General writing

Children’s Book Academy Graduate!

I’m so pleased to be a Children’s Book Academy graduate. I had a great five weeks of learning from Mira Rosenberg and her incredible faculty. Thank you Mira!

So You Want to Be President of the United States

So You Want to Be President of the United States! (Capstone, 2019). Wanted: Someone to be the face of America. The president is responsible for signing laws, making sure the laws are followed, and figuring out the best way to run the country. Find solutions to problems. Clean up natural disasters. Meet with other leaders. It’s… Read more »

Writing Non-Fiction for Children Resources

Writing non-fiction for children is one of my favorite kinds of writing. In the past year, I’ve written three non-fiction books, one large non-fiction text book chapter, and numerous non-fiction magazine articles all for young readers. I have at least three non-fiction manuscripts waiting for the right publisher to fall in love with them. Non-Fiction is… Read more »

Writing with Conscious Style

In August, I attended the SCBWI annual Summer Conference in Los Angeles. While I was there, I learned how to be a good regional advisor for Pennsylvania West, my home region. I learned about how to submit book manuscripts with back matter ideas. I learned that people in LA take their dogs into Target. And… Read more »

Writing Stories is Like Ice Cream

Some days, writing stories is like ice cream, the hard kind you scoop out of a container and it is still so frozen it bends your spoon. It can be a lot of work to get that story out. Usually it’s amazing after you’re done. You feel like you earned it. Other days, writing stories… Read more »

Writing for Children is So Fun

I love writing for children. I have a long list of why, and I plan to write a post about it. But for now I just want to say again writing for children is so fun!! Here’s why. I get to create cool crafts like this one that is in Highlights for Children! Pick up… Read more »

Update on my 2019 children’s writing projects

It’s been a good year for 2019 writing projects. Most of my writing is for children and young readers and right now, most is non-fiction. I thought it would be good to do a review of what I’ve completed. When I think back to where I started, well, it feels pretty good. Editing But at the… Read more »

New Publication: Why You Need a Questing Stone

Are you ready for an incredible journey? It’s time for a Questing Stone. I’m excited to share that my new creative kids’ activity is now published in Highlights for Children! Check out the July 2019 issue and look in the crafts section. There you will find the instructions to make your very own Questing Stone! (Read to… Read more »