I’m in a cozy, dark room – too warm, and scattered with noises of children’s breathing, soft wordless Beatles’ arrangements, and the burble of the turtle tank filter. It’s nap-time at the early childhood school where I work, and I’m on duty. I’m also working on a major revision for my novel in verse.
Continue Reading Guest Post: Carol Coven Grannick on In a Dark and Not-So-Quiet Room »
In early 1999, I was a graduate student in the children’s literature program at Simmons College in Boston.
I had a work study job at the Simmons social work school, mailing out applications and entering information into a computer, and that’s where I was on the morning of February 16th—sitting at someone else’s desk,
By Beth Revis
Beth Note: Don’t miss out on the giveaway at the end of this post. And remember all orders of Paper Hearts made before Nov. 15 from Malaprops will come with a special gift–see details below!
You can win a journal with this cover! Continue Reading Guest Post & Giveaway: Beth Revis on: Paper Hearts: Some Writing Advice »
My third picture book Dress Me! (Sky Pony, 2015) is a companion book to last year’s release Paint Me! (Sky Pony, 2014).
When I was thinking about what my next submission to Sky Pony would be,
Continue Reading Guest Post & Giveaway: Sarah Frances Hardy on Writing a Companion Picture Book »
One of the great things about writing science fiction is that you get to make up a lot of stuff.
You can create new worlds, new languages, and even new life forms. From the androids in Philip K. Dick‘s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Continue Reading Guest Post: Kristi Helvig on Incorporating Science Into Science Fiction »
Danica Davidson is the first-time author of
Escape from the Overworld (Skyhorse, 2015). From the promotional copy:
Eleven-year-old Stevie, who comes from a long line of Steves, doesn’t feel as if he fits in the Minecraft world. His father is great at building and fighting off zombies,
Continue Reading New Voice: Danica Davidson on Escape from the Overworld »
I remember the day I finished my first middle-grade novel, The Battle of Darcy Lane (Running Press, 2014), pretty vividly. I sat there for a minute, stared out the window of my office, and thought: “Now I need a new middle-grade idea.”
So I started to root around my brain for inspiration by asking myself the question,
Continue Reading Guest Post: Tara Altebrando on My Life in Dioramas »
This month marks the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. In 1984, Dana Walrath journeyed to Palu, in Western Armenia (now part of Turkey), where she saw the mill and farmlands that once belonged to her maternal ancestors, who were forced to flee the Ottoman Empire in 1915.
Her family story became the basis of her acclaimed novel in verse Like Water on Stone (Delacorte,
Continue Reading Guest Interview: Dana Walrath on Like Water on Stone »
By Anne Bustard
Every writer wants her work to sing.
Writing that sings is exquisitely crafted. It lifts its voice in praise of language. Its story is pitch perfect. It invites readers to sing along and has the power to linger in a reader’s consciousness long after the last note.
Like a composer creating a musical score,
Continue Reading Guest Post & Giveaway: Anne Bustard on Musicality: Composing with Repetitions »
By Allison Estes & Tracy Dockray
From the promotion copy of Izzy & Oscar (Jabberwocky/Sourcebooks, 2015):
Have you ever taught an octopus to roll over? It’s harder than it looks.
Discover why octopuses make the best pets in this charming picture book about friendship and embracing individuality!
Continue Reading Interview: Author Allison Estes & Illustrator Tracy Dockray on Izzy & Oscar »
