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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
