My most recent novel was born out of an idea of mashing up Die Hard with The Hunger Games. As I progressed with developing the idea Die Hard sort of disappeared and more Harry Potter and/or Percy Jackson started appearing. The book I finished with is called Sessi and the …
The other day, I was thinking about the saying “practice makes perfect.” I’m a firm believer that there’s no such thing as perfection from a human standpoint. Everything we do has some level of imperfection. So setting your sights on perfection is most likely a path to disappointment. This school …
Recently, I had the opportunity to speak at the York Children’s Literature Festival at Anderson University and share my book series, Katz Pajamas. It was an honor to be invited and share the stage with Ellen Sabin, Jenn Bishop, and Elise Broach. We all spoke about our varied experiences as …
For a while, I my sights set on August as the release month for my newest Katz Pajamas mystery. Before that I had July as the release month. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’d told myself I could have it out by June. Now that the end of September is …
Ideas are like diamonds. Unmined diamonds are worth nothing. Uncut diamonds are worth more. But diamonds that have been cut, refined, and had their beauty revealed; that’s when their true value is revealed. Of course, some diamonds are worth more than others depending on the four Cs – carat (weight), …
Decision-making is a sign that you’re alive. Think about it. Everything you do on a daily basis is driven by the decisions you make. Get out of bed or sleep more. Cross the street now or wait for the light. Leave for the meeting now to be on time or …
Every book I write has a beginning, but I’m not usually able to pinpoint that moment later in the process of writing. Especially once I’ve neared the completion date. The first Katz Pajamas book was written in December of 2016, but that wasn’t the beginning. The beginning was several years …
I’ve been invited to speak at the York Children’s Literature Festival this October 6, 2018. This is a great event celebrating children’s literature which covers a lot of territory such as picture books, chapter books, and educational materials. This is a great event if you’re in the Central Indiana area …
Whenever I hear the word “practice,” I think about Allen Iverson and his rant. Practice is probably the least favorite part of most athletes’ work. Season after season, athletes have to spend hours going over the same drills to prepare for the games. From what I can tell about Iverson’s …
