Welcome to Part IV in my Q&A series, where I answer questions you’ve asked through social media here on the blog! This week, I was asked, “How does your main characters’ friendship develop throughout the series?” For starters, Crosley picked out John to be his Night Buddy. There must have been a lot of reasons, but […]
People often talk about writing a book as similar to giving birth to a child. You conceive the idea, spend many months forming it into existence, and then birth it out into the world to develop a life of its own. While that metaphor makes sense to me, I’ve always looked at writing the Night […]
Hi all! Welcome to Part III of my Q&A series, where I use this blog to answer the questions you have for me! Just a reminder, you can send your questions my way via commenting on my blog, or through my Facebook and Twitter pages. This week I’ve decided to answer a question I’ve gotten […]
I know there are a lot of people who claim to be dog lovers . . . but man, I’ve had a bunch of dogs! Thirteen of them since the time I could vote. Eleven Saint Bernards, with two boxers as bookends—and that’s not counting the twenty-three Saint Bernard puppies I bred and shipped out! […]
With back-to-school season might come some back-to-school jitters for your young ones—whether they’re starting kindergarten, starting a new school, or making that big leap to junior high. But luckily there’s a way to get your kids excited about this new season, and surprise, it has to do with reading! These are my top recommendations for […]
One question authors get asked all the time is, “What advice do you have for someone who wants to write a book?” or “How do I get a book published?” So for today’s Q&A, I thought I’d share my answers with any of you aspiring authors out there! The really true, and absurdly simple, answer […]
Now that most kids have gone back to school, we writer-parents have a little more alone time on our hands to get back into a writing groove. Which is why I thought now would be a perfect time to share a few writing tips over the next few weeks with you! I’ve given and been […]
Getting your child interested in reading during the summer seems almost too logical—they have months of free time, there are tons of “summer light” stories for them to get easily invested in, and they can take a book anywhere from the beach to the pool for an afternoon of relaxation. But when back-to-school season hits, […]
I am an advocate for children using and expanding their imaginations, not only through reading, but through writing! Whether your child struggles with Language Arts or is reading four levels above his or her grade level, providing kids with a creative outlet such as writing has the opportunity to enrich their lives and their classroom […]
First off, I have some exciting news! At the most recent American Library Association Conference, all three of my Night Buddies books were proudly on display! You can see them there at the bottom of the shelf. Just want to say a MAJOR thank you to ALA for that amazing moment and photo opp! I […]
I just saw Roald Dahl and Steven Spielberg’s movie, The BFG. (Big Friendly Giant to all you new guys.) It’s totally cool. For those who don’t know, it’s about this eight-year-old girl Sophie who gets snatched away from her orphanage bedroom by an awfully tall giant and whisked away to the giant’s cave way off […]
When you usually hear the term “NaNoWriMo” it’s equated with a marathon-sprint of writing that takes place in the month of November. Anyone in the world can sign up to the challenge of writing a 50,000 word book in a single month (this comes out to just under 2k words a day), and thousands—perhaps millions—of […]