Interview with Swati Avasthi

If you’ve paid any attention to my blog interviews, you’ve noticed they’ve all been with dudes. That’s because I’m inclined to talk about “boy books,” here, and also because most of the women I’ve invited have complained about the beer bottles and pizza boxes everwhere and the constant sports on the big TVs. However, I’m [...]

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How to Draw a Mean Crow

Somebody found my site by googling “how to draw a mean crow.” I hate to think that people who land here are disappointed, so here is how to draw a mean crow. It’s really just simple compound shapes — half circles, half stars, ovals and triangles. Then of course you color it in. Crows are [...]

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Happy first birthday Mudville!

One year ago today, my first novel was born. They grow up so fast, don’t they? Now it’s already talking and practically walking. Next thing you know it’ll be asking me for the car keys. Sniff. Its birthday present arrived two days early: a box of itself in paperback. It was extremely excited, but isn’t [...]

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Talking to James Preller

I’ve blogged before about James Preller, author of Six Innings, which is as lovely a baseball book for kids as you’ll find, and the gritty story of middle school wolf pack politics, Bystander. I recently visited him in the New York tropics. The conversation is here. He goes above and beyond in his interviews. There’s photo [...]

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CLN Trivia for February 19

What wordless picture book was turned into a short film featuring David Bowie?

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A Belated Valentine's Day Post

I saw a Twitter message from my fellow 2009 debut novelist (aka “deb”) R.J. Anderson about wanting to write love stories but being a middle-grade novelist, and without thinking much about the topic I fired back that twelve year olds are the truest romantics in the world. I meant that not only are those topics not [...]

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Drafted!

Even first drafts have multiple draft, but tonight I completed the first draft of the first draft of the pending novel of colonial history, football, and fungal horror entitled WAKE, ME. It’s harder work (and immensely rewarding) to revise and edit and consult critique partners and editors and other thoughtful readers and see a manuscript [...]

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Ask me anything…

I still have a Q&A going on over here, which is kinda fun. Ask me a question or just see what’s already come up. I’ve already addressed such issues as the AFC Championship Game (the winner of which I predicted accurately), the most beautiful place in the world, childhood memories, chocolate before bedtime, ghosts, favorite [...]

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Cursing Zeno

Zeno was born about 2500 years ago, but he’s still making life difficult. He was a Greek philosopher back in the day. Like a lot of philosophers, he was more like a not-very-funny comedian, and he asked a lot of not-very-funny riddles. A lot of them go something like this: Say there’s a snail crossing [...]

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Paperback Writer

Mudville the paperback will be released in four weeks. In many regards the paperback is exactly like the hardcover, with some important exceptions. 1. It’s smaller, lighter, cheaper, and more supple. 2. It’s got great review quotes slapped all over it. 3. It’s got a picture of a horse (the Yearling logo) instead of a [...]

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