General writing

I’m so excited to share my new story in Highlights for Children! (March 2020)

I joined Nonfiction Fest this month, and I’m already learning a lot. Nonfiction Fest is organized by a great group of nonfiction writers that call themselves the Nonfiction Chicks. Basically, I read a post a day to learn something incredible. There’s also an activity grid with helpful tasks to keep us nonfiction writers working. Here’s… Read more »

Now available!   Does your young reader love non-fiction? Are they an inventor? A doctor? A kid with big ideas? Looking for books that encourage a growth mindset? The “Learning from Bad Ideas” series is for anyone who wants to know what worked, what didn’t, and why. Medical Mishaps: Learning from Bad Ideas. Captsone, 2020…. Read more »

I’m so excited to share that I’ve joined STEAM Team 2020! This is a group of writers who have STEAM books for kids coming out in 2020. STEAM is science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. Social Media Follow STEAM Team on Twitter and Instagram to learn about an amazing collection of STEAM books! Also, use… Read more »

This past summer, I had a great time hosting a Pittsburgh creative writing camp for kids ages 5-12. I didn’t plan to have such a wide age range, but lots of things in life happen different than we plan! Before the class started, I had a pretty decent curriculum planned for kids ages 9-12. I… Read more »

  In a previous post on submissions, rejections, and acceptances, I discovered I had a yearly average just above 10% as an acceptance rate. Also, I noticed my submissions aren’t consistent throughout the year. I’m OK with that! Everything ebbs and flows. I’m really happy with the past year (2017) in terms of WHAT I… Read more »

February is Black History Month. But wait. It’s November. Why am I writing about reading books about black history? Because black history is American history. And I love reading and writing about American history. I especially love learning the stories in history. Have you read Lift Every Voice? This beautiful book is by Pittsburgh author… Read more »

I’m so proud to share these two books that I wrote for KPS Storybook Development in South Korea! I had a lot of fun writing about the main characters, Janine Sardine and Picky Penny. Each character faces a problem that children in grades PK-2 often face. I love the final illustrations. Unfortunately these books aren’t… Read more »

This month, I’m particularly proud of my new article in the October 2019 issue of Muse magazine “Count Me In: Participate in Important Scientific Research Just by Counting Birds.” With the bird population declining by 29%, and the threat of state birds not even being able to live in their “home” states, paying attention to… Read more »