Books
Less money. More connection.
I hear from a lot of readers and storytelling fans from around the world. Just this week, readers from Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Columbia, and Ecuador wrote to me about my books an stories. Add to this folks from Orlando, Seattle, Dallas, and the “mountains of West Virginia.” There was a time in publishing when books…
Read MoreLow life cretins steal stories.
At a book talk about a week ago, a woman asked me if I’m ever worried that someone might steal my stories and use them for their own purposes. “Your stories are so good,” she said. “How do you protect them from someone who might try to tell them as their own? Or write and…
Read MoreA celebration of so much more than just a book
On Saturday night, I took the stage at the release party for Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life Through the Power of Storytelling, and told five brand new stories to an audience of more than 200 friends and family. It was quite a night. My friend, storyteller, and producer Erin Barker once told…
Read MoreStoryworthy in my hands!
One of the many most exciting moments as an author is the moment when the first copy fo your book arrives at your doorstep. This was the fifth time that I experienced such a moment, and I remember each of them with perfectly clarity. The tearing open of a box. The ripping of a mailing…
Read MoreMy daughter meets Chelsea Clinton.
These are photographs of our little girl asking Chelsea Clinton a question about Malala at a lecture at Central Connecticut State University yesterday. “Best day ever!” she shouted. Maybe not best day ever, but possibly top 10 for Clara. Not only does she know Chelsea Clinton as a remarkable humanitarian, but her picture book, She…
Read MoreThree continents in a single day
There is something to be said about the golden age of literature: The time when television, film, video games, and the internet did not steal away eyeballs of potential readers. Authors like Fitzgerald, Hughes, and Austin had enormous audiences of readers just waiting for their next books, aching for a new story or poem, because reading…
Read MoreBook clubs on boats. Book clubs in cars. Book clubs complete with game shows and nudity.
In the past nine years, I’ve attended hundreds of book clubs to talk about my books. It is by far one of my favorite ways to meet readers, because unlike a book store or library appearance, these folks have already read my book and are prepared to ask some interesting questions. I’ve also learned that…
Read MoreA call to action! Please? Pretty please?
I’m writing to you today for a different kind of reason today. I hope you don’t mind. And it’s storytelling related. I have a book coming out on June 12. It’s my first nonfiction title, and I’m excited and nervous. Excited because I’ve wanted this book to exist for a long time. Nervous because it’s…
Read More4 good ideas and 4 bad ideas about book clubs
PopSugar’s Elyssa Friedland offers 10 tips for a successful book club. I’ve been a member of a book club for more than a decade. Six people – three couples – meet and talk about books over dinner 6-8 times per year. I’ve also visited with well over 100 book clubs over the course of my…
Read MoreFour books in two months has been challenging, and this isn’t helping.
I’m working like hell to wrap up my first middle grade novel. It should be done in a day or two. I’m excited about the idea of writing a book aimed at the students I teach. Although Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend and The Perfect Comeback of Caroline Jacobs crossed over into the YA market, this…
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