Blazing a Trail for Girls Archives - Page 2 of 4

Whimsy, Imagination, Beauty, Love

Hungry for whimsy, beauty, imagination, love? Need some good entertainment, but don’t have time to read a whole book?

If you have a couple of hours, I’ve got you covered.

The movie: This Beautiful Fantastic.

I’m usually all about book recommendations here. However, this movie shares so many values I hold […]

Wishes Made Real

Imagine owning something magical that takes your wishes and makes them real…

Not a genie, exactly, although that’s a similar tradition. In “Joplin, Wishing,” by Diane Stanley, the wishes made real come from a ceramic platter and the depicted girl from Holland on it that holds this power. It’s a power that can […]

Clever Spin-Offs

What childhood stories have stayed with you?

The Oz books? Narnia? Harry Potter? When those fantastic imaginary worlds are in the public domain, we readers get to enjoy clever spin-offs by other authors inhabiting those same mythic worlds. League of Archers by Eva Howard is one of those clever spin-offs.

The […]

Hidden Figures

I usually stick to book recommendations in this blog—mostly those books of roughly the same genre as my own. But I’m making an exception today by recommending a movie to my fans: Hidden Figures. You’ve got to see it!

The connection to my books is thematic.

Both my books and […]

Fantastical Fate

Have you ever dreamed of discovering your own fantastical fate? Of learning you are powerful beyond your wildest imaginings? I have. It’s one of the things that led me to write The Curse of the Neverland.

If you have, you’ll like today’s recommendation. It has themes and circumstances in common with my books and characters, […]

Brilliant Books

**Congratulations to Judie Lawson, who won the Christmas Eve drawing for Book Two!

As a reader, I admire authors. I’m typically generous with my praise. When I read Rooftoppers, by Katherine Rundell, I realized the problem with high praise all around is it doesn’t leave proper space to applaud the really brilliant books.

Rooftoppers […]

Dreams Late in Life

Why do your dreams late in life matter?

You know that while my books are categorized for children, I actually wrote them for adults like myself. In that way, Piper and her Merry Band can actually be experienced as “people just like us.”

Book two, Becoming Piper Pan, centers around the struggle to learn to […]

Being a Dream Keeper

I had a wonderful time speaking to the lovely ladies who attended my talk at the Affinity Community in Kennewick last week—(if that’s you, welcome to Piper’s Merry Band!) I wish I’d taken a few photos to record the event… Sadly, I didn’t think of it in time. But here’s me with my […]

Summer of Adventure

When you look back at your childhood, is there a particular summer that stands out from the rest? A summer of adventure that is especially vivid and meaningful? There is often an unforgettable year that bridges the end of our “childhood” and the beginning of something else.

Finding Fortune, by Delia Ray is a story […]

Intense Emotion

Today’s book recommendation uses intense emotion masterfully to gain and keep a reader’s attention. I’ve been bringing you books illustrating different ways authors manage this feat over the space of an entire story—of course the best writers do it in many ways at once.

“Emotional stakes” is a term used often in the acting world; […]

Piper Pan and Her Merry Band