I have been inspired a lot by quotes recently. This one is the latest. This quote reminds me to challenge myself often to look at my motives for doing things and to make sure they continue to fit with my view on life. When it comes to my writing, I struggle with one basic “I’ve always done it that way.” I like to write with pen and paper. Yes, I said it. Actually physically, hold in the hand and write with pen and paper. I know: It dates me. It slows my productivity. I lose my notes occasionally (read regularly). I used to claim that my brain was stimulated when…
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Writers’ Block
The majority of writers experience writers’ block at some point. That moment/ day/ week/ year where you sit in front of a blank page and words fail you. I used to experience writers’ block much more often than I do now.One of the worst experiences was when I was writing the novel Fury on Soufrière Hills. I had written my three child protagonists into an impossible situation. It took me four months to get them out. Every day I stared at that blank screen unable to come up with a single idea. This was nine years ago, and I don’t recall what eventually jolted me out of that mess. I was…
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Can you make inspiration happen?
Image by Grace Ho I recently came across the saying – “Creativity is intelligence having fun,” which is often incorrectly attributed to Einstein (the correct attribution is unknown). The phrase resonated with me, although I would rephrase it to “Creativity is hard work having fun.” Advertisement
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Interview on Caribbean Storytelling
Here’s my interview with author and podcaster, Yolanda T. Marshall.
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Why Audio Books Work
I don’t recall why, but several years ago, I borrowed the first Harry Potter book on tape and started playing it in the car. It was my second experience with audio books, and it was life-changing. The narrator Jim Dale brought the book to life. Our whole family listened, including my daughter who, at the time, was too young to read the book herself; and my husband who would come home from work and spend some time catching up from where he had last left off.
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Reader Respect
In Roger Sale’s “Fairy Tales and After: From Snow White to E. B. White,” Sale discusses one difference between two groups of authors, namely pre-eighteenth-century writers of the fables we now read as fairy tales, and those authors who wrote after childhood became a firmly entrenched concept.
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Burt Award for Caribbean Literature Now Open for Submissions
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS Now in its fifth year, the Burt Award for Caribbean Literature recognizes up to three English-language literary works for young adults (aged 12 through 18) written by Caribbean authors. CaribbeanReads has had the pleasure of publishing two Burt Award winners, 2nd place winner in 2014 Musical Youth by Joanne C. Hillhouse and 3rd place winner in 2016 The Protectors’ Pledge by Danielle Y. C. McClean. This year, the winning title will be awarded $10,000 CDN, and two finalists will be awarded $2,000 CDN each. Publishers of winning titles will be awarded a guaranteed purchase of up to 2,500 copies, which will be donated to schools, libraries, and…
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Barberry Hill Launch
I’m launching my latest YA novel, Barberry Hill at the TDC Mall St. Kitts this Saturday at 3 pm. So excited!
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Reading Out Loud
This photo was taken in 2013 and it still amazes me how much my daughter has grown in that time. She is still an avid reader–both of my children are–and we still share our joy of reading. Nowadays, we discuss books we’ve read and recommend them to one another. I love this interaction, I love when they finish a book and say ‘Mommy, you have to read this book,’ and I attribute much of that to the fact that we read as a family way beyond the time when the children were able to read for themselves.
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Audio books
There is more than one way to skin a cat…or so I’ve been told. Similarly (or maybe not) encouraging your children to develop a lifelong love of reading involves a variety of approaches and audio books can be an important addition to your bag of tricks.