Friend Friday
I always enjoy hearing the story behind the story and Vicki Conrad's story behind her newest picture book biography is full of twists and turns, not unlike the swampy Everglades [...]
Friend Friday
I had the great fortune to "meet" Jamie Hogan through the Institute of Children's Literature, when I was an instructor there. I don't remember if I was helpful to Jamie, [...]
Friend Friday
In 2013, I went to a literary arts festival in Portland and ended up with a new friend: Susan Hill Long. I'd taken the train down so was able to [...]
Friend Friday
As much as I love celebrating my friends' work for Friend Friday, it is an especial delight to celebrate a debut book. And it is a delight to be reminded [...]
Friend Friday
I will confess, upon reading Amy Butler Greenfield's essay below, my stomach lurched. Give up a project that was "one small revision" away from a sale? Whoa. Yes, Amy's story [...]
Friend Friday
As someone who also does a daunting amount of research for my books, I completely relate to Rob Sanders' experiences, shared below. Not only do we writers need to answer [...]
Friend Friday
On her website, Beth Anderson describes writing as mining -- "digging deep for memories, emotion, and meaning." Her essay below about creating her latest picture book feels like a miner's [...]
Friend Friday
What a way to kick off a new month: a joint Friend Friday post from two gifted creatives, Liz Garton Scanlon and Kevan Atteberry. Liz reminds us that the creative [...]
Friend Friday
One of my passions is to tell little-known stories of the past; clearly Shari Becker and Louisa Jaggar share that passion. They went to incredible lengths to tell the story [...]
Friend Friday
What a pleasure to celebrate author/illustrator Don Tate today! The experiences he shares below remind me a bit of the cruel experiments that inspired Gennifer Choldenko's Orphan Eleven, where kids [...]