Updates and blog – Page 18

Happy Fourth of July!

4JulySuzanne4 CommentsFlash Friday, Writing

After properly scaring (or should that be scarring?) our neighbors and chickens with lovely fireworks from across the border, most of which flew so high they lit up the sky and disappeared, I’ve finally settled down to my post. Â But first, a flaming M&M dude. Â Because apparently this is what happens when you stuff a

A quick read before the Fourth

29JuneSuzanne8 CommentsMarvelous Middle Grades, The Bookshelf

When I was a kid, my first personal connection to American history came through a story about Francis Scott Key writing the poem that would later become our National Anthem. Â That was just a short bit in a history mag (I think–my memory’s vague) but this story written by Monica Kulling and Illustrated by Richard

Steampunking the World

27JuneSuzanne2 CommentsFlash Friday, Writing

I’ll be at ConTemporal today, reveling in the steampunk world. Â My panel schedule (should you find yourself a transport pad and a few extra hours) is as follows: Fri (the 27th) 5:00 pm Â What Can Professional Organizations Offer the Writer? Fri (the 27th) 6:00 pm Â The Steampunking of American Culture Sat (the 28th) 12:00 pm

Have you tried reading Wrede?

22JuneSuzanne9 CommentsMarvelous Middle Grades, The Bookshelf

I had a really hard timeÂ making up my mind which of Patricia Wrede‘s middle grades to feature, so while I I’m going to spotlight just one series today, I’ve promised myself I’ll return to the other favorite another day one week soon. Â So, heads up on that!Â 😀 These books suffer from what I call the

Out of the dust…or sand, as the case may be.

20JuneSuzanne2 CommentsFlash Friday, Writing

You’ll never guess my inspiration for today’s flash piece. 😉 I stepped back, and stared at the sand castle I’d just shaped. Â Where had that come from? Â It was…not remotely what I expected when I agreed to enter Aunt Genna’s contest. The draped towels behind me rippled as Starla shook them. Â “Come on, Tammy, hurry

Wabi: a Hero’s Tale

15JuneSuzanne8 CommentsMarvelous Middle Grades, The Bookshelf

My discovery of Wabi was a happy accident, as I came upon it while prowling the shelves looking for something different. Â The thing I’ve noticed about myself, when I go prowling in this way, is I’m harder to please once I pick a book up because I’m too restless to settle down with most stories.

How to Cook Your Father in 10 Easy Steps

13JuneSuzanne2 CommentsFlash Friday, Writing

This week’s prompt was ‘a cooking disaster,’ but with me those hardly feel like fiction–as witness the ‘oops, I just preheated the oven without realizing I’d left a loaf of bread in there two days ago’ blackened pumpkin bread I pulled out yesterday. Â I’m not a bad cook, but I can be absentminded, and that

What would life be like if you were a prince AND a pauper?

8JuneSuzanne16 CommentsMarvelous Middle Grades, The Bookshelf

You know it’s a good book when you no sooner finish it than you start reading it again. Â That’s what happened when I read Jennifer Nielsen’sÂ fantastic middle grade, The False Prince. Now, the tricky part of recommending this book is dodging the rotten oranges that could follow. Â That’s because you’ll notice, if you look around

What does it take to get you out of bed?

6JuneSuzanne2 CommentsFlash Friday, Writing

It’s funny, last month when I turned the calender over to show May I groaned, as it seemed every square was already triple-booked. Â This month, June doesn’t look so bad…but what’s not on there is all the stuff that got pushed off from May onto June, plus the good things (like new writing projects and

What are your RULES?

2JuneSuzanne12 CommentsMarvelous Middle Grades, The Bookshelf

I loved Cynthia Lord‘s Rules, and honestly feel we could all do with a few rules, plus the compassion to know the rules aren’t where life is really lived. Â This book is great for both of those, and shows the struggle between compassion and peer pressure that’s so common when dealing with someone a bit

Suzanne Warr

Narrative designer, game designer, author

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