Imagine a place where everyone in the room adores books the way you do. A place where illustrations from children’s books, classic to modern, line the walls, and the chatter around you buzzes with words like “artist,” “create,” and “literature.” Are you dreaming? Probably not. You’re likely in Findlay, Ohio. Now you probably think I’m […]
Yes, indeed. My middle grade novel titled WINTERFROST was recently acquired by Candlewick Press. Look for it in 2014!
It all started on my birthday last month. Okay, that’s not true. It started a few years ago when my in-laws purchased some neighboring farmland with a sweet, little red brick one-room schoolhouse on it. Actually, not then. It started 22 1/2 years ago when I moved to the country and into a white house just down the […]
I hung clothes on the line this week. To some, this may sound like a mundane chore. But, for me, hanging clothes out on the clothesline is much more. And the reasons are as varied as the colors on the line. First, there’s that smell. That fresh, crisp, clean smell of sheets or towels or […]
It’s been two and a half years since my first book was released. I’m thankful for many things. To name just a few: the enthusiastic readers I’ve met, my fellow authors (especially the first-class crowd of Ohio authors) who support and cheer one another passionately, and the fact that the book is still in print! […]
I’m really not much of a mall shopper. I tend to gravitate toward small shops and neighborhood stores. But there’s something so wonderful, so magical about the mall – any mall – at Christmastime, I could spend hours there. From Santa’s house to a Winter Wonderland to the massive ornaments and decorations, I don’t need to spend […]
It’s a big stretch, I know. From cattle to gnomes. But my current work-in-progress has me reading and studying all about our wee friends in pointy hats. I’m developing a particular fondness for woodland gnomes. So, on a recent hiking trip in the Hocking Hills, my daughters, my nieces and I were on the lookout […]
NEW and FREE for teachers and librarians… The good folks at Illinois Farm Bureau have created a classroom study guide for THE BEEF PRINCESS OF PRACTICAL COUNTY. Complete with discussion questions, voCOWbulary, and extension activities, this classroom guide is a gold mine for any teacher or book club! CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE FREE […]
Last Friday, Maggie and I made a 4-hour drive from the farm to Gallia County, down on the Ohio River. We were on a research trip for a work-in-progress and our gracious hosts, Chuck and Marjorie, suggested a popular lunch spot in Gallipolis. Because “they have the best hot dog sauce,” Marjorie told me. “If you […]
