Meet the Author
 I've
been a storyteller all of my life (click on my picture and listen for yourself!). When I was little, my parents called
me a ham. That's because I acted out my stories. In my defense, they
weren't written down, so only I knew what was coming next.
Acting them out was the only way to share.
Fortunately, I learned to write.
I ran with that talent. I wrote everything. Poetry. Short stories. A
novella. Even a dissertation, which for those who have never written
one, is a very very very long book.
I tried hard to make a good academic writer, but I missed the flair of
fiction. One cannot, unfortunately, make up stuff when writing academic
pieces. Gradually, I began to turn back to the writing that made time lose all meaning
for me, poetry and fiction.
I experimented with different forms of writing, but it was children's
stories that hooked me. As a children's writer, I get to create worlds
as spongy and delicious as marshmallows, soar through green oceans with
talking sharks, and float on misty air currents riding the backs of ancient
dragons. It's an amazing place to live in. And it changes on a daily
basis.
In that amazing world of "what if", I created three children's picture books, Squirt (Stonehorse 2005), Shelby, and Dizzy (Stonehorse 2007). They've all taken me on interesting adventures. Squirt as a selected reading for the International TV Turnoff Week, which I helped bring to schools in Oklahoma. Shelby
as a spokesshark for shy children everywhere. She also helped me win my
first awards, Arizona Authors Literary Contest and Finalist in ForeWord magazine's Book of the Year. Dizzy
brought me face to face with a real black bear in the Shenandoah
Forests of Virginia! What a hair raising adventure that was. Yeesh. Check out my blog to learn more.
The best adventures, though, are school visits.
When children gasp and giggle while I read, I suddenly realize that
I've written something worth sharing.
Avi says you are only as good as your last book. That has become
something of a measuring stick for me. Each time I start a new project,
I try to raise the bar, make myself a better writer. After the picture
book trio, I decided to take on the challenge of a novel. Dragon Wishes
(Blooming Tree 2008) is my first success. It has been one of the
hardest and most inspiring projects I've worked on - almost worse than a dissertation...but only almost. It has paved
the way for my current project, a YA novel, Euromutt.
Writing is the voice for my imagination. It makes sharing my
fantastical worlds possible. And I don't have to act it out alone
anymore!
For more information, please click here to see my official resume
Or visit my myspace page
To learn more about a group of amazing debut children's novelists - the
Class of 2k8 - that I have the honor of belonging to this year, please
click on the widget below or visit us on the official class website. Happy Reading!
To see a neat video of all 2k8 books, click here
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