KEEP WRITING

One of my favorite movies as a kid was Homecoming that spun off the series The Waltons. I love the part when the dad returns from a long journey and gives Christmas gifts to the kids. It never fails to touch me when John Boy, who wants to be a writer, receives tablets. As a writer, I know that those tablets mean more than a place to put his words. The giver has told him that he believes in his writing.

This week in the mail, I received three big yellow writing pads from Tish at The Blue Marble Children's Book Store. "Keep Writing," she said.

I will Tish. Thank you!

HAPPY ACCIDENTS

When I returned from a school visit trip last month, Jerry told me, "Honey, I fixed your birdhouse while you were gone."

"Birdhouse?" I have a lot of birdhouses, but I didn't know any of them had broken.

He pointed to the birdhouse hanging from the porch cover.

"Jerry, that was a bird feeder."

"It was?" He shrugged. "Well, it's a birdhouse now."

I was a little miffed, thinking of how I'd miss watching the birds glide into the feeder. They ate with such abandonment, they didn't notice me observing them from my kitchen window. I enjoyed the intimate view. Now that would never be.

Then last week, I stepped onto the porch and noticed a chickadee escape from the new birdhouse. A peek inside the structure proved delightful moments can happen from accidents.

Often when writing historical fiction, I stumble on a fact that interrupts my foreseen journey. Sometimes it's the tiniest detail that ruins my story's plot. For a while, my confidence is shaken and I feel defeated. Then the same fact that dents my plan offers me something fresh and exciting. I'm reminded that discovering the story we're meant to write almost always means changing our original plans along the way.

THANK YOU, NORTHBROOK

This last week I visited schools in Northbrook, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. I want to thank Shabonee School, Wood Oaks Junior High, Maple School, and Field Middle School for a terrific week. Thank you for reading my books and making me feel welcome at your school. I had a blast!

I love that Barbara Perley from Field Middle School continues to use a typewriter for some tasks. How charming!


**SCHOOL VISIT UPDATE: Recently I've received a lot of inquiries about visits for the next school year. Two more weeks are available.

ON THE RADIO

Recently I had the pleasure of being interviewed on two radio shows--The Book Report and Children's Book Radio.

The Book Report podcast: (An interview with Linda Sue Park follows mine so stay tuned.)

http://www.thebookreport.net/podcasts/040108.mp3

Elisabeth Grant-Gibson is the host of The Book Report. Elisabeth is also the owner of Windows A Bookshop, a fine independent in Monroe, Louisiana.


Children's Book Radio podcast:


http://www.childrensbookradio.com/childrensbookradiopodcast40.mp3



The interviewer, Sabrina Weissler, graduated with a degree in Journalism from Northwestern University and currently hosts two podcasts: LAwithKids.com and Childrensbookradio.com. She and her husband Jody are the parents of twins, Madison and Logan, who are almost three years old. They happily reside in Woodland Hills, CA and share their love of reading each day with their kids!

A PLACE OF THEIR OWN

When two artists moved out of their workshop to a larger space, their wives decided they needed a clubhouse to call their own. So Charlotte and Daphne took over their husbands' former place behind Daphne's house. Zebra and leopard prints now cover the door to the shop. From the black and white toile ceiling to the painted rug on the floor, every inch now screams, "Fun lives here!"

The shop inspired their creative juices and they invited Daphne's sister, Debbie to join them. They became entrepreneurs. This weekend they opened the clubhouse for others to visit and shop. They sold their handmade items--beaded jewelry, toile jackets and stools, and much more.

Amazing things can happen when we carve out a space for ourselves. Virginia Wolf knew that. In her essay, A Room of One's Own, she states, "A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction."

When we first moved to our current home, I wrote at a table on the screen porch. The spot proved perfect until late June when the Texas summer temperatures could deep-fry a buzzard in mid-flight. I moved my work inside, squeezing a small desk into the guest bedroom. Six months later I switched the queen-sized bed for a twin, allowing me more space. When my first essay was accepted, I felt like I'd earned my stripes. I was now officially a published writer. I evicted the twin bed. The guest bedroom became my office.

On some level, having my own room, made it easier for me to write everyday. I had a place to create that had nothing to do with guests that might drop in for an overnight stay. The office allowed me the freedom to leave a project each night and meet up with it, again, the next morning.

Today, while shopping at the clubhouse, I asked Charlotte, "Did you have this idea cooking inside you for a long time now?"

"Not really," she said. "A month ago this shop had so much stuff. We took it over and then everything happened so quickly."

Their clubhouse had opened a door to their creativity by giving them a room of their own. Not everyone has a shop behind their house to retreat to, but we can carve a place for ourselves anywhere--a corner of a bedroom, an empty closet, the screen porch. Any space will do. Claim it, let it become your domain. Then be ready to follow the creative world that opens up to you.