A frog and a toad have inspired generations of children and adults. Although they existed only on the pages of books by Arnold Lobel, these small amphibians taught real life lessons. Frog and Toad were friends and never a day went by that one didn’t go visit the other and, over a piece of cake […]
Not Just the Facts
Remember the old black and white TV series, Dragnet, and the phrase, “Just the facts, Ma’am.” This unflappable team of Jack Webb and Harry Morgan spent a whole thirty minutes ferreting out the bad guys and getting to the facts of the case. But, fiction writers can have fun fiddlin’ with the facts. In writing […]
The Bear Hunt
Elizabeth pulled an apple cake from the oven and set it on the table. It was beautiful and it made the whole house smell good. She glanced out her kitchen window at the cloudy spring day and did a double take. A bear! A bear was waddling quickly into the woods with two small cubs […]
I Heard a Little Voice
I talk to the characters in my books. They have personalities and minds of their own. Sometimes, it’s a struggle to decide which would fit best in the story I’m writing–my thoughts or my character’s. Usually, my character is right. Me: Ned, I don’t believe you would go off hunting for an Indian message tree […]
Fred and the New House
Fred the cat was happy in the tumbledown, comfortable house he shared with Jake. He liked the soft feel of the worn floor and the way that floor squeaked when Jake shuffled across it. He liked the sag in the ceiling and the way the light swayed and shadows danced when the wind blew hard […]