“Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home.” ~ Anna Quindlen
Thought for the Day: “Character is destiny. Change, growing from within and forced from without, is the mainspring of character development.”~ Rita Mae Brown ~ Gifts for My Writer Friends: When I read wish lists from editors and agents looking for middle-grade books, the word "adventure" is almost always there. HERE is a good article… Continue reading THE FRINDLE FILES — Review
Thought for the Day: "Mostly it's lies, writing novels. You set out to tell an untrue story and you try to make it believable, even to yourself. Which calls for details; any good lie does." ~ Anne Tyler ~ Gifts for My Writer Friends: Our characters have to have relationships with other characters. HERE is… Continue reading THE GIRL WHO FOUGHT BACK: VLADKA MEED AND THE WARSAW GHETTO UPRISING — Review
Thought for the Day: "The idea is to write it so that people hear it and it slides through the brain and goes straight to the heart." ~ Maya Angelou ~ Gifts for My Writer Friends: Sarah Allen on Sarah’s Smorgasbord has such an entertaining and useful post HERE on Writing a Satisfying Self-Destructive Villain.… Continue reading THE THINGS WE MISS — Review
Thought for the Day: "If I can get a 'happy' ending - which is when for the characters I'm writing about, something happens that they move from wherever they are in the beginning to knowledge or wisdom, they know something they never would have acknowledged or realized if it hadn't been for my book --… Continue reading EXTINCTOPEDIA: Discover what we have lost, what is at risk, and how we can preserve the diversity of our fragile planet — REVIEW
Thought for the Day: "There are two reasons I support mistake-making. First, we know that failure means we tried. It also means if the mistake is wrong enough, we can make someone laugh." ~ Jorjeana Marie ~ Gifts for My Writer Friends: Writing good dialogue is a real art. I am always on the lookout… Continue reading WHAT GOES ON INSIDE A BEAVER POND? — Review
Thought for the Day: "There's no need to plan everything out beforehand. Part of the fun is setting up high stakes without knowing the outcome. This way you'll be right there with your protagonist, struggling to come up with solutions, even as the walls close in deliciously around you." —Julia Bartz from "Writers on Writing"… Continue reading JUST KEEP WALKING — Review & Giveaway
Thought for the Day: "'I don't know where to start,' one [writing student] will wail. Start with your childhood, I tell them. Plug your nose and jump in, and write down all your memories as truthfully as you can. Flannery O'Connor said that anyone who has survived childhood has enough material to write for the… Continue reading THE PUPPETS OF SPELHORST — Review
Thought for the Day: "When you first start writing -- and I think it's true for a lot of beginning writers -- you're scared to death that if you don't get that sentence right that minute it's never going to show up again. And it isn't. But it doesn't matter -- another one will, and… Continue reading THE SECRET LIBRARY — Review & Giveaway
Thought for the Day: "Somebody gets into trouble, then gets out of it again. People love that story. They never get tired of it." ~ Kurt Vonnegut ~ Gifts for My Writer Friends: We all want to keep our readers on the edge of their seats. That's how we keep the pages turning. HERE is… Continue reading ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PLANTS, FUNGI, AND LICHENS: FOR YOUNG READERS — Review
Thought for the Day: “Words are sacred. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.”~ Tom Stoppard ~ Gifts for My Writer Friends: We all want our characters to be memorable. Lisa Hall-Wilson has written a fun and useful post HERE on Writers… Continue reading A WALK THROUGH THE RAINFOREST — Review
Rosi Hollinbeck 