YWS: Where Do You Start?

You’ve just had a fabulous idea for a story and your brain is bursting with all the details and you cannot wait to write it. You sit down at the keyboard and pull up a page, or grab a notepad if you draft long hand, and the blank page mocks you with its emptiness. The only thing on your mind … Read More

7th Grade Revolution: Asserting Independence

Middle School is such an interesting time of self-discovery and stretching boundaries, which is part of the reason I am drawn to writing this age group. By this age many are beginning to assert their independence of who they are apart from their identity and role in the family. The opinions of their peers becomes more important than the opinions … Read More

7th Grade Revolution: Prepare for Battle

One of the biggest pleasures I have while writing is when the characters come through loud and clear. Dennis Alexander was one of those characters for me. The minute he slouched in, I knew he was a kid who sits in the back of the class so he can lean his chair against the wall. The kind of guy who’d … Read More

7th Grade Revolution Book Trailer

Just thought I’d take a moment to share the brand new book trailer for 7th Grade Revolution. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Pre-Orders now available:AmazonBarnes and NoblePowellsAll available Ebook Retailers

The Homeless Scout Troop

During my school years, up until high school, I belonged to the Girl Scouts. I have many memories of being a scout, particularly the camping trips. We were known as the camping troop in our area, and had several outings a year. So when I think of my time in the Girl Scouts I remember setting up tents, roasting marshmallows … Read More

7th Grade Revolution: When Things Change

When the interior art for 7th Grade Revolution was originally commissioned, we hadn’t yet made the decision to replace Twitter with QuackerMe, so the request for the second chapter of the book was something totally different than the QuackerMe logo from my last post. Once QuackerMe was born, Vesuvian Books decided to replace the original piece with the QuackerMe logo. … Read More

Bullying and the Dangers of Labels

In my writing the theme of bullying frequently pops up because bullying situations occur from childhood through adulthood. No one remains unscathed. If not bullied, you may have been the bullier, or you have seen someone else being bullied. And oftentimes we are reluctant to accept that we are being bullied, or if we accept it, we don’t want others … Read More

7th Grade Revolution: QuackerMe

In 2011, when Exploris Middle School staged its bloodless revolution, a key part of the experience was played out through the “media”. The media presence in the classroom was taken up by the teachers and they reported events as they unfolded throughout the experience. Between the Twitter stream and the article posted in the News and Observer, word on what … Read More

7th Grade Revolution: When the Story Gives Back

As a writer, honoring the story and getting it down and into the hands of readers is my job. It’s a solitary endeavor that takes a host of people to bring to fruition. We are never in it alone. And for each person who helps me along the way, I am grateful for the help I have received. In the … Read More

7th Grade Revolution: The Time of Year

One of the most exciting things for me as we are going through the process leading up to the publication of 7th Grade Revolution is that the publisher, Vesuvian Books, commissioned artwork, sort of a mood piece, to precede each of the chapters in the book. I had the opportunity to work with the talented Luke Spooner and watch scenes … Read More

7th Grade Revolution at ALA

A couple weeks ago I was able to announce the publication date for my upcoming book 7th Grade Revolution (10.24.2017 in case you forgot 😉 ). Well, my book has already been on the road without me. Every year, the American Library Association (ALA) puts on a huge conference, and this year it was in Chicago. I didn’t think it … Read More

7th Grade Revolution Announcement

I am delighted to announce a publication date for 7th Grade Revolution has been scheduled. It is exciting to have a date for this project as I have been working toward the publication for a while now. But everything is falling into place and it will be released 10.24.2017. On top of being able to announce the release date, this … Read More