At this week’s Story Club, my creative workshop for young writers, we looked at friendships. Characters often come together as friends in our stories. Sometimes they are only friends for awhile, then turn into foes. Other times, like my own Element Girls, they are besties. Great friends in stories are…

In this week’s Story Club, my young writers’ workshop, we explored endings. We thought about something ending for a character, and how that would affect them. To begin with, we spent some time writing about an ending we’ve experienced, exploring thoughts and emotions around it. Endings in the children’s lives…

I feel so excited to share this blog post. At my recent Story Club, my young writers’s workshop, we connected with summer. Different poetry styles ranging from Haikus to Acrostic conveyed poems from the beautiful to the profound. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! Haikus You…

I’m so excited to announce my new book for young readers, The Fire Giant. For kids 7+ and the young at heart, The Fire Giant has themes of friendship and respect for nature. And of course Fire! First reviews are 5 stars, like this one on Amazon: A wonderful tale…

At this week’s Story Club, my young writer’s workshop, we did a free writing exercise. Free writing is a wonderful tool for unblocking the mind and getting the critical voice to quieten. It can unlock great story ideas and get creativity flowing. We spent 5 minutes writing whatever came to…

What a beautiful story. I like the ancient, epic aspect of the tale. Including the Greek myths gives weight to the timeless issue of unmet romantic love. The message of Earth love and kisses is a beautiful one. Thank you for sharing your vision!

By request, we looked at cliffhangers in Story Club, my young writers’ group. As readers, we discussed dislike for cliffhangers! We can lose sleep over a story that keeps us that engaged. And when one is called into dinner just after reading a fraught-with-tension end-of-chapter, it can be frustrating. As…

In this week’s Story Club, my young writers’ workshop, we looked at Plot Twists. How can we surprise the reader? Can we hide the truth and then uncover it in an ‘aha’ moment? I enjoyed the film City of Ember, which is based on a book. What amazing plot twists…

I recently read this high-action, creative tale of element powers, misbehaving unicorns, and young riders with heart. In Skandar and the Unicorn Thief, the first book in the Skandar series by A.F. Steadman, Skandar is a thirteen year old who has always longed to be a unicorn rider. He hero-worships…