Blog Hop Time!

I'm hopping again - I've been tagged by my fellow Story Pie Press author, Jodi Moore (GOOD NEWS NELSON and WHEN A DRAGON MOVES IN). My assignment - answer a few questions about myself and my writing, then tag another author (or a few) "IT" to keep the hop moving!

So here goes:

WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?

I'm juggling 4 projects at the moment - not including kids' homework! I have 3 nonfiction books in various stages - one I'm working through revision notes from my editor, another I am drafting, and a third I just researched and turned in an outline. I'm also still working on my mystery MG (from the summer of fiction!) I've started drafting, but need to get in a better routine to make sure that I'm making consistent progress on this one.

WHICH GENRE DO YOU LIKE THE MOST?

Now that is a hard one - it's like asking me which kid I like the most. For the record, when asked that by my three kiddos - I always answer "Lily" (the dog). For writing - I think I like them all, and actually, I like having variety in what I'm working on. If I did the same type of book all the time - same age group, subject, structure, I think I'd get bored pretty quickly. Although I write a lot of nonfiction - and you could say that is a single genre - I cover a wide range of subjects, for many different age groups. So each project feels fresh!

WHAT IS THE HARDEST THING ABOUT WRITING?

Having the discipline to get your butt in the chair for sure!! Being a writer is pretty solitary - there's no clock to punch or boss to check in to make sure you're at your desk. So you have to be your own motivator. Set goals. And make sure that you don't let anything - the Internet, TV, crazy kids - distract you from what you want to accomplish. It may be a simple as writing 20 minutes a day. Or reading a specific genre each day. Or researching a topic. As long as it is a step towards your goal!

WHY DO YOU LIKE BEING A WRITER?

Variety! I love learning new things, researching new subjects. Even in fiction, you can have research to investigate a setting, time period, historical event, etc. For example, in my mystery MG - I've found the perfect place to be the main setting. And it really exists in my town! So I'm planning a field trip - to visit this location and tour the home, walk the grounds, and record every single detail that I can. Smells, sounds, sights, everything! And then I'll be able to put those details into my writing and HOPEFULLY bring this place to life!

So that's the end of my four questions for today - I'm tagging the next author:

Aviva Orr, one of my fab critique group members, is the author of the awesome THE MIST ON BRONTE MOOR. It's a fab mash-up between a modern teen and the historical world of the Bronte family.

Happy Hopping!

Silver Medal!

I'm excited to announce that one of my books -

Forensics - Uncover the Science and Technology of Crime Scene Investigation

illustrated by Samuel Carbaugh and published by Nomad Press won the Silver medal in the 2013 Moonbeam Awards in the educational science and activity book category!

We had a lot of fun creating this one - I had my kids posing as dead bodies, lifting fingerprints, examining bite marks in styrofoam plates, and predicting height from "bones".If you've got a reader with an interest in the science behind CSI, you might want to check it out!