We had a lovely book group at our house last night when Ally Condie, the author of Summerlost–the book we were discussing–joined us. Ally was gracious and well-spoken, generous with both her answers and her time. It was another reminder…
Picture Book Workshop
Join me and a group of professionals including a bookseller and children’s literature professor, a New York Times best-selling author, a children’s book illustrator, and director of the Provo Library to learn what it takes to write and publish a…
A Midsummer’s Night Dream Launch Party
This was a fun day–with colleagues and friends and flowers and fairy dust. And a waffle truck! Here’s the talk I presented at The King’s English Bookshop on April 2, 2016, for my book launch. As with all Shakespeare plays,…
How My Parents Taught Me to Love Literature
My parents taught me to love books at a very young age. My father enrolled me in a book of the month club from Disney. They were those jacketless hardcover picture books that retold fairy tales like Robin Hood and…
A Midsummer’s Night Dream Is Here!
I could not be happier with the final BabyLit: A Midsummer’s Night Dream. Alison Oliver has outdone herself with the illustrations of fairies and the “fairy graffiti” on the pages with text. This book was a little different, in that…
Zombelina Dances the Nutcracker
What do The Walking Dead and children’s books have in common? More than you think. My family despairs of my love of The Walking Dead. My dad will never understand it. He asks me with utter credulity, “What is actually…
Halloween Board Books for Little Punkins
There’s a recent proliferation of board books for really young children, and the Halloween display table in The King’s English Bookshop is sporting a lot of great holiday-themed ones. With these books, you can introduce your toddler to the ghosts,…
WIFYR Conference
Just finished up an intensive week teaching a full novel writing class at Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers. So proud of my students, who #1 finished a complete draft of a manuscript #2 were brave enough to show it…
So This Is What It’s Like Being a Writer?
The last time I was at a launch party for one of my books, someone came up to me and said, “So this is what it’s like being a writer? Just one party after another, huh.” They were kind of…
Guest House
Photography assignment, near Hanksville, Utah May 2015