Sailing Update
Having just returned from a day on the water it seems like a good time to do a bit of an update on the sailing front. Despite the fact we don’t have a boat (yet), I have marked November 1st as the date we will head for Europe […]
Speed Dating With My Daughter
Book promotion comes in all shapes and sizes. Signing books at a bookstore or doing a presentation at a school, library, or literary festival are all par for the course when it comes to getting the word out about a new book. This week, though, Dani and I […]
Two Book Birthdays in the Same Week!
When it rains, it pours, as they say… As if having one book come out this week wasn’t exciting enough, the latest in the Orca Origins series arrived today! Birthdays: Beyond Cake and Ice Cream is a collaboration with my talented daughter, Dani. Dani and I also wrote […]
Deadpoint is Alive!
It never gets old, the arrival of a new book! Deadpoint was officially released into the wilds today (and, by wilds, I mean your local bookstore, library, or online bookseller…)! I love the quote on the bookmarks, “Fear is not an option.” I even like the punctuation – that […]
When the Writing Just Stops
It’s so weird how this happens. I’m beavering away, have lots of ideas, am all eager to work and then… something shifts. The momentum completely stops. And I find myself drifting about feeling like I have never written anything and will never write again. This morning I was […]
Fewer Words, Longer Process
Waaaaay back in 2014, my then agent (P) posted a link to an interesting NPR story about a woman bricklayer on Facebook. I can’t remember exactly what P said, but I think she mused that the article might provide inspiration for a story of some sort. I was […]
The Book that Almost Wasn’t (and which is now, apparently, very popular with New York Public Library librarians…)
Where do you get your ideas? Whenever I do a presentation, someone inevitably asks where my ideas come from. It’s a hard question to answer because my ideas come from everywhere, all the time. Getting ideas isn’t much of a problem as pretty much anything anyone says or […]
Myths of the Sea
And the newest of the new books has arrived! This was a cool project with Pearson in London. There are three pieces included this volume – a short short story called Sean and the Sea Maiden, a re-telling of part of the Odysseus story, and a non-fiction piece […]
The Best of Times… and, not so much
Well today’s reading (as I’m finishing up the first draft of my new book in the Orca Footprints series about love, families, communities, and global cooperation) has been, as they say, the best of times and the worst of times. I was working on a couple of sections […]
A Shout Out to My Agent! Thanks, Amy!
For years I didn’t have an agent. Then I had one for a while and we didn’t really click. So then I didn’t have an agent again. After a few more years, I decided to try again and have been with Transatlantic Agency ever since (though, as people […]
From the ‘Weird Things I Discover’ Department…
In the course of doing research for a new book I dug up this factoid: The American Tarantula Society has enough members to warrant an annual conference and publication of a magazine! I’m not actually writing a book about arachnids, though that might be quite cool… This research is […]
Deadpoint Advance Reading Copies!
Sometimes getting mail is SO MUCH FUN!! These four ARCs of Deadpoint arrived in the mail today. They are already spoken for, but if you are a blogger or reviewer, let me know (I’ve added a ‘Stay in Touch’ link over on the right, or find my email address […]
Deep Roots and a Forest of Reading
There is nothing quite so exciting (and hole-in-tongue-inducing) as getting an email that tells you not to mention to anyone that you have received an email with wonderful news! Such was the case when I learned that Deep Roots: How Trees Sustain Our Planet has been nominated for […]
New Cover Revealed
It’s always exciting when we get to see a new cover for the first time. Birthdays: Beyond Cake and Ice Cream will be out in March of next year and is part of the Orca Origins series of non-fiction titles for kids. It was lots of fun to […]
Deadpoint Trailer
Well, that was fun! When Allegra came to visit this summer she and I decided to create a book trailer for Deadpoint. Allegra is a good climber, a natural director, and a fine writer. She came up with a concept, wrote the script, played the role of Ayla, […]
Ordinary Day at the Office
There are days when I just love my job. Writing the novel Deadpoint (which is a hi-interest, low-vocabulary novel for reluctant teen readers) has been fun from Day One. Day One was spent sitting at… Source: Ordinary Day at the Office
Getting Personal
One of the things I love about the various Orca non-fiction series I’ve been working on is the way each author must insert themselves into the manuscript by including relevant personal anecdotes. As a result, we are writing about topics that a) interest us on a personal level […]
When it Rains…
Busy doesn’t even begin to describe what’s on the writing to-do list these days! As sometimes happens, two manuscripts have landed back on my desk for editing at the same time – both with similar deadlines. The first is Deadpoint in the Orca Sports series, a novel for […]
Trees, Trees and more Trees!
It doesn’t matter how often it happens, it’s always an exciting day when a new book arrives! Deep Roots: How Trees Sustain Our Planet is the latest in the Orca Footprints series. It’s only just come out, but already it is getting some great reviews! If you are […]
What’s That I See?
One of the new projects I’m working on is a collaboration with Sylvia Olsen and Jean Jordan. We are researching and writing a biography for children about Elizabeth May, Canada’s first Green Party MP in Ottawa. Elizabeth has a long history of activism and we’ve been reading and […]
Nikki Tate - Author 