I take New Years Resolutions very seriously:  think about them and talk about them and write them down --and, I admit, sometimes fo...

    I sent my novel off to my agent last week -- electronically, but towards the end I can read it more objectively on paper, penci...

Authors rarely seem FRANK in their advice to other writers -- maybe because those who are sometimes lose their mystique. Trollop, for exampl...

    I've asked the other Blue Rose Girls, and the contest now has a prize and lasts longer: the prize is the BRGs book of your ...

    I've always loved Little Bear (as drawn by Maurice Sendak) imagining himself flying to the moon and telling his mother all ...

    Yesterday I finally finished* the first draft of my novel and printed it out, planning to sit down, pencil in hand, and mark it ...

       You can listen to Roald's Dahls' answers here . The interview was given in 1988, two years before his death, in the gyp...

       " Anne and her family lived alone on an island. She enjoyed having tea time with her friends the spiny lobster and bab...

We have a tradition on this blog of not reviewing books -- and I am all in favor of it. So this isn't a review, just a story ab...

The beginning of this was familiar to me, but the nots at the end -- not even needing to believe in yourself, always feeling a "...

My impression of writers' conferences and retreats is pretty negative. I think of competitive people sucking up and looking...

Last week I was listening to NPR on the way to the grocery store and they were talking about the subject of writing. There were two quote...

Some of you may have noticed that I've had the same book on the right for the whole history of this blog (and for quite a few years ...

The New York Times recently had an article about how every decision you make depletes your energy -- and your supply of glucose (blood sug...

On some Scottish islands when it's sunny all day they call it "a given day," and I was lucky enough to be given several, all i...

This week, I did a "detox" using juices from the amazing NYC vegan restaurant Blossom. I know these are not designed for weight lo...

In addition to writing children's books, I do a lot of editing, and when it comes to fiction (non-fiction is completely different i...

Usually the boys I babysit for aren't too interested in my books and writing. But when the topic was TRUCKS, all that changed. The ...

I haven't taken a going-away vacation, or, in fact, ANY declared,I'm-not-working-for-two-weeks time in 5 years. Freelancers! What ab...