Robyn Hood Black - children's author

Greetings from Decatur, Ga., where thousands of folks have been enjoying the gorgeous weather and taking in all-things-books! Between shifts at our SCBWI PAL booth near the Children's Stage, I was able to listen to some fabulous authors speak about writing historical fiction. Here's a gem or two from several participating in a couple of different sessions: (more…)

I'm thrilled to be featured on Heather Ivester's great blog, Mom 2 Mom Connection, a terrific source of encouragement for busy parents who also love to write. Copy and paste this link for the interview:

http://heatherivester.com/2010/08/31/author-interview-robyn-hood-black/

Heather is a talented author who knows a bit about combining mothering and writing. As it says on her site, "Heather Ivester has a heart for parents who feel called to write, as she’s the mother of five school-aged children, and writing is the only way she can complete a sentence around her house." Ha! (more…)

Part of the excitement of a new school year is meeting new folks! My daughter is heading off to college and my son's 10th grade class is welcoming some fresh faces this year.

These new beginnings, with mixes of new personalities, put me in the mind of Rebecca Kai Dotlich's charming BELLA & BEAN (Atheneum, 2009).

Bella wants to write poems.

Bean wants to go for a walk.

Bella wants to write poems.

Bean wants Bella to look at her cute toes.

(more…)

Thanks to Mayra Calvani for posting an interview with yours truly on her great blog!

http://mayrassecretbookcase.blogspot.com/2010/07/interview-with-childrens-author-and.html

Check out her website, too.

Happy July!

You're probably thinking I crawled into a wolf den to hide for a couple of months. Not really, though maybe not that far off....

First, I've been continuing to heal with this torn Achilles. Thanks for the well wishes. I'm doing much, much better - even driving now - which is a relief to my chauffeuring teenagers and to myself! Still a month or two of physical therapy and such to go. (more…)

Are you eager to learn the ins and outs of writing and publishing for children, and are you somewhere near north Georgia? Whether your passion is picture books or novels, award-winning author Gail Langer Karwoski is the teacher for you.

On Saturday, April 17, and Sunday, April 18, Gail is offering The ABC's of Writing for Young Readers at the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation in Watkinsville, Ga. See www.ocaf.com under "Literary Arts" for workshop details, but here are the highlights: (more…)

Soon I'll get a few pictures posted from our FABULOUS poetry workshop up in Honesdale with the Highlights folks.

I've been busy this week - what else? - writing and drawing. Today, an article I wrote about work habits was posted on the Institute of Children's Literature site. I like the teaser editor Jan Fields used for it: "How giving up perfectionism can make more room for your writing life."

http://www.institutechildrenslit.com/rx/ws03/chipsdip.shtml

I'm pretty compulsive about every word and comma in a piece of writing. Housework and cooking? Not so much....