Goodnight Jesus

Writing Through 2020 and Other Hard Times

Writing Through 2020 and Other Hard Times

Let’s face it: 2020 is a dumpster fire, in a train wreck, at a goat rodeo. If it were a novel synopsis, editors wouldn’t get past the first paragraph before saying it was too unbelievable. The writers room for 2020 is terrible! You don’t put a small earthquake in the middle of a race revolution …

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Get Published and Paid with Work For Hire Writing

Get Published and Paid With Work For Hire Writing

My picture book series, the Little Elephants’ Big Adventures, is coming out soon! (Fingers crossed that 2020 doesn’t change that.) These books were a work for hire collaboration with Purdue University that began way back in 2016. There are six books in the series (so far) and the first three will be coming out soon. …

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How I Got Started and Kept Going as a Kidlit Writer: Dumb Luck, Divine Intervention, and hard Work

How I got Started And Kept Going As a Kidlit Writer: Dumb Luck, Divine Intervention, and Hard Work

I’ve never publicly shared my “how I got started as a kidlit writer” story. Why? Well… If I’m honest, it’s because my story starts with a lot of dumb luck and divine intervention. In fact, I never even considered myself to be a writer, let alone a good one. Let’s start at the beginning. How …

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2019 Kids books for every age and stage

2019 Book Gift List for Kids at Every Age and Stage

Yay! It’s time for me to gush about some books and convince you to buy them for every child you know. This has become a yearly tradition for me. (For five years now!) I admit – I get excited going through my Goodreads list and rediscovering the books I’ve read that year. I get less …

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How Children's books are Made: Part 1. The Truth About Illustrations

How a Children’s Book is Made: Part 1. The Truth About Illustrations

Being an author is a funny thing: everyone has heard of your job. (Unlike my husband – a systems architect.) But people don’t know what it is I actually do. (My husband and I have that one in common.) Whether you’re a writer hoping to publish a book or a kidlit lover who is curious …

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2018 List of Books to give to kids: Kids books for every age and stage: Baby to Teen and everything in between

BIG List of Books for Kids: 2018 edition

It’s that time of year again: where I try to convince you to buy books for every child you know this holiday season. This is my fourth year putting together this list (!!!). It’s always a lot of fun to look back at what I read over the year – like revisiting old friends. I …

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12 Books for Babies and Toddlers and Why They Work

12 Books for Babies and Toddlers and Why They Work

Earlier this month, I Pray Today, my second book for babies and toddler was published. Today is the last day of the blog tour to celebrate. I’ve been working on book reviews all year, though. Each month I gather up a few books I love and share them with my readers. I call it Kidlit …

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