From Avi: As I did last summer, I’ve invited 13 admired middle grade authors to write for my blog for the next three months. I hope you’ll tune in each Tuesday to see who has answered these three questions. You should have a list of terrific books to read and share and read aloud by the end of the summer … along with new authors to follow!
Your favorite book on writing:
My current favorite book on writing is Land of the Dead: Lessons from the Underworld on Storytelling and Living by Brian McDonald and Toby Cypress.
Reading aloud from my books:
A book of mine that benefits most from reading out loud is called Moving House. My now-teenaged children still say one of the lines from it whenever they come home: “Hello home! We’re home, home!”
Where do you write most often?
Here’s where I write in the early mornings. Currently a prose project which I’m drafting in long-hand. I heard Neil Gaiman does that, and decided to try it. It’s marvelous working away from a screen, for one thing.
Here’s where I’m drawing these days. Current project on the Cintiq, which I really enjoy working on, even though I miss my little watercolor field kit.
Particulars
We invite you to read this wonderful graphic novel, illustrated by Mark Siegel, and written by Siena Cherson Siegel, Mark’s spouse. “Beautiful descriptions of different dancers and performances offer an inside look at the nuances of ballet and work in tandem with the striking black lined and purple shaded illustrations that capture the movement of the dancers … A notable addition to graphic novel collections …” (SLJ)