My Blog

I’ll be back in my old stomping grounds, Fairfield, CT., this coming Saturday (December 6) sitting on a panel at the second annual Winter Words writing conference at the Fairfield Public Library. The topic of my panel discussion will be the “challenges and rewards” of writing for kids. Love that topic. My friend Alex introduced me to the woman running this conference so I’m grateful for that connection! If I think about it, Alex has done quite a bit for me over the years. He hired me for one of my favorite jobs and he introduced me to Pat Giff and her wonderful children’s book writing classes. Thanks, Alex! 

It’s been such a long time since I last wrote. But I’ve been so hard at work on my new novel. If I’m not busy with my life, kids, I’m writing. I’m pushing myself to have a draft done of this novel by December. We’ll see.

In the meantime, if you’re in Bolton, MA, on Saturday, October 4, please stop by the Bolton Author Festival and say hi. I’ll be at Davis Hall in the First Parish Church, Bolton, from 1-4 p.m., with writer friends Mitali Perkins, Jamie Harper and Mary Delany. We’ll be signing books and raising money for the local library. 

Also, NO CREAM PUFFS was given a nice boost over the weekend. Becky, who blogs for Becky’s Book Review, read 140 books so far this year. She picked NO CREAM PUFFS as one of her top 14 books. Thanks, Becky! Here’s the link. http://blbooks.blogspot.com/2008/09/weekly-geeks-19-favorite-books-of-2008.html

I had a great visit to LaSalle Intermediate Academy, a middle school in South Bend, IN, last week. I spoke to more than 800 well-behaved, energetic and thoughtful kids. It was a wonderful school and I enjoyed every minute of it. Great questions, too, although I’ve been giving lots of thought to one particular question. A girl stood and asked me, what advice would you give to young writers like myself? I answered that she should not worry about publishing but spend her time working on her craft. Write every day, in journals as well as other forms. And pay attention to the world around you. When someone acts a certain way, don’t criticize, don’t dismiss but try to figure out why. As writers, no matter what genre, you have to understand human nature.  But I think I’d also add this: you can be a great reader and not a great writer. But you can’t be a great writer without being a great reader. So in addition to writing every day, read everything you can get your hands on. And then imitate. It might be the best way to find your voice.

If you find yourself in St. Joe, Michigan, next Saturday, August 16, please stop by Marie’s Hallmark, 219 State Street, and say hello. I’ll be signing books from 11-1pm. I can’t wait to be on the lake and in St. Joe. See you there! 

My good friend Jamie Holland Hull said in one of her blogs that she can’t write in a gorgeous setting.  I agree. Give me a room, a desk and and my computer and I’m all set. I always take my computer on vacations because I like to write every day, even if only for 15 minutes. Usually I write early in the morning, before anyone is awake. If we happen to be in a hotel room, then that means I’m writing on the bathroom floor so I won’t wake anyone. Which can get a bit cramped. But that’s okay.

Check out Jamie’s webpage, newly redesigned:

www.jamiehollandhull.com

The prolific and respected kidlit blogger, Jen Robinson, featured No CREAM PUFFS on her blog today. It was such a nice review. My novel is a “baseball” book, but I’ve always thought of it as being about so much more. Jen thought so, too. I love that she liked Huey (and called him complex, which he is). And that she thought the 1980s theme was done just right. And she quoted perhaps my favorite couple of lines in the book: 

“I can feel Mom’s eyes on me, but I won’t look at her. What if this is her fault, not Dad’s?
But then I see how she’s looking at me, her eyes soft. And I feel this space widening between us, like what happens when you’re in the lake and you don’t hang on to each other’s rafts.” (Page 125)

Thanks, Jen!

Here’s the link:

http://jkrbooks.typepad.com/blog/

Okay, so I haven’t spent much time in St. Joe, Michigan, nor do I know anyone who lives there. But for some reason I used the town in both of my novels. In TALL TALES Meg says that St. Joe was one of the towns where she lived. In NO CREAM PUFFS Madison remembers how her friend, Sara, stopped off in St. Joe to call her on her way home from vacation.  So, what’s the attraction? Could be that I know it’s a nice sized town, right on the shores of the great Lake Michigan.  I’ve always loved the lake, and loved Michigan. We used to vacation there when I was a kid. Otherwise, I just don’t know!

Funny thing is, I’ll be in St. Joe next month, on Saturday, Aug. 16, from 11-1pm signing books at the Readers World bookstore.  If you’re reading this and live in the area, please stop by to say hi!

Well, it was a good weekend for NO CREAM PUFFS. On Saturday it was reviewed in the Chicago Tribune. Also on Saturday the Albany Times-Union named it as one of this summer’s best reads. Here are links to both publications.

http://blogs.timesunion.com/thelist/?p=159

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/booksmags/chi-kids-21jun21,0,200237.story

When I went back to speak in Indiana last month, I was interviewed by a reporter from the Beacher, a local newspaper in Long Beach.  Here’s the link to that article:

http://www.bbpnet.com/pdf/2008/BeacherJun12.pdf

Way to go, Madison!
 

Tomorrow night I’m headed to another mom-daughter book group meeting, but this time we’ll talk about NO CREAM PUFFS. Because it was so recently released, I haven’t addressed any groups who have actually read the book. Can’t wait. So much mom and daughter material! Madison, the main character, loves her mom but is so bugged by the things she does and says. Aren’t most 12-year-olds? It will be fascinating to hear everyone’s take on it, the girls who at 13 are really spreading their wings. The moms who were once 13 themselves.  I love doing these. It’s such an honor and so interesting to hear the feedback. 

I’m on a whirlwind Indiana tour right now, visiting middle schools and talking with kids about writing and my new book. Yesterday I went to my old middle school, Boston Middle School, and also Kesling Middle School, our rival across town. How great was it to talk in the school I used as the model for TALL TALES? Or to be up at Notre Dame in Long Beach, telling the students that I set NO CREAM PUFFS in their town? Or to be down at South Central Middle School, telling one of the students that I modeled a party in TALL TALES on one of her mom’s slumber parties?!!

The local paper had a really nice article about me and my book. Here’s the link:

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?SectionID=22&SubSectionID=22&ArticleID=14071

And if you live in the area, come see me today at 1pm at Reader’s World, Marquette Mall, Michigan City. Hope to see you there!