by admin
on April 20, 2012
in Books, Motivation, Website Stuff
Mating season is over. Pirate ate a big, fat mouse this morning. He didn’t take more than a minute to notice it and grab it. He must have been hungry—especially since he hasn’t eaten anything in a month. I wish people could do that. We could lock ourselves in a closet with a case of [...]
by admin
on March 9, 2012
in Blog, Books, Traveling, Writing
Authors have mixed feelings about reviews. A good one can make you feel as if you’re on top of the world. A bad one ruins your day. At least, that’s how it is when you’re starting out and trying to build a career. When you’ve been around for awhile—in other words, if you’re an old [...]
by admin
on February 23, 2012
in Books, Reading, Traveling, Writing
Something happened to me today that made me shiver. Every now and then I’ll get a postcard from the universe; a subtle hint of where things are going. I didn’t like this one at all. I just got back from Florida a few days ago. I leave for a school visit in Istanbul in less [...]
by admin
on February 9, 2012
in Blog, Books, Writing
Those of you who have been following my blog for a few years may remember my postings about a book I was writing. At the time the book was called Omar’s Snake or The Snake. I forget which came first. I’m terrible at titles. The title is usually the last thing I think of. I [...]
by admin
on January 16, 2012
in Books, Reading
I love reading about words. They have such interesting histories. I had an experience like that last week. I was reading an article in the New York Times about two women who had an altercation in a McDonalds. It was a rather sleazy, forgettable story, except that something in the article caught my eye. One [...]
by admin
on January 10, 2012
in Books, Writing
I make it a point to read Thomas Friedman’s columns in the New York Times. He always has thought-provoking comments about technology and politics, especially relating to the Middle East This Sunday his column was especially interesting. Its title was Watching Elephants Fly. Here’s the link. It’s worth reading. Friedman begins his discussion of the [...]
by admin
on November 3, 2011
in Books, Writing
I just caught a whiff of something significant blowing in the wind. Amazon announced that it’s starting a lending library. I’ll have to research this further. So far, this is what I’m getting from what I’ve read online. If you’re a member of Amazon Prime, you’ll be able to download ebooks to your Kindle or [...]
by admin
on October 31, 2011
in Books, Motivation
Picture Book Month begins tomorrow. I’ve been asked to start the celebration with a few words about why picture books are important to me. It was quite an honor to be asked and quite an opportunity as well to state why I believe picture books are so important. I learned to love books because of [...]
by admin
on October 26, 2011
in Books, Motivation, Writing
I have to confess to a guilty pleasure. I love reading biographies and autobiographies of rock stars. I think it’s because I lead such a normal, controlled life. I experience such vicarious pleasure reading about people who go totally berserk. Yes, they crash and burn in the end. But what a ride! Right now I’m [...]
by admin
on August 12, 2011
in Books, Motivation, Reading
One of the most exciting parts about being an author is that your life is full of surprises. Your words have wings. You never really know where your books are going, who is reading them, and whose lives they are changing. In 1978 I published a picture book with Pantheon called Why Worry? It was [...]