I signed a publishing contract!

I signed a publishing contract!

Elk Lake Publishing will be publishing a book of mine in about a year, I’m happy to announce. The book, a middle-grade novel, features time travel. I’m not going to tell you anything more about it right now. Sign up for my occasional newsletter if you want...
I am hopeful about my latest book!

I am hopeful about my latest book!

As you know, my loyal fans, I’ve been working on learning the novel-writing craft for about twelve years. I’ve learned a lot along the way, and I’ve been able to bless others as an editor and publisher. But my own fiction work remains unpublished....
Editing Jane Austen!?!

Editing Jane Austen!?!

A teen-aged Jane Austen wrote a novella that she never even titled, much less published herself. It’s been called Lady Susan, and now it’s been made into a movie, “Love and Friendship.” Austen is known for originating the romance novel. She...
Book Review: Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi

Book Review: Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi

Crispin: The Cross of Lead, by Avi, Book 1 in the Crispin trilogy Published 2002 by Hyperion Books for Children, New York, 262 pages Genre: Historical drama for tweens This book won the Newbery Award when it was published, and more recently the author has published...
Why is this car grinning?

Why is this car grinning?

Monster the car is grinning. He thinks he won. I’ve been fighting with this car ever since we got him, nearly ten years ago. Took him home, and our mechanic discovered somebody had put antifreeze where the brake fluid ought to be. The car had that cheesy grin...
My mother, mom and opera singer

My mother, mom and opera singer

Jane Ruth Elder, my mother, grew up in Tacoma, Washington, during the Depression in the family of a teacher. In those days, teachers were paid little. It became apparent that her parents could not afford music lessons for her, even though that is what she wanted more...