In The Spotlight
Laura Backes Bard and Jon Bard are FOR WRITERS!
Laura Backes Bard and Jon Bard are the forces behind the Children’s Book Insider (CBI), a monthly magazine/newsletter for children’s book writers and illustrators, and the CBI Clubhouse, which is a fabulous online one-stop-spot for all things kidlit. If you have a question about the process of creating children’s books, chances are there’s an answer…
Read MoreKidLit Distancing Socials — THE place to be on Tuesday evenings
Since March 2020, when we all had to retreat to our homes and could no longer meet in person, the wonderful Laura Backes Bard and Jon Bard of the Children’s Book Insider have been hosting weekly online meetups for writers and illustrators called KidLit Distancing Socials. NOTE: As of summer 2021, they are now known…
Read MoreLydia Lukidis, author of NO BEARS ALLOWED — interview
I’m very happy to welcome Lydia Lukidis to my blog today! Thanks for participating in this interview, Lydia. For those of you who don’t know Lydia, she has several books published – mainly as work-for-hire projects – and recently her first “all hers” picture book came out. We’re celebrating that book today! NO BEARS ALLOWED…
Read MoreThe Value of Courses, Challenges, and Community for Writers
Most of us cannot get where we want to be on our own. We need to learn from others, to be challenged by others, and to be supported and encouraged by others. The same is true for writing. At first, I was too nervous to share my writing (except my hymn texts) with anyone but…
Read MoreWhere to find webinars — a boon for writers
In the first half of this year (how can we be halfway through the year already?) I benefited from several webinars about different aspects of writing. A few were free, a few had a fee, but all were worthwhile. Among them were an Agents Day hosted by SCBWI Wisconsin, a webinar about writing first pages…
Read MoreCelebrating Tony Walton again!
I read an all-too-brief article on Broadway World, with an equally brief — but delightful — video, and I wanted to share them with you (in an equally brief blog post!) Those of you who’ve been following my blog for some time may recall my previous posts about illustrator, costume designer, set designer, director Tony…
Read MoreSam and Eva by Debbie Ohi — Book Recommendation
Title: Sam and Eva Author/Illustrator: Debbie Ridpath Ohi Publisher: New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2017 Genre: Picture book, fiction Audience Age: 3 to 8 years old Themes/topics: friendship, art, cooperation, teamwork Opening Sentences: Sam had just begun to draw when Eva arrived. Synopsis: I loved this book! Debbie is so good…
Read MoreKate McMullan
Oops! This went live before it was finished! Sorry! Since I posted about artist James McMullan in my last post two weeks ago, it seems only fitting that I post about children’s writer, Kate McMullan, this week. Jim and Kate have been married for 38 years, and they make a marvelous team personally and creatively.…
Read More