By: Jean Matthew Hall,
on 5/31/2011
I have six wonderful grandchildren whom I adore. [Let's hear it for grandmas, folks!] Each one has been gifted by God and, I must say, their parents are doing a terrific job of following the Scriptural principle of finding their gifts, their "bent" or "way" as it says in Proverbs 22:6, and cultivating those gifts. "Teach a youth about the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart
By: Jean Matthew Hall,
on 5/26/2011
Blogger is having issues, folks. This is their latest message on the "Known Issues" Page. We're investigating an issue which is preventing login and comment posting for some users, and hope to have a fix released shortly. Thanks for your patience in the meantime. — latest update on Tuesday, May 24, 2011 Labels: comments, login, outstanding
By: Jean Matthew Hall,
on 5/23/2011
Last Saturday I attended my first Kid Lit for Adults session at one of the beautiful Charlotte-Mecklenburg regional libraries. It was wonderful! Two talented library staff members prsented the material, the coffee was hot, and the price was perfect--FREE, absolutely free. Most of the attendees were teachers seeking new ways to get their students involved with reading and writing. But there were a
By: Jean Matthew Hall,
on 5/20/2011
Cathy's Animal Garden: Enter at Your Own Risk was written by Stacy Tornio and Beautifully illustrated by my very own dear friend, Samantha Bell. It was published by Alma Little in 2010. I am as proud as a daddy peacock to own an autographed copy. The illustrations are bright and colorful--just as they should be in a book about a garden. Bell's blossoms, trees and blades of grass are life-like
By: Jean Matthew Hall,
on 5/17/2011
Need a little inspiration today? A boost for your writer's spirit? Please hop over to my post on our Write2Ignte! Blog today. Thanks!
By: Jean Matthew Hall,
on 5/13/2011
Ann E. Eisenstein, a generous writing friend, sent me a copy of her book, Hiding Carly. I’m always a little fearful when friends do that. I know they want my honest opinion about their story. But--do they really want honesty? That’s what makes me fearful. First, I’m not a professional reviewer – that is, no one pays me to review books. So who am I to say a book is great, terrible or mediocre?
By: Jean Matthew Hall,
on 5/10/2011
I read that A. W. Tozer (that great man of God) said: "God is looking for people through whom He can do the impossible. What a pity when we plan only the things we can do by ourselves." Selah--Think about that.
By: Jean Matthew Hall,
on 5/9/2011
I've done it again--started reading several books at the same time. It used to be that I couldn't do that. I wouldn't do that. I was definitely prone to do one project at a time, read one book at a time, handle one mess at a time. Then God sent me through the school of multi-tasking. Or, perhaps I should say "multi-projecting?" [Is that a real word?] My sweet writing friend, Donna, and I are
By: Jean Matthew Hall,
on 5/7/2011
I'm thinking ost everyone who reads this blog is familiar with Oswald Chamber's My Utmost for His Highest which has been in print continuously for 70 years and has been published in 40 plus languages. Here's an amazing story about the person who wrote this book and many others. SHE wrote what God called her to write though, as far as I know, no one ever applauded her work. Read about her at
By: Jean Matthew Hall,
on 5/5/2011
I LOVE this post and this one, too, about query letters. Actually, I love this blog period. The blogger sounds like a really sensible blogger/agent/person all the time. Enjoy.
By: Jean Matthew Hall,
on 5/3/2011
What am I learning about writing this week? It seems to be such a simple point. It seems that anyone with a grain of sense could learn this easily. But I keep forgetting that I've learned it a zillion times already. I can't do it all. I can't do the dozens of "good" things that writers around me are doing. That list of things we do for name recognition, networking, marketing, ya-da-ya-da-ya-da
By: Jean Matthew Hall,
on 4/30/2011
Another fantabulous list. I think I need to work on this area and create a list of my own. Bet you do, too. Literary Crush
By: Jean Matthew Hall,
on 4/28/2011
Of late I've been the one in need of some Encouraging Words. My personal life has kept me moving at NASCAR pace. My mind, my attention and my body haven't been able to catch up with each other since 2011 began. I'm physically exhausted most of the time. Over the course of my 60+ years I've learned that, for me, physical exhaustion is most often caused by emotional, not physical, labor. That is
By: Jean Matthew Hall,
on 4/27/2011
Cousin Bill sent me this list and I think it's a hum-dinger. When you're stuck, when you're in a corner, when you're close to brain-dead try one of these suggestions from Life on Michigan Ave. http://paulzii.tumblr.com/post/3360025995
By: Jean Matthew Hall,
on 4/25/2011
I've been remiss in posting here the last few weeks. A shortage of both time and focus are to blame, I'm afraid. Last January (2012) God let me know that the focus of my life in 2012 will be my family; the first four months of this year have verified that message for me. Please pray for me as God sends family matters my way, that I will handle them with grace, love and joy. I have been able to
By: Jean Matthew Hall,
on 4/17/2011
Whooo-hooo! We've set the date for our 2012 Write2Ignite! Conference. Click here for details.
By: Jean Matthew Hall,
on 4/16/2011
I subscribe to the hard copy magazine Writer's Digest. I highly recommend it regardless of your genre, style, or target market. Their website sends me too many emails for my purposes, but the magazine itself is terrific. One of my favorite features is their yearly "101 Best Websites for Writers." I don't want to steal their thunder NOR get myself in trouble for quoting too much of the article or
By: Jean Matthew Hall,
on 4/16/2011
If you are a Picture Book Lover like me, OR If you think Picture Books are on their way out, Check this out: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/04/14/opinion/20110414-letters-scroll.html Yippeeee!! Way to go, Birch Lane Elementary School in Davis, California!
By: Jean Matthew Hall,
on 4/11/2011
This will be the last time I rave about the articles in Alice Pope's 2009 Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market. I Promise. Pages 37-43 contain "Great Opening Lines in Picture Books" by Lisa Wheeler. She compares the opening lines to first dates. Her analogy is funny and memorable. Wheeler describes (and gives examples of) openers from lots of PBs. She says that opening lines are like
By: Jean Matthew Hall,
on 3/31/2011
I was browsing the Scholastic Book Fair at my grandson's school searching for something to suit his energetic, enthusiastic, imaginative and self-confident four-year-old brother. I fondly call him "Full-throttle." The title and cover illustration of this book intrigued me. "That looks like something that might hold his interest for more than 45 seconds," I thought. So I thumbed through it. Then
By: Jean Matthew Hall,
on 3/28/2011
Many years ago (Hmmm...more than twenty-five) I became interested in American Sign Language. I took an introductory course at a local church and fell in love with the language. It's beautiful and dramatic. My husband and the teacher encouraged me to take another course and another. It ended up that I actually devoted a full year of my life almost entirely to learning American Sign Language. I ate
By: Jean Matthew Hall,
on 3/24/2011
Oh, this book is way too funny! Kindergartners and first graders love this one, I'm sure. I bought Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas for my grandson. But I think I'm going to tuck it away on my own bookshelf and forget to send it home with him! The illustrations are bold, graphic, energetic and hilarious. The 221 words of text be-bop around the four expressive dust bunnies. The two components
By: Jean Matthew Hall,
on 3/22/2011
I'm still reading and/or re-reading the articles in the front of Alice Pope's 2009 Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market. I think I'll cut these pages out and store them in a binder. I've already discussed "Authors & Illustrators: Dividing Details in Picture Books" by Sue Bradford Edwards. However this edition contains several more articles dealing with PBs along with great articles about
By: Jean Matthew Hall,
on 3/20/2011
My grandson's school held their annual Scholastic Book Fair last week. I volunteered to help one of the days. It's a small charter school filled with happy elementary aged children and staff members who obviously love their jobs. The librarian is no exception. She loves children and loves books and has no qualms about expressing both loves openly. My kind of lady! I enjoyed skimming through many
By: Jean Matthew Hall,
on 3/15/2011
I adore beautiful PBs. I enjoy reading and re-reading them with my children, my grandchildren, any children who will sit still long enough to allow me to read to them! I'm trying to master the craft of writing great PBs, also. Let's just say I apparently have a looooooong way to go. One of the things that has always puzzled me about the process is knowing what details to include in my text and
Jean,<br /><br />Yes, I want to be like Olivia when I grow up. <br /><br />Thanks for sharing a very inspiring story of a dear child focused on developing and sharing her gifts. Keep encouraging her.