Aiden Goes to School and Travels the World

Great Way to Launch a Book
Reading the newly released Prisoner of Carrot Castle to five classrooms of 1st and 2nd graders at the Arlene Hein Elementary School in Elk Grove, California was a great way to launch a book app. Local authors were invited to read during the school's annual Read-a-thon. The Prisoner of Carrot Castle wowed the kids being the only digital interactive book at the event.

The students and teachers loved it! Most had never seen an iPad storybook app before. Having a passion for storytelling and a heart for children, I enjoyed reading with enthusiasm—getting into each character of the story.

A red cape and an over-sized wooden fork served as a costume for one child to "become" Aiden as I read the story. What a perfect way to enjoy the story of a boy who loved to costume play. Everyone wanted to be Aiden.

At the end of each reading, I allowed the children to play the games included in the app. They really enjoyed the hands-on experience. I explained the “Read to Me” feature and showed the students how to use it.

After school, the authors convened in the multi-purpose room and signed and sold books. I signed and sent home colorful postcards of The Prisoner of Carrot Castle with details on the app and how to order it.

The children had many questions. (These are bright kids with a great future!) They wanted to know: How long does it take to build an app? How did you come up with the story? Is it a regular book, too? Are you making other story apps? Can I dress the knight next?


Aiden Travels to More Countries

Aiden's been busy showing up in more countries around the world. Add Ireland, France, Norway and Indonesia to the countries enjoying The Prisoner of Carrot Castle.

Would you like The Prisoner of Carrot Castle read at your school?

Why I Write for Children

I am passionate about writing for children. They are our future. It is our job to nurture them to become independent, caring and productive adults. Writing books for children is one way I can have an impact on the growth and character of children.

Those of you who follow my blog will remember my grand-nephew Drew. I featured Drew in my post Precious Moments of Independence. His mom recently bought him "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein. After a few readings by mom and dad, Drew could read for himself... with a smidge of help. Drew is a very bright four-year-old despite his autism. A diagnosis of autism does not preclude a child from learning. Check out his "reading" skills on the video.

Reading to children is the best way to get your child to be a good reader. It opens up new worlds and experiences for their growing minds to soak up.

Sold... to Clubhouse Jr. Magazine

I heard from Suzanne Gosselin, editor of Clubhouse Jr. Magazine on Friday February 12th. They love my non-fiction article on dog jobs, It's a Dog's Job But Somebody's Gotta Do It.... and they will be purchasing the article! WaaaaaaaaaHooooooooo! I screamed for joy when I read the email. Yes! I am excited! Clubhouse Jr. has a circulation of 65,000.

Our twenty-eight-year-old son read all the Focus on the Family children's magazines while growing up: Clubhouse Jr. (ages 4 - 8), Clubhouse (ages 8 - 12) and the no longer produced Breakaway (boys 12 - 18). These wonderful, fun-filled magazines will delight your kids and grandkids. Get them a subscription for an upcoming birthday or Easter. Even a savvy two-year-old, like my grandnephew, loves Clubhouse Jr.

Picture Book Manuscript Done

Hidden Falls above Jenny Lake, Grand Teton National Park

Whew! It's finished--at least until it gets to an editor at a publisher. Now I'm ready to search out a publisher, find an agent and get to work on the next book project. I also have a few more children's articles up my sleeve that I want to tackle.

The book, The Tail of Chessie--The Heart of God, is nothing like the original version I wrote last summer. It underwent a complete overhaul keeping only the major premise--teaching children about the character of God through a dog. The long process included a professional edit by a children's author, several critiques at Mount Hermon's Writer's Conference, and last but not least, the scrutiny of fellow members of Inspire Christian Writers critique group. It has been seen by no less than nine pairs of eyes with sharp pencils. I really like the book in its current state.

And now for a treat, here's a link to Julie Cantrell's blog on how she got lucky and landed a fabulous agent. Julie is the newly published author of the companion picture books God is with Me through the Night and God is with Me through the Day. I will be following Julie's outline on her blog to make my query and proposal as perfect as possible.  Hope this helps you in your publishing journey.

Top 10 Tips for Children's Fiction Writers

The top 10 tips for writing fiction for children provided by Greenhouse Literary Agency. Make a copy and tape close by your keyboard for easy reference.

Number 6 can be a struggle for me. Once you set your POV keep it consistent. Number 11, however, is the best. If you embrace 11 and follow the 10, you'll have a winner.

Tell me which tip you found most useful. 

Writing For Kids — Alleluia!

He is Risen — Alleluia!

I went to the Mount Hermon Writer's Conference and came home with my mind filled to the brim. I made many new friends from all over the country. It was an incredible experience. Go to Inspire Writers to read more about my experience at the conference.

Writing for children is a particular craft all to itself. I took the Children's Writing track with Mona Hodgson who has written numerous children's books from picture books to middle grade non-fiction. With 21 years of experience, she packed a lot of great material in the 9 hours of workshop.

She revealed requirements we must possess to write great material for children and important aspects, such as: 

• Why write for children?
• Where to look for ideas
• What formats for each age group

Mona covered details about each type of book, the various formats and relevant age groups as well as all facets of story construction and how to submit manuscripts for each. She opened our eyes to others forms of writing for children, for example:

• Magazines
• Church take home papers
• Devotionals
• Curriculum
• Poetry
• Miscellaneous (e.g., rebus, puzzles, activities, cartoon, crafts and quizzes)

In future posts I will talk about a particular area about writing for children that I learned, for example, how to write a cover letter for your manuscript.

Tell me what you would like to know about writing for children.