Fridgerix????

That's what I'm calling my new Facebook page. Fridgerix=refrigerator poetry! Like this:

You can read and share refrigerator poetry on Fridgerix. Check it out here!

Saints Said It!

"Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin."

Those words of wisdom come from Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, pictured above.  For more inspirational quotes from the saints, check out my Facebook page Saints Said It. 

A Great Halloween Ebook for Kids

Just wanted to remind everybody about this delightful holiday story. Avery's Pumpkin: A Halloween Tale by Tam Cassidy is a wonderful read-aloud for home or school as well as a great book for kids to read independently. There's lots of Halloween fun in this story, but the author also "sneaks" in some real substance. What does it mean to be a "winner"? How do families love each other despite their differences? What really matters in life? Kids will enjoy Avery's story now and each October for years to come. Get this ebook here.

Follow the Dot!

Vashti grabbed a marker and gave the paper a good, strong jab. “There!” Her teacher picked up the paper and studied it carefully. “Hmmmmm.” She pushed the paper toward Vashti and quietly said, “Now sign it.”

In this scene from Peter H. Reynolds’ delightful picture book, The Dot, Vashti begins a journey. She’s convinced she can’t draw, but her art teacher’s support throughout the story teaches Vashti that she is an artist. Then Vashti goes on to support another young artist. It’s a delightful book – for adults as well as children – and it made me think about how much writers need each other’s encouragement. It’s so easy to fall into negativity – and so great to get support from crit groups, writers’ organizations, workshops, etc. Thanks to all the writing friends who’ve encouraged me!

Look for this book at your local bookstore as well as the equally charming Ish, also written and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds.

International Dot Day, a global celebration of creativity, courage and collaboration, began when teacher Terry Shay introduced his classroom to Peter H. Reynolds’ book The Dot on September 15, 2009. You can celebrate it on the same date this year! Read about it here.

Tackling Tough Topics with Kids

Are you on the offense and your older kids/younger teens on the defense when it comes to talking about tough topics? I wrote this book to put you and your 11-14-year-olds on the same team. I tried to make it non-preachy, engaging, and contemporary but also doctrinally sound. 

Each chapter focuses on a real-life challenge to faith as experienced by a fictional character. I also included statistical information about the chapter's topic, discussion questions, links to Scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, an activity, a prayer, and a concluding message offering practical advice for how students can deal with the respective issue. I hope Tackling Tough Topics with Faith and Fiction will be a helpful resource for caring adults who want to discuss sensitive issues with young teens.

Want to see what Tackling Tough Topics is all about? Click here to view sample pages, including a chapter on the difficult-to-talk-about issue of pornography. (Other sensitive issues covered in the book include cyberbullying, modesty, family, materialism, dishonesty, body image, substance abuse, stress to overachieve, and depression.)

The book is available from Pauline Books and Media.

Yep! More Writing Wisdom! (I ♥ this stuff!)

I ♥ writing! I ♥ quotations! So I ♥♥♥ quotations about writing!






In my view, a writer is a writer because even when nothing you do shows any sign of promise, you keep writing anyway.      Junot Diaz

It's never too late -- in fiction or in life -- to revise.     Nancy Thayer

The sinister thing about writing is that it starts off seeming so easy and ends up being so hard.     L. Rust Hills

When in doubt, have a man come through the door with a gun in his hand.    Raymond Chandler

We write by the light of every story we have ever read.     Richard Peck

Don't say the old lady screamed. Bring her on and let her scream.                     Mark Twain

Draw your chair up to the edge of the precipice, and I'll tell you a story.           F. Scott Fitzgerald

Saints I Need -- Now!

Thanks to my first grade teacher, Sister Celeste, and her dramatic stories about holy people, I developed an early fascination with the saints. Once I could read well enough, I devoured every saint book in our school library and dreamed of growing up to be a martyr. Over the years, I looked to the saints for inspiration and turned to them for help.

I still do.

But sometimes I find myself wishing for new saints…special saints…saints who fit the life I'm living right now and the problems I wrestle with every day. I wrote about  these saints-that-don't-exist-but-really-should on the Catholic365 site. You can read about Saint Peter the Podiatrist, Saint Kitkat Goodbar of Hershey, St. Tardia the Venerable Procrastinator, and all my other imaginary saints here.