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Writer's pictureChristina Dendy

Spooky Season and More

Okay, I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO overdue with a blogpost. It's been a year? I would admit that I've been slacking except that I haven't really been slacking so much as just really busy with lots of other stuff.


Excuses, right?


So, first thing's first, HAPPY FALL! It's October, which is my FAVORITE month for so many reasons. It's the first really fall weather feeling month. It's Samhain and Halloween month. It's Down Syndrome Awareness Month. It's harvests and scarecrows and corn husks and corn mazes and apple cider time. It's Hunter's Moon. It's my anniversary. I could go on ... October makes me happy.


Updates


I had two nonfiction books that I had so much fun working on come out a few months ago. The first is a grade level reader, Astronauts, part of the Extreme Scientists series from Apex. The second is an early science encyclopedia, Physical Science, from ABDO. Both are slated for grades 3-4. Learn some fun facts about the job astronauts do and about everything that makes up physical science (which, psst, is just about everything)!



News


I'm super-excited to have The Wall and The Wild featured in the Sprouting Stories: Plants & People in Picture Books exhibit at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art! The exhibit is on display in the Reading Library of the museum and on the museum's website from August 7 - December 29, 2024. Check out the story board of books from the exhibit, too! I wish I could go ...



Writers' Resources


Recently, I took part in the Dayton Metro Library's Authors and Writers Symposium. I had a great time engaging with other authors and writers during one of the forums. Many people asked questions about resources for writers and ways to connect, so I'm linking my Kid Lit for Writers page, which has resources for aspiring (and published) children's book authors. These should give interested parties some good places to get started. Some of the resources, like Publishers' Weekly, apply to writers of all genres, too. There are links for agents, other authors, writing resources, and more there.


On that score, fabulous Dayton-based fiction author Katrina Kittle just updated her offerings for writers at Word's Worth. If you're local, check out her upcoming workshops/classes!


Books About Writing


Finally, a quick shout out to those interested in writing speculative fiction: Check out Spec Fic for Newbies by Tiffani Angus and Van Nolen. You'll be glad you did. Also, the best book I've found for writing picture books is still Ann Whitford Paul's aptly named Writing Picture Books. If you're looking to break into the market, start there. I've read lots of writing books over the years, but I also have to say that my favorite just writing-to-write book remains Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within. If you need a kick in the pants to remember why you love writing, pick it up. Anne Lamot's Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life is good, too.



On that note, you know what else is great? PICTURE BOOKS about writing! I love picture books that get into the art-discipline-adventure-challenge of writing. They're great for using with students of all ages. And guess what? My last blog post was all about them. Check it out!


Don't want to check out the blog post? Fair enough. Scroll through the book covers below.



Back to Spooky Season


We LOVE fall, scarecrow, monster, witchy, ghostly and other spooky type books around here, so I'm going to wrap up this post with some of my favorites. These lists aren't comprehensive, but again, they're good places to start. If you scroll back through my blog posts, you'll find some comparable lists of favorite Halloween and related books there, too. Just click on each banner image to go to a curated selection on Bookshop. You don't have to buy them there (although Bookshop rocks), but it's an easy way for me to compile selections. You might find some overlap among the lists, and it occurs to me that I need one for vampires and werewolves ...


I wanted to cover some other stuff, but this post feels over-long already so stay tuned. I'll try not to wait a year before posting again!


Now, go get your haunt on!

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