Saturday, September 21, 2019, I'll be speaking at WriteFest '19 at the Grant Brimhall Library, 1401 East Janss Road in Thousand Oaks, California, 91360. The event is free and runs from 9am to noon. It's put on by the Ventura County Writers Club in conjunction with the Thousand Oaks Library. 

I'll be talking about Revising with Vision and Purpose. The wonderful Bruce Hale, author and author/illustrator of more than 50 children's books will teach how to Make Your Story Unputdownable--Suspense Tips for all Genres. 

Admission is free, but advanced registration is required. Full details & registration directions are here https://venturacountywriters.com/writefest-19/  

I just signed my 1st book contract (or my 13th depending on how you count it)! I've had the honor of writing 12 books for Capstone Publishing as a work-for-hire writer. Now one of my original nonfiction picture book manuscripts is under contract--a dream I've had since 2002. Tentatively titled The Unlikely Ally of Anniston Alabama, it will come out in spring 2021 in time for the 60th anniversary of the Freedom Riders. 

The journey to writing this book started at a lecture at Bakersfield's Beale Library in February, 2012. After dozens of drafts, I felt I finally had the narrative arc structure in place in early 2019. So, in February 2019 while searching for a new agent, I decided to pitch the manuscript during #PBPitch on Twitter hoping to catch an agent's eye. Knowing I would be busy on #PBPitch day, I learned how to schedule my tweets on Tweetdeck. Then I forgot about it until someone contacted me about my tweet. It turned out my pitch didn't get any agent interest, but I had an email from someone who wanted to read it--my editor at Capstone heard about my Twitter pitch from a colleague and requested it. Woo-hoo! 

After reading it, my editor Michelle told me she really liked the . . . back matter . . . you know, the author's note in the back. Yikes! Perhaps I didn't have that narrative arc structure in place after all! But, she said, if I wanted to revise she'd take another look. We had a video meeting in which Michelle graciously talked over ideas and explained why some things wouldn't work from the publisher's perspective. Immediately after the meeting, I got to work revising, refocusing the story, and re-envisioning the whole concept. After reading the revision, Michelle told me she liked it . . . the back matter and the story in the front!  Woo-hoo! 

Capstone made an offer and with the help of the Author's Guild I negotiated the contract myself. The road to this point had a lot of twists and turns, but ironically, the theme I adopted for this year is "Pivot Confidently." 

Thank you critique readers Allison Crotzer Kimmel, Mary Ann Fraser and Anastasia Suen for urging me to get the manuscript out there, and thank you #PBPitch for giving me the platform to pitch it. Big thanks to Michelle Bisson for her patience and guidance (and for reading all the way to the back where the good stuff was) and Jennifer Glidden for following pitches on Twitter. 









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 FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 2019
I'll be giving author assemblies at Compton Junior High in Bakersfield.

FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 6:30PM YOUNG AUTHORS' DINNER
That evening I'll be appearing at Kern Reading Association's Annual Young Authors' Fair Dinner at the Sheraton Four Points Hotel in Bakersfield at 6:30pm. Reservation forms are here: http://www.kernreadingassociation.org/young-authors-fair.html
Scroll down to Authors Dinner Reservation Form. 

SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2019, 7:30am to noon YOUNG AUTHORS' FAIR
I'll be presenting and signing books as part of Kern Reading Association's Annual Young Authors' Fair at the Larry Reider Center (20th & K Street) in Bakersfield. Bring your children to hear break out sessions with me, Sneed Collard, Marcie Colleen, Kristine O'Connell George, Reyna Grande, & Myron Uhlberg. It's free and KRA will have books for purchase and signing.  You can find all the details here: http://www.kernreadingassociation.org/young-authors-fair.html
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My newest book, The Women's Rights Movement: Then and Now is out this month in time for the Women's March. This book is dedicated to my sister Nancy who successfully fought against gender discrimination in law enforcement.  Geared toward children in grades 5-7, it examines the issues behind both the second and third waves of feminism. If you and your daughter marched together this would be a good resource for continuing the discussion of women's rights. 

I'll be giving a free workshop on student writing Thursday, October 20, 2017 at 4:30 for Kern Reading Association.  It will be held at the Kern County Superintendent of School's Office in room 1B. Come and learn how to get students excited about writing.  My newest book, Orphan Trains: Taking the Rails to a New Life will be for sale.  

Although my newest book, Orphan Trains, Taking the Rails to a New Life, won't be released until fall, advanced reader copies are now available for book reviewers through Net Galley.  

Yay!  The cover for For the Right to Learn Malala Yousafzai's Story has been released.  I wish I could show you some of the interior spreads because the illustrator, Janna Bock, did such a lovely job! But you can tell from the cover how very talented she is. I'm just delighted!  Look for the book on shelves in late summer and stay tuned for a book release party!