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ALA Firsts
The American Library Association’s Annual Conference was in DC this year, and since I live close enough to commute, and I am a librarian, I took full advantage of this. It was full of firsts for me. My first time at the ALA conference. My first time meeting my…
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Creating in Chaos
Facebook memories can remind you of lovely things and heartaches. My Facebook memories lately have reminded me that in April and May of 2015, my life was a bit chaotic. My husband was at a new job 5 hours away. The kids and I were finishing out the school…
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My Debut Picture Book!
I’m very excited that my debut picture book is coming out September 3, 2019 from Millbrook Press. You can pre-order a personalized copy from my local independent bookstore, One More Page Books. Click here for the pre-order link.
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Studying Mentor Texts with Spreadsheets
I’m over at ReFoReMo (Read for Research Month) today with a guest post about first and last line in nonfiction picture books. I talk about 10 books specifically. Hop on over to read my post there. I thought it might be helpful to dive deeper into how I read…
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2018 Successes
Each year, I love to reflect on all the things that I’ve done. For the past several years, I have participated in Julie Hedlund’s 12 Days of Christmas for Writers program. It’s a great way to reflect on the year that has passed. Each year we make a list of SUCCESSES instead…
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My Reading Process: Organizing My Reading Life
Market Research By day I am an elementary school librarian and in the wee hours of the morning, I work on my children’s writing. Luckily these two fields feed each other in many ways. I often find that market research helps me in both careers. I write for the…
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Deep Concept Books: ReFoReMo 2018
For the last several years, I’ve been honored to contribute a mentor text list to ReFoReMo (Read For Research Month). This year, I focused on concept books for older readers that really hone in on deep concepts. Take a peek at my list here. Past ReFoReMo posts: 2017–Reader…
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NF10for10 2018: Sidebars are Not for Skipping
As a kid, I’m pretty sure I only read sidebars if they looked interesting. But there are a whole bunch of nonfiction picture books with excellent sidebars. As a writer and a librarian I’ve been keenly interested in nonfiction books that have two levels of text—a main text and…
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Research Site and Instagram
Research Site I have a number of nonfiction writing projects going on right now. I found myself trying to organize the sites I go to often in the research process. For most projects, I often start with Google and Amazon to find out what books are already out there,…
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2017 Successes
I haven’t written on here in ages. Call it what you will: a move, a new job (2 years ago, I know) my kids’ lives are getting busier and busier, and lots of writing happening. I have spent less time updating the blog and more time in focused writing.…
