Harry Potter Series

I finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and am working on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The thing that is incredible to me is that book #7 ties in ideas from the beginning books; the first snitch Harry caught, the Deluminator, and the sword of Godric Gryffindor. Within each book an elaborate story is woven, yet that is only on a micro level compared to the whole. On a macro level, all seven books act as chapters in an elaborate story about an unlikely hero. Bravo, J.K. Rowling.

Harry Potter Series

I finished Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last night. I may be late on the Harry Potter band-wagon, but these books are incredible works of fiction. J.K. Rowling starts so many threads of plot throughout the story, that I lose track of some of them until she brings them ALL back together in the end. Her books have perfect pacing that lead the reader to an amazing grand finale. I'm truly in awe and can't wait to start The Half-Blood Prince.

Author Visit 11/12/2009

Today I visited a fourth grade classroom. It went really well. I talked about the books that I've had published and the publication process. I emphasized where I get my ideas and how much revision is necessary. I think the students were surprised at how much I revise my manuscripts. I think the teacher will remind them of that every time they want to quit at the first draft stage in their writing. Sorry, kids! :)

Author Visit 11/4/2009

Today I visited a second grade class at a local primary school. I read my new book, The Canada Goose and You to the class. They "HONKED" right along with me. We had fun!

I talked about how I turn ideas into stories and avoid writers block. First, I taught the kids some Brain Gym exercises. Then we brainstormed ideas to put in a story. Next, we rearranged our ideas into the beginning, middle, and end. We ended up with a nice first draft.

My Interview

An interview I did with Nancy Sanders about my new book just appeared on her blog. http://nancyisanders.wordpress.com/
Follow this link to read it.

Nancy Sanders is a freelance writer and author of Yes! You Can . . . Build A Successful Writing Career. She's an incredibly smart lady that has made a career out of freelance writing. She's made a huge difference in my career.

In her book she talks about the Triple Crown of Success. This is a model writers can follow to get personal satisfaction out of writing, get published frequently, and -most importantly- get paid to write. I'm a faithful follower of her model and I'm happy to report that it works! Every writer out there should read her book.

My Latest Book

My latest book is an interactive non-fiction picture book about Canada geese. The book explains the life and characteristics of the Canada goose by relating them to a child's world. Each page ends with a question that is answered by "HONK!" -- inviting the young listener/reader to "honk" along! It's a lot of fun.

Click the cover to buy it on Amazon.com.

My First Three Books

My first three books were recently released. Arlington National Cemetery, Vietnam War Memorial, and Korean War Memorial, Rourke Publishing, 2009.

I was humbled and honored to write about these three war memorials.