Update on editing and publishing
I notice I haven’t posted in eleven months. I’m not very focused on promoting myself, I guess. But I have been a busy bee! I have a manuscript that is ready for publication, in my professional opinion and that of other professionals, but it’s not...
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...
Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool, a review
Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool Published 2010 by Delacorte Press, 351 pages Genre: Historical middle grade/tween fiction, Newbery Medal winner Twelve-year-old Abilene Tucker arrives in the dusty, underpopulated town of Manifest, Kansas, during the height of...
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?
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
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...
My father, engineer
This slide rule belonged to my dad, the engineer. Eldred W. Hough, although he was the oldest son, wasn’t named for his father, Thomas C. Hough. Instead, his younger brother got the name Thomas Hough. So, why did the younger one get the father’s name?...Thomas Hough, immigrant and entrepreneur
Thomas Hough, an enterprising young man, was born in 1844 into a lower-class family in Yorkshire, England, and didn’t like his prospects. His education stopped at the sixth grade, and his dad was a wagon driver. He got a job at the local cotton mill as a lift...
Hi, I'm Phyllis Wheeler
Award-winning middle-grade Christian fiction writer extraordinaire! I'm excited to have you here. To learn more about me and my story as an author and homeschool mom, visit the About page.
Featured Book by Phyllis Wheeler
The Dog Snatcher: Guardians of Time Book 1
The kid just wants his beloved dog back. Before it’s too late.
Disbelief and shock fill eleven-year-old Jake when a stranger grabs his beloved dog. Jake and his twin Ava chase the scruffy teen down their suburban street, but the thief simply vanishes. So … what is this ancient-looking skeleton key Jake finds in the street? Turning it in the air takes the twins—somewhere else!