As if I knew. But there are no “how to do it” rules. There are only “how I did it” stories. And each one of those stories is different. So here’s mine. Anybody who writes with the hope of getting published has heard, “Never give up! Keep trying! Be persistent!” But I did give up.… Continue reading How to Get Published (ha!)
Today is Tuesday, which means that SHE MADE A MONSTER officially goes on sale in exactly three weeks! I can’t believe it. Sometimes it seems like it’s been such a long time coming, but I’m told by those who know that the process actually went lickety-split for this book. And I have to believe them… Continue reading THREE Weeks til Pub Day!
To mark only TWO MONTHS until publication, I want to let Mary Shelley tell in her own words how she made a monster. This is the story as she tells it in her introduction to the 1831 edition of Frankenstein. Since it's a bit long, I'm going to divide it up into a few separate posts.… Continue reading How Mary Shelley made a monster… in her own words. Part 1.
Only 3 months to go til publication, plus SHE MADE A MONSTER has already gotten a couple of really nice reviews! From Booklist: "Eye-catching artwork and engaging storytelling give this biography of a fascinating woman even more appeal." And Kirkus: "An elegant picture book that will signal to young readers that there is more to the… Continue reading Getting Closer… and, Reviews!
Yesterday I crawled out of my introvert’s cave, grabbed my proofs of SHE MADE A MONSTER and made my way to Bel & Bunna’s Books in Lafayette. I’ve been really nervous about doing marketing and promotion, but Bel McNeill was so kind and enthusiastic about my upcoming picture book debut that I felt at home… Continue reading Close Encounter with an Actual Bookseller!
In honor of Women's History Month, I'd like to share some quotes from Mary Shelley's mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, author of the seminal feminist work A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792). I think it reflects her time and the forces arrayed against her that Wollstonecraft is so skilled at shrewdly turning around the arguments of… Continue reading Thoughts from Mary Shelley’s Mother
Last week I was responding to an Instagram post from the San Francisco Public Library ("What is the first book you remember reading?") and I wanted to check my memory and make sure there really was a book called Bears in the Night (or, as I read it out that first time, "Bears in the… Continue reading Too Many Bears?
