From Diary of a Wimpy Kid to Harry Potter, have you ever noticed that the most exciting and popular children’s books come in a series? A book series is something that can draw you in for long periods of time, and something that can keep you excited to continue reading even once you’ve finished a […]
Happy New Year! Can you believe we’re already over halfway through with January? As always, the first month of the year seems to fly by and with it, so do our New Year’s goals and resolutions. Today I just wanted to come on here and tell you that if writing a book was on your […]
I’ve written a few times about the ways in which social media has an effect—both positive and negative—on children today, and how we as parents can best help them navigate through it. But the one thing I think we can’t separate from social media is the rise of the problem of comparison in our youth. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Hello all! I want to start by saying a massive thank you to those who made it out to Scuppernong Books this past Saturday for my Night Buddies reading. It was a blast! As you all know, the holidays are coming up, and whatever you celebrate, gifts are likely to be involved. As a father […]
This is a tough topic for me to approach, because as a children’s author and an advocate for #BoysWhoRead, I would like to believe that there are no books that should be off-limits for children to leave. All books have the power to expand our children’s minds and help them with their studies, their critical […]
You can call me old school, but I don’t do the e-reading thing. I like to sit down with a book in my hands, flip through the pages, write in the margins, and keep all the screens at bay even if for just a few hours. Reading, to me, is an escape from the world. […]
After spending the past month at the Bookmarks Book Festival and SIBA 2015 (pictured above), I’ve walked away with a whole lot of inspiration and ideas about what makes a book a success, what people love to read, and what constitutes good writing. So today I wanted to share some of my thoughts on that […]