Yippy!

Excited to share my cover for Finding Fuzzy: A You-Decide Tale of a Lost Friend.  Its title is a mash-up from readers (you know who you are!), who offered suggestions for the perfect title of this illustrated chapter book for early readers.

Don't you just love Irene A. Jahn's dreamy artwork?  Plus, graphic artist Kayte Price makes Irene's watercolors smokin' hot.

Seeing my book cover for the first time is like being the kid who can't wait to open a gift. Then feeling over the moon once unwrapped and the present revealed. 

So, I'm feeling over the moon this morning and wishing you the same!

When I got the idea to post family-friendly ways to stave off cabin fever, I was being blitzed by snow and ice storms here in the southeastern US.  Now one week later, it’s warm enough that tornado watches and thunderstorm warnings have been issued.  Crazy!

So even though it’s not  winterish in my part of the world, come along with Sweet T and me one last time to find winter fun.

WHEN THE NORTH WIND BLOWS…..
Curl up and find the magic within a good book.

This week, I'm posting family-friendly ways to stave off cabin fever.  Come along with Sweet T and me to find winter fun.

WHEN THE NORTH WIND BLOWS …..
Race down an icy luge on your toboggan
Old Quebec City, CA
http://carnaval.qc.ca/en

This week, I'm posting family-friendly ways to stave off cabin fever.  Come along with Sweet T and me to find winter fun.

WHEN THE NORTH WIND BLOWS …..
Zoom on a snowmobile. And remember to brake for bison!

Crippling ice storms.  Record snow falls.  Power outages.  Brrrrr!  It's been a brutal winter.   This week, I'm posting family-friendly ways to stave off cabin fever.  Ride along with Sweet T and me on a magic scooter to find winter fun.

WHEN THE NORTH WIND BLOWS ....
Visit an Ice Castle Sculpture Garden
~ Midway, Utah USA  ~  icecastles.com

So many choices for finding nice-priced ebooks in today’s marketplace!  It can be overwhelming for parents, readers and writers.

CNET Review helps to clear the fog and compares two e-book services SCRIBD and Oyster here.  Anybody use either one?

Do you have a favorite way or service for downloading ebooks?

According to a recent poll, most people still prefer reading printed books.  However, e-books and audio are gaining traction. 

I’m one of the 8%-ers.  Love, love, love my downloadable audio books … especially the way they help me multi-task and make mundane chores almost enjoyable.  I pop in ear buds when exercising, too.  It’s surprising how I’ll walk that extra mile just to hear the next chapter!  Plus, we never leave home without an audio book or two to fill those long hours of a road trip. 

As a writer, I’m also striving to make my books available in both print and digital versions. 

What’s your reading preference?  Like the feel of printed matter in your hands?  Or do you have more digital books sitting on your virtual shelf?

Heads up, children’s writers, parents, and educators: a new way of teaching writing is coming to town.

Common Core Standards will soon be THE way of teaching writing in every US classroom in 2014-2015.   Lots of new terms to understand…

• Close Reading (short passages of nonfiction reading)
• Contextual Questions (questions requiring the text to find the answer)
• Project Based Learning (what teachers use to teach the Common Core)

Yikes!  As educators scramble to find ways to understand and implement the Common Core, children’s authors can help. 

For instance, we can mesh our books to the new system by developing posts that generate discussion questions.  Plus, we can provide author background and perspective for  writing our stories.

It’s a huge learning curve for everybody, but I’m blown away by the possibilities for indie authors.

Educator and writer Tiffany Turner explains what that this new method means to writers and more in her blog post here. 

Had to share this sweet photo of a sleeping child and her furry friend.  Katelyn’s photo triggered a mental snapshot I envisioned when writing about Jenna and her blue plush BFF in Finding Fuzzy: a You-Decide Tale of a Lost Friend. 

Makes me appreciate the countless varieties of blankies, binkies, nooks, Elmos, Fuzzies, etc., that young children love so dearly .... and never want to be without! 

What is your little person attached to?  Remember a time it was lost?

It’s been a long, cold winter, and the North Wind has been busier than ever.  In fact, it's blowing in five *free*  SIGNED copies of Sweet T and the North Wind through the Goodreads Book Giveaway program.

Interested?  Click on the link above for details about entering to win your free copy.  Offer ends on 28 February.