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I'd wanted to see the film Miss Potter when it was first released but somehow never made it to the cinema. Anyway I have finally got round to watching it on DVD and I really enjoyed it. The chance to find out about authors' lives doesn't come about very often especially on the big screen and often the emphasis is on the writer's personal life - like in 'Becoming Jane.' But happily although Miss Potter also centres on the romantic part of her life there is a good dose of biographical detail about her career too. I didn't know anything about Beatrix Potter other than she wrote some of the most successful childrens' books ever including Peter Rabbit, Mrs Tiggywinkle and Jemima Puddleduck but the film has left me keen to find out more. The film tells how she first came up with the characters and stories as a young girl often while holidaying in the Lake District. Beatrix (played in the film by Renée Zellweger) came from a well off family but was very reluctant to marry as her mother wanted prefering a career. Her parents feature heavily in the film, her mother is not impressed by her books while her father thinks she's a really talented illustrator and writer. Her books were turned down by a number of publishers until Frederick Warne & Co agreed to print her 'little book.' The film explains how they agreed so they could give their younger brother Norman (played in the film by Ewan MacGregor) a project but one they expected him to fail at. The relationship between Beatrix and Norman moves from professional to romantic but there is trouble ahead (keep a box of tissues handy) ... Miss Potter is beautifully filmed (lovely scenery) , very well acted and includes a really nice touch when Beatrix's illustrations become animated when she talks to them - something non-writers probably wouldn't understand. The movie is also another fabulous example of a writer being rejected time and time again before going on to have amazing success - a story I never tire of!

I'd wanted to see the film Miss Potter when it was first released but somehow never made it to the cinema. Anyway I have finally got round to watching it on DVD and I really enjoyed it. The chance to find out about authors' lives doesn't come about very often especially on the big screen and often the emphasis is on the writer's personal life - like in 'Becoming Jane.' But happily although Miss Potter also centres on the romantic part of her life there is a good dose of biographical detail about her career too. I didn't know anything about Beatrix Potter other than she wrote some of the most successful childrens' books ever including Peter Rabbit, Mrs Tiggywinkle and Jemima Puddleduck but the film has left me keen to find out more. The film tells how she first came up with the characters and stories as a young girl often while holidaying in the Lake District. Beatrix (played in the film by Ren??e Zellweger) came from a well off family but was very reluctant to marry as her mother wanted prefering a career. Her parents feature heavily in the film, her mother is not impressed by her books while her father thinks she's a really talented illustrator and writer. Her books were turned down by a number of publishers until Frederick Warne & Co agreed to print her 'little book.' The film explains how they agreed so they could give their younger brother Norman (played in the film by Ewan MacGregor) a project but one they expected him to fail at. The relationship between Beatrix and Norman moves from professional to romantic but there is trouble ahead (keep a box of tissues handy) ... Miss Potter is beautifully filmed (lovely scenery) , very well acted and includes a really nice touch when Beatrix's illustrations become animated when she talks to them - something non-writers probably wouldn't understand. The movie is also another fabulous example of a writer being rejected time and time again before going on to have amazing success - a story I never tire of!

I visited my first school of 2008 yesterday. For my first school of the year, I always try to visit someplace local, in this case a K-8 school in a small logging town near where I live. The school was a delightful experience. The librarian had prepared the kids well and they asked wonderful questions after each presentation. The visit, though, also reminded me of a lesson I’ve learned rather late in my career—the value of local stories.

For most of my writing life, I’ve written about global and exotic topics, topics such as tropical rain forests, the problem of invasive species, animal adaptations, and more recently, famous historical figures. A few years ago, however, I landed the contract to write B is for Big Sky Country: A Montana Alphabet, my state’s entry in Sleeping Bear Press’s fifty-state series of alphabet books. My entry for the letter ‘S’ in that book led to a second book, Shep—Our Most Loyal Dog.