Summer Blog Series: Avi
May 30, 2023
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In which I answer the three questions I’ve sent on to 13 admired middle grade authors for my Summer Blog Series. Stay tuned each Tuesday for suggestions from a new author.
Blog
Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum
May 23, 2023
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Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson, first published serially under the title, The Sea Cook, has enormously impacted me since I first read it as an adolescent.
Words, words, words
May 16, 2023
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Shakespeare was an extraordinary inventor of new words, words that entered the mainstream of our vocabulary so that we use them today as a matter of course.
Series and Sequels
May 8, 2023
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It’s not unusual for me to get a note from a reader asking me to extend the life—if you will—of a character in one of my novels or stories with a new tale.
Story Behind the Story: What Do Fish Have to Do with Anything?
May 2, 2023
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Short stories, I find, are hard to write, but both fascinating to work on, and when successful, enormously satisfying.
A Letter from the Editor
April 25, 2023
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One of the standard forms of communication between a writer and publisher is the editorial letter. It works this way:
The Phantom of the Opera and Rereading
April 18, 2023
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In which I marvel at the number of times Phans have attended The Phantom of the Opera and re-read books such as Harry Potter, Pride and Prejudice, and The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. Let’s compile a list of books worth re-reading.
Wow!
April 11, 2023
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One of the more intricate questions a writer of historical fiction must deal with is language. English, which has the largest vocabulary of any of the world’s languages, is constantly evolving …
This Blog and You, the Reader
April 4, 2023
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Perhaps it’s time to ask, what do you think of it? Is it worth reading? I’d love to hear from YOU.
The Writer’s Toolbox
March 28, 2023
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Does a writer have a toolbox? What are the essential devices I need and use to write? Are there tools for my trade?