The Crimson Five series

The Story Effect at the Olympics

There’s nothing like cheering for a team. Just ask any global citizen who loves watching the Olympic Games! The worldwide event brings out the ultimate fan in all of us. Whether we’re watching an obscure sport or a marquis event, we hold our breath through every race, dive, jump, twist, and flip. We gasp at… Continue reading The Story Effect at the Olympics

Publishing, The Crimson Five series

Signing Books & Gold Gel Pens

Last time, I blogged about how tough it can be to keep writing through difficult periods.  Today, I have something more upbeat to talk about, one of the perks to being published: signing books for readers! In two weeks, I’ll be signing books at the Rochester Children’s Book Festival with about 50 other authors and illustrators.… Continue reading Signing Books & Gold Gel Pens

The Crimson Five series

Things You Do Not Need to Write a Book

 A gorgeous office, a cute coffee shop, a fancy computer program, a literary agent… or permission from anyone. I wrote my first two unpublished books with a pencil on notebooks like these, and then retyped the chapters onto a Word doc on my ancient desktop computer. I wrote all three of my published (or soon-to-be… Continue reading Things You Do Not Need to Write a Book

The Crimson Five series

Letting Your Book Go…Until Release Day

A few months ago, a dear author friend, Vivian Vande Velde said something that made me laugh. We were talking about our upcoming book releases and she asked me why publishers refer to publication dates as release dates. She said something to the effect of, “It’s like our books our being held hostage or in… Continue reading Letting Your Book Go…Until Release Day