Friday Fun at KidLit Central

I've posted an entry at KidLit Central today on writing SENSE-ATIONAL SCENES. 

Jump over there and you can find out some tricks for connecting your readers to each scene. Plus, you can see a few photos of my travels.

Characters in Real Life and Fiction

Today over at the KIDLIT CENTRAL blog I've posted an entry about "Characters & Perspective." I take a couple of my characters along for an airplane ride. Monsters don't necessarily travel well.

Where do authors get ideas for their fictional characters? From real life, of course. We mix and match and makeup stuff as we go along to create just the right characters for each story. 

But when an author like me knows such a vibrant real life character like Lucy-- the Glamour Dog, then I  don't have to add much fictional flair to fashion a fun character. 

Take a look at this picture of Lucy after she decided to try Pink Bubble Gum lip gloss.

She's dog-gone adorable!

HIGHLIGHTS and Halloween

One more note about my HIGHLIGHTS poem, "Reaching for the Stars"--

You can see and hear the poem online at HIGHLIGHTS Kids magazine. I hope you have a chance to explore all the other fun stuff they have there as well.

Now for a Halloween treat. Be sure to visit KidLit Central News blog on Halloween for a chance to win some spook-tacular prices.