8/23/11 -- The window of opportunity for summer fun in the Oregon Cascades has been narrow this year, what with the giant lingering snowpack from last winter. So, instead of grousing about snow covered trails and hordes of mosquitos, we went skiin...

7/27/11 -- Summer continues at a lickity-split pace. Back from teaching at the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program in creative writing, I've stepped into a giddy whirlwind of preparation for my youngest daughter's wedding on July 30th. It's g...

6/22/11 -- Folly Beach, South Carolina. Heat index 110 degrees. Good thing there is a big salty pond out there to cool off in. And an air-conditioned room in the back corner of the house where I can hole up in the furnace afternoons and get a bit ...

6/20/11 -- After a busy Spring of school visits, I am now off to South Carolina and Kentucky for family reunions. As usual, I'm hauling along my laptop and a folder full of index cards and notes. This is so I can continue to work on REVENGE OF THE...

6/1/11 -- Just finished two Skype sessions with 5th and 6th graders at Moore Intermediate School in Florence, SC. Technical difficulties reared their ugly head, but not for long. On the flip side, how cool is it to be able to discuss writing with ...

5/24/11 -- Home from Michigan. Many thanks to Jane Van Buren and Jennifer Young for the great hospitality at L'Anse and Baraga schools. Two more days of presentations this school year, both in nearby Philomath, Oregon. Oh, and a Skype visit in Flo...

5/19/11 -- Upper Peninsula of Michigan -- beautiful run this afternoon along the shore of Lake Superior after presentations in L'Anse Elementary School.

5/16/11 -- Something about the plot of my new novel, REVENGE OF THE MUTANT UNDERWEAR, had been bothering me and I couldn't figure out what it was. Until this morning at 4:33 AM, that is, when I realized the flaw in the story logic. It's not that I...

5/13/11 -- Great time speaking at Bridlemile Elementary in Portland yesterday, capped off with an evening presentation at the Young Authors Festival in Salem. It was an honor to be in a room full of 240 dedicated young writers, and especially hear...

5/5/11 (Cinco de Mayo) -- The day that commemorates the defeat of the French by outnumbered Mexican forces in 1862. What I didn't realized until today -- that, of course, I should have known if I had paid better attention in history class -- was t...

4/19/11 -- I'm back in Oregon after three weeks on the road. It was a great trip, right up to the last of my school visits in Berne, Indiana. Many thanks to my great hosts throughout Adams County!Good news: STORM MOUNTAIN has been selected by the ...

4/10/11 -- After presentations in Chesterland, Ohio (two great elementary schools -- Westwood and Lindsey; two great hosts -- Denise Brewster and Darlene Zusy), and a fun weekend with my family in Charleston, South Carolina, I'm now in Berne, Indi...

4/4/11 -- Five great days in Bowling Green, Kentucky schools. Check out one of the two cakes Alecia Marcum at Natcher Elementary had on hand for munching. Many thanks, also, to the rest of the wonderful host librarians: Amy Buss, Barry Sanders, Sh...

3/30/11 -- Looking to invest in the most valuable real estate on the planet? My nomination: school libraries. Filled with gems we call books, and staffed by tireless promoters (aka librarians), they house an unparalleled amount of fun, adventure, ...

3/28/11 -- Technical problems resolved! Again. I hope. Time, as they say, will tell . . .I'm in Bowling Green, KY for a week of author visits. Today was Bristow Elementary. Great day with the kids. And the teachers. During the staff lunch in the l...

2/20/11 -- For the past two weeks I've been having chronic problems accessing and updating this Blog. But now, quite suddenly, all is cured! I did nothing, except try again. There is a lesson here. The old saying: If at first you don't succeed . ....

2/3/11 -- I'm in Spokane, WA for two weeks of school visits. So far I've been to Logan Elementary and Ridgeview. The weather might be cold, but these kids' imaginations are on fire. Talk about bright and creative -- so much potential! It's a pleas...

1/25/11 -- In the long-time-no-see department, I got to visit with a former student teacher from 33 years ago. Lucy Hill is now a librarian at Middleton Elementary in Sherwood, OR, and invited me to speak there about the writing process. All of wh...

1/22/11 -- The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performed here in Corvallis on Thursday night. Dancers, it occurred to me as I sat there watching in awe, create with the human body as the brush. Musicians paint with sound. Visual artists compose...

1/14/11 -- Great school visit yesterday at Boeckman Creek Elementary in Wilsonville, Oregon. Librarian Jen Arndt was the perfect host. If the students there are any indication, the book -- contrary to popular belief -- is far from dead. Those kids...