I'm so happy to be participating in World Read Aloud Day for the second year in a row. According to LitWorld, "Every year, on World Read Aloud Day, people all around the globe read aloud together and share stories to advocate for literacy as a human right that belongs to all people." Today, I'm Skyping with several classes around the country, from kindergarten to third grade. Depending on the age of the students, I'll be reading either one of my picture books, SCARLET'S MAGI

Sandie Sonke created magic with her illustrations for our picture book, SCARLET'S MAGIC PAINTBRUSH. Her talent and vision stood out from the beginning, and I was delighted to share this project with her. I'm so happy to feature Sandie on my blog today. STORIES – Discuss what inspires your ideas and stories, and share the process about your latest projects. Thank you for inviting me here, Melissa! Inspiration is all around me, but I would say I’m inspired by my two children Co

This post was first published on the #EPIC18READS blog. I am proud to be a member of Epic18, a group of authors and illustrators with debut picture books releasing in 2018. My debut picture book, SCARLET'S MAGIC PAINTBRUSH, releases from Clear Fork Publishing in August, 2018! My typical writing day truly is not typical. My work patterns change every day to meet my most pressing writing-related needs, my deadlines, my inspiration, my other daily life priorities, and my mood. E

A year ago at the end of 2017, I started this blog -- This Writing Life: Stories, Creativity, and Connection. My second blog post was a gratitude cloud based on learning from Julie Hedlund's 12 Days for Christmas for Writers series. And here we are --- a year later! I have lots to be grateful for from 2017: Family Friends The KidLit Writing Community My Clear Fork Publishing Family The Children's Book Academy 12 x 12 StoryStorm SCBWI Conferences This Blog!!! My debut chapter