February 9, 2018

Interview with Author Lisa Connors

It's a pleasure to be interviewing author and science extraordinaire Lisa Connors. She writes children’s books and nature essays in the hopes of instilling the same awe of nature in others.  Lisa loves traipsing around on her 14-acre property collecting ideas and being impressed by her fellow Earthlings.  When she’s not actively writing, she is likely pre-writing (a.k.a. day dreaming) while gardening, cutting wood, mowing, drawing, canning and reading…lots of reading. You can connect with Lisa and see what she's up to on her blog, Facebook, and Twitter. 

January 4, 2018

Why Positivity Is a Skill You Can Train, Not a Personality Trait

It's been said that "Positive thinking won't let you do anything, but it will let you do everything better than negative thinking."

There is an epidemic in our world today of depression, low self worth, negative thought life, and suicidal tendencies. From what I've experienced, these types of behaviors accompany people who think negatively about themselves, others, and situations. By all means, this does not mean bad things should be viewed through some flower-lined glasses. Instead, it's important to analyze oneself. It's important to sit and ponder whether we are in control or being controlled by the experiences, emotions, and thoughts of the day.

January 1, 2018

How to Query Literary Agents: Examples, Templates & Mistakes to Avoid

Querying a literary agent is the process of pitching your manuscript to agents in hopes of securing representation. In this guide, you’ll learn how to write a query letter, what agents actually want, common mistakes to avoid, query letter examples, and how to track submissions professionally. Whether you’re querying fiction, nonfiction, or children’s books, this guide walks you through the entire process step-by-step.

December 31, 2017

Why “New Year, New You” Fails — and What Actually Works Instead

What a cheesy slogan. "New Year New You" cascades from every motivational speaker this time of the year. You know what the problem is with this phrase? It's true.

I've never come across anyone who wouldn't do things differently if given an opportunity to step back in time. Why be that person? You don't need to live like that. Human nature often settles into comfortable habit and those comfortable habits are often the things we most regret when looking back over the course of time.

December 30, 2017

Self-Publishing a Children’s Book: My Journey Working With an Illustrator

Many of you know of my writing exploits. Recently, I wrapped up the illustration phase of self-publishing a children's book. It required a surprising amount of effort that was largely based on my naivety. After writing the manuscript, I researched and interviewed freelance illustrators on a freelancer online platform. After finding one I thought would be a perfect fit for my manuscript material, we began working together under contract.

December 29, 2017

Why Endings in Life Are Never Really the End

The end of a year always catches me by surprise, just like Christmas. Even though we have so much time to look forward to it and prepare, time simply moves too quickly. My wife and I have two boys and at this point one is a bit over 4 and the other a bit over 1. Whether you've got children or not, or are married or not, your life is likely filled to the brim. And that issue takes us full-circle to the end of the year.

December 2, 2017

How Martha Saved Her Parents from Green Beans Review: A Funny Children’s Book About Vegetables

Let me just start off by saying it this way. My son doesn't typically ask to keep library books. But the other night, after reading How Martha Saved Her Parents from Green Beans by writer David Larochelle and artist Mark Fearing, two times mind you, he quite legitimately asked if we could keep it.

Now, I don't care who you are, it begs a question. What is there to this children's book that would cause him to say such an unexpected thing? My wife and I have read thousands of books to him and, while he may not want to return a book to the library right away, he rarely asks to keep them.

December 1, 2017

Interview with Illustrator Jo Painter

Jo is a freelance Concept Artist, Illustrator and Animator trying to break her way into the game industry! She currently works for a variety of authors and companies around the world but when she’s not working and painting at her desk, you can usually find her with her head stuck in a book or out for a walk in the countryside. The best way to keep up to date with her work is through Instagram - @po_jainter or her website, www.jopainter.co.uk