It’s been a while since my last update so I thought I’d share some behind the scenes snippets from the life of an author.
Where I work
I would love to show you a photo of a beautiful desk surrounded by inspiring photos and quotes but the truth is that most of my books have been written in a cozy corner of the couch. Sometimes my bed.
In the before-times I used to love working in my local library surrounded by inspiration and the magic of books. I can’t wait until I can do that again.
What else do I do?
When I’m not writing (which is most of the time lately) I can be found helping my kids with their schoolwork or cooking or cleaning or laundry or any of the other jobs that never end around the home. But I also love to get out on the local trails to run or walk (mostly the latter these days).
And of course I love to read. And rearrange my kids’ bookshelves (talk about a job that never ends).
My loves and loathes of writing
Back to writing. What’s my favorite part of writing I hear you ask? The moment I see the characters I imagined in my head turned into art. All the illustrators I’ve been paired with have been incredible and I’ve loved what they’ve created every time. Here’s a favorite illustration by Patrick Corrigan of the main character, Raven and her sister Izzy from Snow Day in May.
And also, since you asked so sweetly, I’ll let you know my least favorite part…
drafting.
I always find getting the first draft written really really hard. But wait, I hear you say, you’re a writer who doesn’t like writing? Well… kind of. I don’t enjoy the first draft but I really enjoy the editing process. Playing with words, getting them just right, changing point of view, thinking about character development, adding fun details, is all fun to me and it’s where the magic happens.
For fun, here is how the first line of Evelyn the Adventurous Entomologist changed from the first draft (when it was still named The Bug Lady) to the final version:
1st draft: Lucy Evelyn Cheesman loved to crawl after bugs in the English countryside
Final: Back in 1881 when Evelyn Cheesman was born, most people thought girls should be quiet, clean, and covered with lace.
So much better. You know the main character, the time period, and we know there’s some kind of conflict coming (most people thought…).
It also helps set up my refrain that gets repeated through the book: But Evelyn went anyway. By the way, can you guess when the refrain got added? You got it, in my editing process. It was nowhere to be seen in the early drafts.
By the way, I share behind the scenes stories like this with kids in my author visits. If you’re interested in having me virtually visit your school, contact me!
Book updates
The first two books in The Wish Library, my new chapter book series, launched in March. You can buy the books and download activities on my website.
You can preorder book 3, Together Forever, now! And, drumroll please…
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(are you drumming?)
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Book 4 will be coming in 2022! Wahoo! I don’t know what it will be about yet (as I haven’t yet written that pesky first draft) but stay tuned.