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Elizabeth and Frank came up with the idea of having a day where everyone does a post with a "door" theme. And today's the day! It's a blog-group-art event! Check out the list below to see everyone from around the world who's participating. So here we go:

Our house has many different styled doors, most tending toward the rustic, since the original part of the house was built around 1720. Over the years it has been added on to and changed in all sorts of bizarre and interesting ways. We've been trying to bring it back to the colonial era. It's been a neverending renovation-- and we've done almost all of it ourselves. (Believe me, it's better to pay someone to dig a new septic field.) Along the way we've made a lot of discoveries...

The green door with the wreath (at the top of this post) is where the original front door of the house was located. The door is definitely not colonial-- it dates from about the Victorian era-- but it's nice, because it lets more light in to the room.





































Inside there's a half door that leads to a little room we call the library. We think this room was actually a small barn that used to be on the property, and that it was added onto the house in the late 1800's. (I tried to show the door with the top part only cracked open, but the floor is so tilted that it just swung back before I could snap a picture! Life in an old house can be a little off-kilter...)



















This door was rescued from our neighbor's dumpster. (Oh please don't get me started on people throwing away lovely old doors and windows and beams...) This room is in the part of the house that was added on in the 1960's. And believe me, it looked it! (We called this the "time warp" house when we bought it-- old wide board floors paired with... mmm... orange shag carpeting. Nice!) We have been trying to bring this part of the house "back in time" a bit, and really liked the roughness of the door.



















And lastly is my favorite-- our bedroom door. You can get a rough idea from this picture of how low the ceilings are upstairs. (I'm 5'9" and in my bare feet I can put my hands flat on the ceiling.) The right hand panel is one solid piece of wood measuring 23 inches wide. Now, given that the door is the same age as the house, imagine how old that tree had to be when it was cut to make a panel of this width!

So there you have it-- a sampling of my colonial doors. Nothing fancy-- but they have served their purpose for a long, long time. There's something very comforting about that.

Here's a list of everyone participating today. (Apologies to anyone left off the list!):

Elizabeth Wix, "The House in Marrakesh", Marrakesh, Morroco

Frank Gardner, "My Paint Box", San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

Ambera Wellmann, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Constance, "Rochambeau"

Jennifer Thermes, "Art-Words-Life" - Connecticut , USA

Joanne Giesbrecht,"Thistledown Arts", Alberta, Canada

Eric Orchard, Nova Scotia, Canada

Jack Riddle, Portland, Maine, USA

Christine Mercer-Vernon, "An Artist's Log", Pennsylvania, USA

Faye Christian Phillips , Kentucky, USA

Britt-Arnhild, Norway

Kate and Roger "The Skophammers", Norfolk, Virginia, USA

Terry Rafferty, USA

Barbara,"Ramblings from an English Garden", London, United Kingdom

Pam Aries,"Art and Soul", Charleston, S.C. ,USA

Mary Sheehan Winn," Just Painting", Florida, USA

"Some Pink Flowers", St. Augustine, Florida, USA

Rima, "The Hermitage", Scotland

Merisi,"Merisi's Vienna for Beginners", Austria

Paz, "Paz's New York Minute", New York

"Down Under Dale", Australia

The Aesthete, "Aesthete's Lament", USA

Mari/ Kameravena, Finland

Maryam, "My Marrakech", Morocco

Willow from "Willow's Cottage", California, USA

Ari, "Typo Blog", Finland

Lea,"Tales from the Labyrinth",USA

Stephanie, "Rodrigvitzstyle"

Madelyn,"Persisting Stars", Vancouver, Canada

Leslie,"Snips and Snails and Puppy Dogs Tales", Pennsylvania, USA

Karen Cole,"Artsortments", Pennsylvania, USA

Barrie, San Diego, California, USA

Sherry/Cherie, Toronto, Canada

Claudia Schmid, London, United Kingdom

Sue, "The Magic Armchair Traveller", Congresbury, Bristol, United Kingdom

Gemma Wiseman, "Greyscaale Territory", Australia

Neulekirppu, Finland

Laura Fortune, "Amongst The Oaks",California, USA

Sara Lorayne, "Come Away With Me", California, USA

This week’s Children’s Writers Coaching Club member in the spotlight in author Jill McDougall.

Jill lives in Australia and is the author of over 100 books for children.

Jill says, “I started writing seriously in 2001. That’s not long ago for someone who’s on the grey side of 50.

“As I write this six years later, I have just had my 100th children’s book accepted for publication.

“THAT’S RIGHT - 100 books in six years!

“Don’t get me wrong - I’m not talking about 100,000 word novels. I’m talking about writing that pays well but is quick to produce. The list includes easy readers for schools, chapter books, novels, articles, poems, plays, non-fiction books, local histories … I’ve had all of these published and more.

“My children’s books are sold all around the world - in the USA, in Europe, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, South Africa, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

“As well as writing books of my own, I teach other people how to reach writing success. For years, I wrote a regular column for the international writers’ mag Writing4Success. I also operate an assessment service and I work as a writing tutor.”

Here’s what Jill is working on now:

“I recently finished a novel for young teens and just today the contract arrived from Walker Books. With a bit of luck, the book will be published in the States by Candlewick Press.

“Right now I’m plotting a novel for the same age group and doing a crash course in SMS messaging. Did you know that BTDTBTS means Been There, Done That, Bought The T-shirt? Love it! It’s a whole new language IYKWIM er, If You Know What I Mean ….”

When we asked Jill what she enjoys most about the Children’s Writers Coaching Club she said:

“The Coaching Club is a fabulous way to tap into the skills and know-how of other children’s writers. It really DOES feel like a club - warm, friendly and fun.”

You can find more writing tips on her website as well as links to hundreds of publishers’ guidelines through her ebook Become a Children’s Writer: Insider Secrets.

Visit her website at http://www.jillmcdougall.com.au

We have such a great group of writers in the Children’s Writers Coaching Club here at the National Writing for Children Center. Some are beginning writers, but several are published children’s book authors.

Today, the spotlight is on Coaching Club Member Pat McCarthy!

Pat McCarthy has written over a dozen published nonfiction children’s books. Pat’s experience teaching elementary school for many years helped her understand kids and how to write for them.

Besides writing, Pat loves photography and has sold many photos with her articles and books. She also loves birding, scrapbooking, travel and camping. She’s been to all 50 states, Canada, Mexico, and Europe. Pat lives in the small rural city of Greenville, Ohio with her cat, Oz, who rules the roost.

Here are a few of Pat’s children’s nonfiction books:

Here’s what Pat tells us she’s up to right now:

“I recently finished writing a leveled reader for Trillium Press. It’s a biography of George Washington Carver, written for sixth graders reading on a fifth grade level. It had a quick turnaround, but I was glad to get back into writing books after a dry spell.

I’m working on a proposal for Chicago Review Press for their “for Kids” series. It will be a book on Pioneers in America, with some emphasis on Laura Ingalls Wilder. It also will contain 21 activities. Of course, this isn’t a sure thing yet, but the editor is very nice to work with and says he’ll help me get the proposal into shape.

To learn more about Pat and her writing, visit her blog.

Here’s what Pat likes about the Children’s Writers Coaching Club:

“I’m enjoying the coaching club for a couple of reasons. It’s always good networking with other writers. I’m also enjoying the teleconferences, like the one with Margot Finke the other night. The monthly membership materials are great, too.”

We’re glad Pat is enjoying the Children’s Writers Coaching Club. It’s a pleasure having her as a member.

Look for more children’s authors to be featured here soon in our new CWCC Member Spotlight.