It’s so lovely to be able to host the warm and generous Maureen McQuerry today. Once upon a time, when I was a newbie writer at my first conference, a kind smile from across a room helped me feel at ease. Maureen and I ended up chatting, and I didn’t feel like such a fish… Read more »
She gets all the credit but I do all the hard work, digging through old newspapers and archives. I guess that’s why I’m this writer’s best friend. But it doesn’t seem arf-fully fair.
I had no idea that Duke would launch a series. It turns out if you put a dog in a book, kids will gobble it up, even [supposedly hard to sell] historical fiction! In a few short days, Code Word Courage (Scholastic), the fourth and final… Read more »
Not only am I delighted to shine the spotlight on Jeannie Mobley’s new book, I am insanely jealous of its title! It cries out “read me,” so it’s moved to the top of my TBR pile. Thanks, Jeannie, for being with us today and we can’t wait to learn more about Bobby Lee Claremont and… Read more »
It’s such a pleasure to host Nancy J. Cavanaugh today; as she shares in her post, we were first cyber friends and then, one day, I was doing a book event at Anderson’s Bookshop in Naperville, Illinois and there was Nancy — with her daughter — there to support me. Nancy’s generous act highlights the… Read more »
Even though we are practically neighbors, J. Anderson Coats and I are still only cyber friends. I hope that changes soon! I love that she writes YA and middle grade, “now with 20% more name calling and petty violence.” Her work is amazing and you will not want to miss her newest title, The Many Reflections… Read more »
Today’s friend is *ahem* me. Since I had a new book launch on January 31, I thought it would be okay if I used this slot to tell you a bit about it. I hope you are already familiar with the first book in the Audacity Jones series: Audacity Jones to the Rescue (Scholastic). This book… Read more »
Augusta Scattergood (Glory Be, Making Friends with Billy Wong) emailed me awhile back, raving about a friend’s new book. “It’s sooo good,” she said. Well, if Augusta recommends something, that’s the gold standard! I immediately asked for the friend’s email address and that friend — Linda Williams Jackson — agreed to be today’s Friend Friday guest…. Read more »
If you follow Friend Friday, you know I usually use this feature to celebrate writers; for most of this month, however, I am celebrating readers. And 2016 will end with a bang: a 12/30 Friend Friday post by the inimitable Nikki Grimes! Again recently I heard the phrase that completely disheartens me: “Historical fiction is a… Read more »
This regular blog feature is celebrating readers, instead of writers, most of this month (check back on December 30 for an amazing post from Nikki Grimes)! I hope you read last week’s post about a Duke reader who inspired me to be more open-hearted and brave. This week I am inspired by amazing librarian, Jennifer… Read more »