American History

StoryCorps

Posted by on Dec 8, 2022 in American History, BOOK: Storycorp, Nonfiction | Comments Off on StoryCorps

100 year old photographs

Our stories are our history and our identity.

I’m so excited to announce that I’m going to working on a graphic novel–no, a piece of graphic nonfiction–boy, do we need a better term for this genre!–anyway–a work of historical nonfiction in a graphic format based on the wonderful, touching, and uplifting stories collected by StoryCorps.

I’m thrilled to get to work with such great material, and also excited to be tackling my first script for a graphic work. So far in my career I’ve published novels, picture books, chapter books, early readers, nonfiction, fiction, and poetry–delighted to add graphic work to the list!

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Vampires, Viruses, and (Im)mortality

Posted by on Nov 1, 2021 in American History, Book: Mercy: The Last NE Vampire | Comments Off on Vampires, Viruses, and (Im)mortality

By Mercy's gravestone.

By Mercy’s gravestone.

Just because it’s one day after Halloween doesn’t mean we can’t still be thinking about vampires. Jason Zinoman in The New York Times has a great article about the connections between vampire legends and times of plague and pestilence…at one time, vampires were seen as creatures who spread deadly diseases rather than pale, sparkly romantic antiheroes. He didn’t mention, but he could, the vampire legends of 19th century New England, in which the undead were blamed for the spread of the white plague–tuberculosis.

Those legends and the true story of how belief in vampires affected the life and death of a nineteen-year-old Rhode Island girl named Mercy Brown became the basis for Mercy, my one and only horror novel to date. (More eerie than horrible, really.)

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Amanda Gorman

Posted by on Jan 22, 2021 in American History, Poems, Politics | Comments Off on Amanda Gorman

Amanda Gorman recites "The Hill We Climb," during the 59th Presidential Inauguration ceremony in Washington, Jan. 20, 2021. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took the oath of office on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol. (DOD Photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Carlos M. Vazquez II)

Amanda Gorman recites “The Hill We Climb” during the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Take note, young writers–she is 22 years old. Start practicing now–this could be you!

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Taia Morley to Illustrate A PANDEMIC IS WORLDWIDE

Posted by on Oct 21, 2020 in American History, BOOK: A Pandemic Is Worldwide, Children's Literature, Illustration | Comments Off on Taia Morley to Illustrate A PANDEMIC IS WORLDWIDE

AppleTrimInsta3Delighted to announce that the talented Taia Morley will be illustrating A Pandemic Is Worldwide! I love Taia’s work; it’s warm and rich and childlike. I thinks she’ll bring a nice balance to this serious topic.

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