If you’ve read my blog or follow me on social media or heard me speak, you probably know how much I am obsessed with Scotland. It wasn’t always that way, though. But I met Scotland at a pivotal time in my life. I first visited Scotland when I was 13 years old. I was with… Read more »
The Mad Wolf’s Daughter
Historical Novel Society Review
The Historical Novel Society is a great resource. On their website, aficionados of historical fiction may learn about what historical novels are out in the English-speaking world, or research ones from the past. I’ve gone to their website many times to look at reviews. It’s especially nice because the people reviewing are as big on… Read more »
Story Bite 13: The Very Beginning (Part 2)
In the last story bite, we came up with an idea. Now we’re going to put that idea on the page. And what we’re looking for is…an opening line. First, I want everyone to know that it is extremely rare for a professional author to nail that opening line in the first writing of the… Read more »
Real Medieval (and pre-Medieval) Scottish Weaponry!
In my school talks, I chat a wee bit about the weaponry mentioned in my books. And after a visit early this summer to the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh (my favorite museum ever, by the way), I’ve some wonderful examples of medieval weaponry and armor that link nicely to my books. First, here’s… Read more »
Teacher’s Guide: Update
With the school year about to begin (and having already begun in some parts of the country), I’ve finally got around to updating the Teacher’s Guide for The Mad Wolf’s Daughter to include some new resources, as well as discussion questions for The Hunt for the Mad Wolf’s Daughter. I realize that sequels are rarely used in classrooms as… Read more »
Student Book Awards
I love student book award programs: They encourage kids to read, and especially to read books they might not have discovered on their own. When I volunteered in my son’s elementary school library, I shelved the Maine Student Book Award (MSBA) nominees and admired the wide variety of choices the committee picked. These weren’t only… Read more »
Being an Award-Winning Author
There are some lovely huge moments in an author’s life: the moment you hold your first book, the first time you read from your first book aloud to an audience, the first time a student tells you how much your work has meant to them…and sometimes formal recognition of other kinds as well. I had… Read more »
Discussion Question: On Being Strong
This is the first post in a series of in-depth discussion questions, to accompany my Teachers’ Guide, or simply be a guide for anyone reading The Mad Wolf’s Daughter with a group. Anyone who’s read The Mad Wolf’s Daughter will have a few adjectives they might use to describe my protagonist, Drest. “Strong” is probably the first. And… Read more »
Sherman’s in Portland, Maine
Sherman’s (a local bookstore chain in Maine) was the bookstore I grew up with, and so it was great fun to be on a tour of several Sherman’s stores this summer. On Saturday, we were in Portland. Usually when I drive down to Maine’s largest city, it’s to go to my day job, but for… Read more »
Drest (and Me) in Scotland: Part 1
Scotland, and Edinburgh and the Borders in particular, are places very close to my heart. Early this summer, I made my third trip in my adult life. As usual, it was a part-research trip and part-family vacation. Because The Mad Wolf’s Daughter is in print, I took along a copy with the idea to pose it at… Read more »
These lilacs have the most glorious scent, but are pretty modest in their way. The former colleague I lost over the weekend to cancer would have liked them for both those reasons.
#flowers #grief #lilacs
It’s been a tough week. A moment with a few flowers can make a difference.
#flowers #azalea #springflowers