Memoir is here!

Hello readers! 
I'm super excited to tell you my memoir, Longhand: One Writer's Journey, is finally available. Yay!
 

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.  I've jotted a few memories from writing for the Los Angeles Times and also Scholastic, the world's largest children's book publisher: the rejections, heartbreak, joys, and beloved editors.  My privileged career has been intertwined with motherhood, the richest adventure of all.

I hope you enjoy the journey!

MEMOIR, almost there!

#1 A Journey of Faith

Hello, readers! 
     We've almost finished editing, proofing, and adding photos to my memoir, which has gone from Working-title to Real-title:  Longhand: One Writer's Journey.  I'll post here when it's published, so please stay tuned.  Thank you for being patient.
     Meanwhile, we've updated sixteen books.  Most of them have wonderful new illustrations by Cody Rutty, and all have fresh matte covers, the kind that are nice to hold and don't slip off your lap.  
     Here are the Prairie Rivers--I hope you enjoy them!

#2 A Grateful Harvest

#3 Winter Tidings

#4 Hope Springs Eternal

Jimmy Spoon and the Pony Express

Hello everyone! After a gazillion reader requests, I'm happy to announce a nice new paperback and kindle edition for Jimmy Spoon and the Pony Express.   I hope you like it!!

    It's a continuation of the true story of Elijah Nicholas Wilson, the Mormon boy who ran away to live with the Shoshoni Indians in the mid-1800s.  This story opens in Salt Lake City when Jimmy sees an intriguing ad in the newspaper:

     "Wanted: Young, skinny, wiry fellows not over 18.  Must be expert riders, willing to risk death daily, orphans preferred.  Wages $24 a week ..."

     And no one is more qualified than Jimmy.  He had lived with the Shoshoni for years and had learned their ways.  No white boy could ride like Jimmy Spoon.  But fifty miles a day isn't an easy ride -- even for him.  And the trails are dangerous.  Living conditions are primitive; there are outlaws, angry tribes, blistering heat, and below-zero winters.  And all along, Jimmy yearns to return to his Shoshoni family, especially to rekindle his friendship with the lovely Nahanee ...

** "Terrific ... " - VOYA_.

** "Exciting ... those who have not read Legend will certainly want to do so after finishing this one." - School Library Journal


Look for Longhand: One Writer's Journey, to be published Spring 2015

STALKED: Danger and Furry, Ellis Island 1912

Good morning, reading friends!  I'm happy to show you the new cover for

Stalked: Danger and Furry, Ellis Island 1912, showing clipper ships in a foggy New York Harbor.  It's available in paperback and on Kindle.  I hope you like it!

** Awarded the GOLD MEDAL for Young Adult Mystery from Literary Classics.
** Kirkus Reviews calls it "An atmospheric confection that will thrill YA readers...Gregory achieves a realistic, rich atmosphere with insightful details about the immigration process and New York tenements in the early 1900s."
      When Rikke Svendsen, a 15-year-old Danish servant arrives at Ellis Island in 1912, she realizes that a fellow passenger on her voyage across the Atlantic -- whose advances she had spurned -- is stalking her. In the chaos of immigration and trying to flee him, she gets stranded in New York City instead of being able to meet family in Racine, Wisconsin. Relieved to have eluded the man, she finds work in the tenements as a seamstress for a film company and struggles to earn money for a train ticket north. Meanwhile, through letters and telegrams, she learns that mysterious accidents are befalling her loved ones in Racine with deadly results. As Rikke pieces together clues, frantic for her beloved Viggo, she seeks to unravel what or who is behind the terror.

Look for Longhand: One Writer's Journey, to be published Spring 2015.

... and three more Cabin Creek Mysteries are up!

Hello reading friends!  Three more Cabin Creek Mysteries with new illustrations are available on Amazon, in paperback and Kindle.  I hope you enjoy Cody Rutty's drawings as much as I do:

Look for Longhand: One Writer's Journey, to be published Spring 2015.

Good news for Cabin Creek readers

Yesterday I was happy to answer this mother's email, about the Cabin Creek Mysteries, with a bit of good news:

Hi Kristiana:  I have a 10 year old daughter who just started reading your Cabin Creek Mysteries.  She asked Santa for the whole series because she absolutely loves your books. I could only find the first 2. I've been told that the others are out of publishing or printing.  Is there a way that I can make this girls christmas come true with getting the 4 last books by christmas?  Sincerely her mother

     When the series went OP (out-of-print) several years ago, I kept getting letters -- tons! -- from teachers, parents, librarians, and 3rd-graders.  They requested more "Jeff and David stories," about the young detectives who solve mysteries in the mountain town of Cabin Creek.  Most frustrating of all, copies were nearly impossible to find and prices ranged up to $50, which is obscene for a kid's book.  
     Finally, FINALLY, Scholastic returned the rights to me, which means I now have creative control.  Boom, my family and I have been converting the series into new paperbacks with fresh covers and illustrations by my son, Cody Rutty.  The smaller 5.25x8 size allows us to keep the price low.  I think $5.95 for a book to hold in your hand is fair, as is $4.95 for a Kindle version. 
     So the good news:  Cabin Creek #1, 2, 3, & 7 are available on Amazon, and ready for Christmas!  We're still working on #4, 5 & 6, so hang in there if you're looking for a complete set.
I  hope you enjoy these new paperbacks ... and look for my memoir, LONGHAND: ONE WRITER'S JOURNEY to be published this Spring. Thank you for being such faithful readers!

New baby: memoir 27

In 1984 my husband and I welcomed another baby boy -- so did Princess Diana! I devoured every tabloid story about her castle life, envying her heated towel racks and diaper warmer. Nannies and cute clothes. A chef! She was thin and pretty. Down the road I learned that along with our sons being born in the same years, she and I had had another thing in common: bulimia. I really felt for her.

     But back to our new buddy: Cody Rob, his middle name after my brother. Because it snowed nearly eight months of the year in Idaho and temps often fell below zero (minus 33 one December), our favorite outing became the public library. Betty Holbrook, Pocatello's wonderful children's librarian, introduced us to a wealth of kid-lit. Oh those picture books! They were beautiful, evocative, and such fun to read aloud. Memories from my childhood flooded back.

     Art Seidenbaum and I talked about the Children's Book Column for The Times. If it were available, I'd be so stoked if he would consider me.

     Thankfully he did! In March of 1985, life became sweeter. When the UPS truck rumbled up the icy street, the boys and I watched out the window. Boxes delivered resembled treasure chests brimming with brand new, crisp-smelling, colorful stories and illustrations, just thirty-six pages, not hundreds. My lighter workload was heaven.

     I signed up for a correspondence course with the Institute of Children's Literature, to learn about the craft. The lonely days of long winters with toddlers eased when the mailman would deliver a large white envelope, feedback from my scrawls. I worked on a novel about a California beach girl growing up in the 60s. In A Town By the Sea was coming from my heart.

     As I watched Greg and Cody's faces light up when read a story, then their saying, "keep going!" and "more," I realized I wanted to write for children. If kids could grow up hearing and reading beautiful words, would it make the world a gentler place?

From LONGHAND: ONE WRITER'S JOURNEY, to be published Spring 2015