Blog Archive - Announcements

Writing Prompt. 1.

January 10, 2022

Photo: Darius Baužys, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

It looks like we’ve all got some more indoors time heading our way. I thought I might, over the next few months, share some of the prompts I’ve been giving my students in Creative Writing.

If we gotta hunker, we might as well write.

This month we’ve been writing calligrammes, aka concrete poems. Here’s a charming and quick introduction to Guillaume Apollinaire, who did not invent the concrete poem but most certainly perfected it.

Take a look, for example, at his

Photo: Darius Baužys, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

It looks like we’ve all got some more indoors time heading our way. I thought I might, over the next few months, share some of the prompts I’ve been giving my students in Creative Writing.

If we gotta hunker, we might as well write.

This month we’ve been writing calligrammes, aka concrete poems. Here’s a charming and quick introduction to Guillaume Apollinaire, who did not invent the concrete poem but most certainly perfected it.

Take a look, for example, at his

Easter Eggs : A Reader’s Guide to This is Not a Werewolf Story

December 28, 2020

If you love medieval French literature, you will discover that I have hidden a lot of ‘easter eggs’ in This is Not a Werewolf Story. For example, the names Bisclavret, Raul, Oliver, and Nicolette. Those are the names of my favorite heroes from my favorite medieval epics and romances. I tried to make my characters share a strong personality trait with their medieval namesakes. So Oliver Swift (the dean) is a man who likes to see the truth, just like Olivier in the 12th century Song of Roland. And Nicolette Tern seems nice enough but don’t push her around because You Will Regret It—just like the heroine of the 12th century Aucassin et Nicolette. Bisclavret is not a werewolf in...

If you love medieval French literature, you will discover that I have hidden a lot of ‘easter eggs’ in This is Not a Werewolf Story. For example, the names Bisclavret, Raul, Oliver, and Nicolette. Those are the names of my favorite heroes from my favorite medieval epics and romances. I tried to make my characters share a strong personality trait with their medieval namesakes. So Oliver Swift (the dean) is a man who likes to see the truth, just like Olivier in the 12th century Song of Roland. And Nicolette Tern seems nice enough but don’t push her around because You Will Regret It—just like the heroine of the 12th century Aucassin et Nicolette. Bisclavret is not a werewolf in...

Easter Eggs : A Reader’s Guide to This is Not a Werewolf Story

December 28, 2020

If you love medieval French literature, you will discover that I have hidden a lot of ‘easter eggs’ in This is Not a Werewolf Story. For example, the names Bisclavret, Raul, Oliver, and Nicolette. Those are the names of my favorite heroes from my favorite medieval epics and romances. I tried to make my characters share a strong personality trait with their medieval namesakes. So Oliver Swift (the dean) is a man who likes to see the truth, just like Olivier in the 12th century Song of Roland. And Nicolette Tern seems nice enough but don’t push her around because You Will Regret It—just like the heroine of the 12th century Aucassin et Nicolette. Bisclavret is not a werewolf in...

If you love medieval French literature, you will discover that I have hidden a lot of ‘easter eggs’ in This is Not a Werewolf Story. For example, the names Bisclavret, Raul, Oliver, and Nicolette. Those are the names of my favorite heroes from my favorite medieval epics and romances. I tried to make my characters share a strong personality trait with their medieval namesakes. So Oliver Swift (the dean) is a man who likes to see the truth, just like Olivier in the 12th century Song of Roland. And Nicolette Tern seems nice enough but don’t push her around because You Will Regret It—just like the heroine of the 12th century Aucassin et Nicolette. Bisclavret is not a werewolf in...

A white orca in Puget sound? So rare. So wonderful.

April 18, 2020

These are dark days but this dear Earth we live on gives us one joyous marvel after another.

These are dark days but this dear Earth we live on gives us one joyous marvel after another.

Are you teaching from home? Resources.

March 31, 2020

If you are a parent teaching from home or a teacher teaching online, here is a one-stop post where you can find links to all of the resources I’ve created as companion pieces to This is not a Werewolf Story. Don’t hesitate to reach out to me! I love to exchange messages with readers and I love to see their art. If you are a teacher and are interested in arranging a Zoom meeting with me and your class, I’d love to hear from you.

In the meantime, let’s just remember that we are all the descendants of survivors. It’s hardwired into us. We know what to do. Show up. Do our best. Find the joy...

If you are a parent teaching from home or a teacher teaching online, here is a one-stop post where you can find links to all of the resources I’ve created as companion pieces to This is not a Werewolf Story. Don’t hesitate to reach out to me! I love to exchange messages with readers and I love to see their art. If you are a teacher and are interested in arranging a Zoom meeting with me and your class, I’d love to hear from you.

In the meantime, let’s just remember that we are all the descendants of survivors. It’s hardwired into us. We know what to do. Show up. Do our best. Find the joy...

Are you teaching from home? Resources.

March 31, 2020

If you are a parent teaching from home or a teacher teaching online, here is a one-stop post where you can find links to all of the resources I’ve created as companion pieces to This is not a Werewolf Story. Don’t hesitate to reach out to me! I love to exchange messages with readers and I love to see their art. If you are a teacher and are interested in arranging a Zoom meeting with me and your class, I’d love to hear from you.

In the meantime, let’s just remember that we are all the descendants of survivors. It’s hardwired into us. We know what to do. Show up. Do our best. Find the joy...

If you are a parent teaching from home or a teacher teaching online, here is a one-stop post where you can find links to all of the resources I’ve created as companion pieces to This is not a Werewolf Story. Don’t hesitate to reach out to me! I love to exchange messages with readers and I love to see their art. If you are a teacher and are interested in arranging a Zoom meeting with me and your class, I’d love to hear from you.

In the meantime, let’s just remember that we are all the descendants of survivors. It’s hardwired into us. We know what to do. Show up. Do our best. Find the joy...

a cellular lesson in love

November 28, 2019

Honestly, in creative terms, I burned down the house and everything in it when I wrote This is Not a Werewolf Story—it’s a bonfire of all that inspires and fascinates me, from medieval French, Celtic, Norse, and Native American legends to the wave theory of light and the tracing of genetic history through the maternally transmitted mitochondrial DNA.

But there was one source I discovered after I had written it.

I was finishing my first major revision when my sister told me a story my grandpa had told her. One of the ones he probably told over and over, but he never told it to me.

My grandpa was born in a town called Welcome, where Mosquito Lake Road meets...

Honestly, in creative terms, I burned down the house and everything in it when I wrote This is Not a Werewolf Story—it’s a bonfire of all that inspires and fascinates me, from medieval French, Celtic, Norse, and Native American legends to the wave theory of light and the tracing of genetic history through the maternally transmitted mitochondrial DNA.

But there was one source I discovered after I had written it.

I was finishing my first major revision when my sister told me a story my grandpa had told her. One of the ones he probably told over and over, but he never told it to me.

My grandpa was born in a town called Welcome, where Mosquito Lake Road meets...

17 Tips to Rock an Author Visit

November 20, 2019

After my first author visit to an elementary school, I asked the teachers who had invited me for some honest feedback. They had some pointers. If you ask a question, for example, don’t feel like you have to call on every single student who raises their hand. And bring visuals.
But then they surprised me.
“We could tell right away that you’re a teacher,” one of them said. “You looked like you knew what you were doing.”
Now that couldn’t be right. I hadn’t felt like I knew what I was doing. I had felt anxious and sweaty.
Sure, I’m a teacher. I’ve been in the classroom for almost twenty years. But most of that time...

After my first author visit to an elementary school, I asked the teachers who had invited me for some honest feedback. They had some pointers. If you ask a question, for example, don’t feel like you have to call on every single student who raises their hand. And bring visuals.
But then they surprised me.
“We could tell right away that you’re a teacher,” one of them said. “You looked like you knew what you were doing.”
Now that couldn’t be right. I hadn’t felt like I knew what I was doing. I had felt anxious and sweaty.
Sure, I’m a teacher. I’ve been in the classroom for almost twenty years. But most of that time...

17 Tips to Rock an Author Visit

November 20, 2019

After my first author visit to an elementary school, I asked the teachers who had invited me for some honest feedback. They had some pointers. If you ask a question, for example, don’t feel like you have to call on every single student who raises their hand. And bring visuals.
But then they surprised me.
“We could tell right away that you’re a teacher,” one of them said. “You looked like you knew what you were doing.”
Now that couldn’t be right. I hadn’t felt like I knew what I was doing. I had felt anxious and sweaty.
Sure, I’m a teacher. I’ve been in the classroom for almost twenty years. But most of that time...

After my first author visit to an elementary school, I asked the teachers who had invited me for some honest feedback. They had some pointers. If you ask a question, for example, don’t feel like you have to call on every single student who raises their hand. And bring visuals.
But then they surprised me.
“We could tell right away that you’re a teacher,” one of them said. “You looked like you knew what you were doing.”
Now that couldn’t be right. I hadn’t felt like I knew what I was doing. I had felt anxious and sweaty.
Sure, I’m a teacher. I’ve been in the classroom for almost twenty years. But most of that time...