In Kate Allen’s lyrical novel, The Line Tender, budding middle school artist Lucy Everhart experiences a summer of discovery and loss in her seaside Massachusetts town. When the story opens, Lucy and her best friend Fred are abuzz over a fisherman landing a Great White Shark, rarely seen in their waters. The pair is working …
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Escape from Sudan!
From the start, this was no ordinary author visit. I arrived at 2 a.m. on a Saturday, expecting to spend a week and a half speaking at two international schools in Sudan. Unfortunately, that same Saturday, massive anti-government demonstrations began against despotic Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.
And the protests continued, swelling by thousands every day. On …
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Book review: The Gilded Wolves
At once a heist novel, a historical tale, a fantasy, and a meditation on the abuses of power, Roshani Chokshi’s latest hits the mark in all respects. In this reimagined Belle Epoque Paris, certain individuals have the power to Forge, or affect matter or mind in a way that smacks of magic. Such power creates …
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Do I need a website if I’m not published yet?
Dear Writer Guy,
I am an up-and-coming writer. Translation: unpublished but soon to be published. (I just know it.) My question: Do I need a website? I don’t have anything published to put on it. I hear that I need a presence anyway. What do I put on the site? I sure don’t have the time …
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4 ways humor can help a serious story
It’s no secret that kids love to laugh. (Adults, too.) And as a consequence, funny stories always rank high on editors’ “must have” lists. If you possess a knack for writing humor, you’re well on your way to winning editors’ (and readers’) hearts.
But say you’re not the world’s greatest joke writer — in fact, you think …
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Back to school book giveaway
Yes, it’s that time again. Summer’s gone and the school year has begun — but to soften the blow, I’m offering a book giveaway for educators.
You can win one of three classroom sets of the first three books in my new Class Pets series: Fuzzy’s Great Escape, Fuzzy Takes Charge, and Fuzzy Freaks Out. The …
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A pair of rollicking reads
Since I read so many books I can barely keep track of them all, I’ve decided to offer sporadic book reviews on this site. Some of the books I get from NetGalley, some from my publisher friends, and some from my local bookstore. Some are adult, some are for young readers; some are fiction, some …
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How do I find the perfect first line?
Dear Writer Guy,
How do you know when you’ve hit on the right first line for your story?
Thanks,
Martha B., Seattle
Dear Martha,
For me, it’s a feeling. When the first line clicks, you feel it. It leads you into the rest of the book, it establishes the voice and character attitude right away, and most of all, it …
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Dang It! On Dealing With Disappointment
The writing life is rife with opportunities for disappointment. Our human condition can’t avoid it. We construct hopes for ourselves and our work, knowing there are plenty of rocks and boulders ahead in the rushing waters of the marketplace.
This is not just in our professional lives, of course. It’s there in every other aspect of …
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What books/movies are Chet Gecko titles based on?
Inquiring minds and budding punsters want to know: Which movie/book titles are being tweaked in the titles of my Chet Gecko books? I’ve been asked that quite a few times over the years, and since I just received another query, I thought I’d set the record straight once and for all.
First, you should know that …
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