"I'm writing my family history." Whenever I teach a writing workshop for adults, as I did this week ('Writing Through The Messy Middle'), I ask what people are writing and there is invariably at least one person who is creating a book based on family history. Our...
My dear friend Allison Rushby, the third Musketeer on Team Your Kid's Next Read, has a new book out this week – her eighth (or is it ninth?) in the past 12 months. The third book in her Miss Penny Dreadful trilogy for lower middle-grade readers, it's called The...
I love a bookish gift – something book-related, but not necessarily a book. (Don't get me wrong, I love the books too. Give me all the books.) But I don't think you can go wrong with a bookish gift for kids and teens. Something to add to that teetering pile of gaily...
Writing craft books are a mainstay of every author's bookshelf – we're always trying to learn more and there's always more to be learned. But there are SO many writing craft books out there, it can be difficult to know which ones are worth it. In October, my Write...
I've never liked stories where the dog dies at the end. Even more so when it happens out of nowhere. It breaks my heart, then, to share the news that we had to say goodbye to Scout (aka #Procrastipup) on Friday. After a shockingly short, severe illness, he left us,...
Looking for spooky books for kids for Halloween? You've come to the right place. Not because I'm an expert in screechy, scary, scratchy reads – I'm notoriously wimpy when it comes to this stuff – but because I can call on author Allison Rushby, the third member of...
Narrative non-fiction for young readers is having a moment in the spotlight, combining facts, illustrations and storytelling in an irresistible short-form package. But, as anyone who's ever tried writing narrative non-fiction will tell you, getting the balance right...
I've been out and about talking about writing, teaching writing, writing about writing... what I haven't been doing is blogging about writing here, on my actual blog. So, to make up for it, here's a list of blog posts, full of writing tips and advice, you may have...
CBCA Book Week might officially last just one week, but the reality is that author life gets very busy for many weeks around the official dates (19-25 August this year). So today might be Official Day One, but for me Book Week kicked off last Monday with a series of...
