News & Events

Was so thrilled to learn that these sculptures of Kitty and Leah (characters from my picture book, MINE!, illustrated by Laura Hughes) have been created. Aren’t they gorgeous?! Thanks for sending me the photos, Allison Nix Marshall.

Just spent a very happy two days in the beautiful town of Galena, IL at their Lit Fest. Thank you to the wonderful team at the Galena Public Library and the enthusiastic teachers and students at the Galena Primary School. I had a blast!

As I puttered around the internet recently, I stumbled upon some cute reviews of Mine! that I hadn’t seen before by Johnson Babies, Lilinhaangel and Diary of a First Child. A nice discovery.

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This story was a little corker. Click here to read my review.

I’ll be presenting at the fourth annual Mining the Story writing retreat at Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts next year (May 29-31), alongside a wonderful faculty including Patricia McNair, Shawn Shiflett, Chris Maul Rice, Eric May, and Philip Hartigan. It’s a three day event in an inspiring location in Mineral Point, Wisconsin. To find out more, click here. Join me if you can!

This picture book made me chuckle. How about a sloth as a pet? Click here to read my review.

I’m excited to be presenting at the Galena Lit Fest 2020 on January 8, at 10am at the Galena Public Library . I’ll give an overview of writing for different age groups of children from picture books to young adult. Attendees will be guided through creative exercises designed to kick start new kidlit ideas. Attendees should come equipped with pens/pencils and notebooks. If you’re interested in joining me, please register by clicking here. Hope to see you there!

This picture book is a great celebration of the messy creative process and how making ‘mistakes’ can offer all sorts of opportunities. Click here to read my book review.

Am halfway through the Tale of Two Writing Cities junior high summer camp. My students are full of inventive ideas and enthusiasm — Greek gods, murders, uncovered secrets and summoned angels have appeared on the page so far. I wonder which stories we’ll uncover tomorrow.

So the results are in! And there are not one but TWO winners of my competition this year. Cooper Dunlop told a wonderfully tense story about an unsuspecting turtle signing up for gruesome science experiments in Turtle Time. Ella Happel created a vivid and atmospheric world of terrifying emporers and alchemists in Remembering Death, A Historical Fiction. To read more about the other excellent ribbon-winning entries, click here.