Memoir update - Longhand: The Rise & Fall & Rise of My Career as a Children's Book Author

paperback and Kindle

A birthday gift when I turned seven was a diary, my first. Pink and palm-sized, it had a brass clasp and tiny keyhole so I could record secrets on the lined paper then lock 'em up. I hid the key in a shoe to keep out sibling spies.
     Thus began a lifelong habit of writing things down. My closet is filled with spiral notebooks, old calendars, moleskins, travel diaries, and thick leather journals. I've culled intimacies from these diaries alongside memories of writing for the Los Angeles Times and Scholastic: the rejections, heartbreak, joys, and beloved editors. My privileged career has been intertwined with motherhood, the richest adventure of all.

     The most common question readers ask is, "Where do you get your ideas?" so herein lie the answers. I hope these behind-the-scenes of book writing might inspire writers starting out and those who love the magic of words. Longhand: The Rise and Fall and Rise of My Career as a Children's Book Author.