toward the end.
I have been writing for children, with [...]

Book News

Gennifer Choldenko’s Al Capone Shines My Shoes came out earlier this month. It is a sequel to Al Capone Does My Shirts, about 12-year-old Moose who lives with his family (including an autistic sister) on Alcatraz in the 1930s. Read more about Gennifer Choldenko.
Libba Bray’s Going Bovine will be out on September 22. The author [...]

Random Act of Publicity 3

Last week I read Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games. What a ride! This book grabbed me by the throat with one hand and by the heart with the other, and did not let go. I could not put this down. Thank goodness I could call it research. You know, to [...]

Random Act of Publicity 2

In honor of Random Acts of Publicity Week (thanks to Darcy Pattison’s Fiction Notes) I plan to write about some of my favorite recently read books. Now, I don’t have much experience writing book reviews (it shows, doesn’t it?). However, I have been reading books forever (since the womb, people), and as [...]

Random Act of Publicity 1

In honor of Random Acts of Publicity Week (thanks to Darcy Pattison’s Fiction Notes) I plan to write about some of my favorite recently read books. Now, I don’t have much experience writing book reviews. However, I have been reading books forever (since the womb, people), and as with wine and art, [...]

Hug a Writer?

I don’t have anything profound to say.  But Nathan Bransford (agent at Curtis Brown) declared this Writer Appreciation Week and his blog is always worth a read.
I am one writer who is happy to be appreciated! So, thanks, Nathan. Now back to writing…