Category: Authors

Giveaway Time: It’s Mad about Madeleine Month!

You GUYS! If you follow me at all, you know I’m a huge admirer of Madeleine L’Engle, both as an author and a person. She’s become a bit of a spiritual guide for me as I pursue my own writing journey. I count 30 books by her on my bookshelf. That’s not obsessive, right…?

I digress. Let’s get to the GIVEAWAYS! Yes, that’s plural. I’m doing a giveaway every week this month in celebration of my love for L’Engle’s writing.

Tomorrow, February 6th, Becoming Madeleine, drops. I’m really looking forward to this biography on Madeleine written by two of her granddaughters, Charlotte Jones Voiklis and Léna Roy. It’s written for a middle grade audience, so right up my alley as a writer of middle grade fiction, but I think it will be a great read for any age.

My copy will be arriving soon, but what about yours? Time for a giveaway! Enter below to win your own copy of Becoming Madeleine.

Tell me what your favorite Madeleine L’Engle book is and why!

The giveaway starts today and will end Sunday, February 11th.

And, stay tuned for more Madeleine themed giveaways this month. Follow me on social media to find out more next week!

Good luck!

**Please note: all entrants must live in the continental U.S. to receive a hard copy or be willing to accept an ebook (Kindle) edition in place of a hard copy if at an international address.**

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5 Great Reasons to Attend the Arkansas SCBWI Conference this June

Although Arkansas is the proud host of quite a few writing conferences, the Society for Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) conference is the only major conference in the state focused specifically on writing for children. Here are my top 5 reasons for attending the conference!

Although Arkansas is the proud host of quite a few writing conferences, the Society for Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) conference is the only major conference in the state focused specifically on writing for children. Here are my top 5 reasons for attending the conference!

#1 – Editors and Agents

 

The conference will host two editors and one agent from New York publisher Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic and Waxman Leavell Literary Agency. This is an easy way to get your work in front of editors and agents. That’s a BIG deal, and it’s not easy to accomplish.

 

 

#2 – Connect

 

This is a great opportunity to meet other writers from around the state. Writing can be a hard, lonely business. Use this conference to connect with other children’s writers in Arkansas and stay in touch throughout the year.

 

 

#3 – Downtown River Market

 

The conference is being held in the Butler Center in downtown Little Rock right in the River Market District. Spend a weekend in the capital and enjoy what downtown Little Rock has to offer.

 

 

#4 – Friendly Faces

The Arkansas SCBWI conference is NOT intimidating. This isn’t your overcrowded, get lost in the shuffle kind of conference. We’re a small, friendly group of writers looking to support one another. You will have the chance to speak with other writers, and you’ll get to chat with the industry professionals speaking at the conference as well.

Other conferences can be so full of writers that it’s hard to meet anyone, let alone talk personally with the editors and agents. Not so at the Arkansas conference.

#5 – Write Well

 

Become a better writer. In the end, that’s what we’re all looking for, and the conference sessions will help every writer get better at every aspect of writing, from working on that book to pursuing publication and everything in between.

 

 

The Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Arkansas will hold its annual conference June 16-17 in Little Rock. Find out more information at scbwi.org or on Facebook SCBWI Arkansas.

I’ll see you there!

 

 

Thankfulness – Diversity

I knew I wanted to end my November thankfulness series by spotlighting diverse authors. I didn’t realize how appropriate that would be.

Last week Jacqueline Woodson won the National Book Award for Brown Girl Dreaming. When I finished Brown Girl Dreaming in October, I knew it was one of the best books I’ve read in years. Jackie’s skilled telling of her childhood combined with the racial tension and events occurring in the 1960s and 70s brought an even clearer picture of the struggle she and many others have faced.

Immediately after accepting her award, the emcee of the event, a fellow children’s author, made an inappropriate, racist remark thinly veiled as an attempt at humor. It sadly revealed that the very things Jackie wrote about in Brown Girl Dreaming are alive in America today.

A  heartfelt, public apology was made and backed up by raising over $100,000 for the #weneeddiversebooks campaign. Although that’s a wonderful outcome, it doesn’t erase the initial remark or the hurt and humiliation it must have caused.

Last night a grand jury in Ferguson failed to indict a police officer for killing an unarmed black teenager. I’m not making a legal judgment on a case where I don’t have all the facts (does anyone?), but I am shocked by the lack of empathy I’ve seen and heard today as I interact on social media, read opinions and talk with others.

My mind goes back to Jackie’s book, to her struggles as a child, and the realization that the struggles continue for so many in our country while others remain blind to what’s happening. This is exactly why we need books like Brown Girl Dreaming.

So today, with a heavy heart for those who are facing situations like we’ve seen in Ferguson, for those living in a world where hardships and challenges are more common than privileges, a world where we must have a #weneeddiversebooks campaign to increase the diversity of our writing, I’m thankful for writers like Jacqueline Woodson, An Na, Sherman Alexie, Pam Muñoz Ryan, Julia Alvarez, Tina McElroy Ansa, Sandra Cisneros, Marjane Satrapi and so many more – writers who are writing about their diversity, their experiences, their stories for the next generation.

Your stories matter. Your words matter. Your lives matter.

And we need them.

Thank you.

 

 

Thankfulness – C.S. Lewis

In this month of thankfulness, the second author I’m thankful for is C.S. Lewis. It seems like I was always rereading one of the Chronicles of Narnia as a child.

Lantern on SnowLewis’ seven book series about the world entered through the wardrobe, the painting, the magic rings and other ways fascinated me. What child doesn’t want to discover a secret world where animals can talk and children can meet Santa Claus and fight in battles?

I loved that you never knew how or when an adventure to Narnia might begin. It could happen at any time, so you had to be expectant, watchful, ever dreaming of the next adventure. I found that true in my life as a child, and just as true as an adult. You don’t know when the next adventure is beginning. It could be just around the corner.

I’m not sure when I first made the connection between Aslan and Jesus. It probably wasn’t the first reading, and maybe not the second, but somewhere in those many readings, I realized Lewis was drawing a parallel between Aslan’s decision to let the White Witch kill him and the crucifixion of Jesus. I began to search for other parallels in the writing, and the books took on a new thrill as the deeper meanings of Lewis’ stories began to unfold before me.

There’s something magical and inviting about the world Lewis created that strengthened Lionmy faith in this world. I like to think that parts of his stories are in some ways true, if not here, then in a world I haven’t discovered yet, that world where talking animals do exist and I will get to meet Father Christmas face to face. That world where Aslan is king, both as the lion Lewis created and the man he personified.

 

“Africa Lion” Image courtesy of tiverylucky at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

“Lantern on Snow” Image courtesy of papaija2008 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net