The weather we’ve been having makes me want a cozy tea party. Who would you invite to a tea party for friends in your favorite novels? In all the books you’ve read, going all the way back to when you were a kid, what five characters would you want to have at your party? Here’s…
When a teacher or parent invites a book into their classroom or home, they’re not just giving the book valuable real estate, they’re giving space to the characters within that book. When I was working in elementary schools, I was often charmed by the classroom libraries the teachers had curated. And they had given lots of space to…
My heart breaks for kids these days. Kids who don’t think they’re smart enough, good-looking enough, tall enough, short enough, happy enough, involved enough, helpful enough, caring enough, busy enough, strong enough, sporty enough, techy enough, brave enough. Enough. It has always been like this for kids. When you were a kid, did you think…
And Just Like That, It’s a New Month. How are you doing with your goals, your hopes, your dreams two months into this new year? All of a sudden, I’ve been hearing more about Confirmation Bias. I wasn’t even sure what sort of phenomenon it was until I kept seeing it everywhere. Haha. That’s kind…
Relationships are built on trust. We shouldn’t be telling lies to our friends, partners, kids, parents. But do you know who it’s really easy to lie to? Ourselves. And we’ve got to stop right now! If you want to accomplish your dreams, whatever they may be—and let’s assume you want to write since this is…
Humans are the only animals who fret. Is there another animal who worries like we do? Another animal who plans projects only to give themselves a huge helping of self-doubt? Well, squirrels seem to go through bouts of indecision and doubt, though, don’t they? And we’ve all seen the price they can pay for that….
Hello friends. “I like to start my notes to you as if we’re already in the middle of a conversation. I pretend that we’re the oldest and dearest friends….” Do you know what film that line is from? You’ve Got Mail with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. It’s one of my all-time favorite movies. And…
“In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you.” ~ Mortimer J. Adler I can’t imagine living without books. But I’ve heard rumors about people who do just that. I don’t know any of them though….
So Many Books So Little Time. And that’s just Middle-Grade fiction. I get asked a lot what a middle-grade book is. When people hear “middle grade” they often think “middle school.” Middle-grade fiction is for readers aged 8 to 12 years old. On the other hand, by the time kids are in middle school, they’re…
Happy New Year! Plans! Goals! Revisions! Reviews! Resolutions! Hopes! Dreams! ‘Tis the season. Even if you don’t write them down in a journal, these things are probably fluttering about in your head. They are in mine. They don’t like to be ignored. I read about the idea of reflecting on the past year to understand…
