Books, writing and dogs

Cletus

Books, writing and dogs

This blog I started more than seven years ago was intended to be about books and writing. I find myself, however, occasionally slipping into something else I love – dogs. In a blog post from last April, I reflected on Willie, my writing dog. Today’s post is devoted to...
A double dose of PAPERBOY

A double dose of PAPERBOY

My books – PAPERBOY and COPYBOY – have been published in 15 languages, but there’s a new wrinkle that is intriguing. PAPERBOY has just come out in a bilingual edition, Romanian and English. In the 366-page book, English is on the left and Romanian is on the...
This reader gets it

This reader gets it

One of the joys of having books published in this age of instant communication is hearing from readers.  In the last seven years I’ve heard from hundreds (dare I say “more than a thousand”), but every now and then one comes along that stops me in my tracks....
‘Whippoorwill’ chooses ‘Copyboy’

‘Whippoorwill’ chooses ‘Copyboy’

The new Whippoorwill Award goes annually to ten distinguished books of fiction for young adults that deal with rural people and places. The books chosen for the award should: • Address universal truths, problems, topics and issues. • Have an enduring quality that...
Fact or Fiction: Does It Really Matter?

Fact or Fiction: Does It Really Matter?

The question I am asked by readers most frequently is how much of my books come from events in my life. The simple answer is: a whole bunch. I’m queried further to put a percentage on it and I have come up with 90% for PAPERBOY and 50% for COPYBOY. I have no...
A New Twist for Video Chats

Students from Ms. Grady's class I video-chatted with from Hickory Creek Middle School in Frankfort, IL.

A New Twist for Video Chats

A video chat this week with students at Hickory Creek Middle School in Frankfort, Illinois, a community 35 miles south of Chicago, involved a new wrinkle for me. Students in three different English Language Arts classes at the school were asked by their teachers to...