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Author Event
Connecticut friends: if you are anywhere near Guilford (near New Haven) next Wednesday, July 6th, please drop by the library for this super-fun—and free!–event: Details: Join ten local middle grade and...
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Behind the Curtain
Jan Steen, Morning Toilet, 1663 Have you ever heard of a “curtain lecture?” (The above image isn’t actually a curtain lecture. I just liked the image.) A “curtain lecture” (sometimes called a “bolster...
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The Schuylers
Last week I drove to upstate New York for my annual writing retreat. On the way, I stopped off at the Schuyler Mansion in Albany. Philip Schuyler and his wife, Catharine van Rensselaer, lived in this...
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New and Improved Website Coming Soon!
Loyal readers will notice that I haven’t posted in awhile. My web designer and I are working on updating and improving my site, and hope to have it ready by the end of August. Have a wonderful summer...
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Racine and Reason
I have a couple of vivid memories from my high school AP French literature class. Our teacher, Madame Sorrell, was a lovely woman whose bright red hair tumbled in tendrils to her shoulders, and who was...
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Chappaqua Book Festival
This Saturday, September 24th, I’ll be joining a whole host of authors and illustrators at the Chappaqua (NY) Book Festival. It’s my first year attending, and I have heard that it’s one of the best...
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Eleanor and the Troubadours
I’ve been reading a biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine (1137-1152), which led me to the subject of troubadours. Troubadours were poets and musicians whose art form flourished mostly between the 11th and...
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Shoddy Shoddy
Nowadays the word “shoddy” means something that is cheap and poorly made and liable to come apart. The origins of the word date back to the 19th century. “Shoddy” (a noun) was a type of fabric made by...
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nErD Camp Long Island
On Saturday, November 5th, I’ll be attending the second annual nErD Camp Long Island at the Jericho Middle School in Jericho, New York. Teachers, librarians, illustrators and authors will get together...
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Rochester Children’s Book Festival
On Saturday, November 12th, I’ll be one of many authors and illustrators participating in the Rochester Children’s Book Festival. It’s from 10 to 4 at Monroe Community College, 1000 East Henrietta...
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NCTE 16 in Atlanta
Tomorrow I’m headed to Atlanta, Georgia, to spend a couple of days doing research. And then on Friday, November 18th, I’ll be participating in two panels for the National Council of Teachers of...
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Holiday Book Fair!
Hello, New England friends– On Saturday, December 3rd, I’ll be signing books at An Unlikely Story bookstore at 111 South Street in Plainville, Massachusetts, along with a bunch of other amazing authors...
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Santa’s Evil Sidekick
Loyal readers may have noticed that I haven’t been posting very frequently recently. That’s because I have a looming book deadline (January 25th, to be exact). But as it’s the holidays, I thought I’d...
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A Bad Air Day
You may have seen recent news reports about London’s dangerous air quality. In light of the current political climate in the U.S., I thought it might be timely to re-post a blog I wrote a few years...
View ArticleCover Reveal for my Next Book!
I hope you’ll click through to my post at the Nerdy Book Club to see the cover for my new book, which is due out September 5th. I hope you like it! The post Cover Reveal for my Next Book! appeared...
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Picture Perfect–How to Find and Use Images Legally
I have a guest post about how teachers and students can search for and use images for their informational writing projects. It’s here at Melissa Stewart’s blog — I hope you’ll check it out! The post...
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MRA Conference
On Thursday, April 7th, I’ll be at the Massachusetts Reading Association annual conference. Author Melissa Stewart and I will be conducting a workshop called Clearing the Writing Road Blocks, One at a...
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Nonfiction Joy
I had a chance to talk about nonfiction writing with educator JoEllen McCarthy and two of my favorite fellow NF writers, Loree Griffin Burns and Melissa Stewart, as part of the Educator...
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Spring Into Summer Reading Book Festival
New England friends– On Thursday, May 11th, I’ll be one of a group of visiting authors signing books at the Chenery (MA) Middle School Spring Into Summer Reading Author Festival. I hope you’ll stop by!...
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Thousand Islands Book Festival
On Saturday, June 3rd, from 9 am to 3 pm, I’ll be here, at the Thousand Islands Book Festival in Cape Vincent, New York. Hope to see some of my friends and readers there! The post Thousand Islands Book...
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