It’s the confluence of Father’s Day and Juneteenth (both yesterday) and West Virginia Day (today, happy 159). So, let me tell you some of what my dad taught me about race growing up in our beloved Mountain State. I played ball with black kids and had black coaches as a kid. I heard about the klan and got really scared—for them and, for some reason, my own safety. My dad had to tell me … [Read more...] about My Dad Treated Black Folks Different
Attempted Wisdom
Growing Givers Not Poor Unfortunate Victims
I got to hang out with a bunch of writers last weekend. I enjoyed meeting up with friends and making some new ones. I loved meeting readers and listening to their encouraging words about the books we’ve shared between us. Elizabeth Yates said, “A writer only begins a book, it is the reader who completes it.” She’s right, of course, and it’s always a delight to meet the people who complete my … [Read more...] about Growing Givers Not Poor Unfortunate Victims
Stay In Your Lane During Wartime: It’s a Long and Winding Road to Your True Calling
I’m never sure what to say when world events are so intense and the words of an ordinary children’s author from West Virginia on social media feel so unnecessary. “Stay in your lane,” I tell myself. And that’s good advice. We probably need far fewer experts on the “out there” and more people living faithfully “right here.” The world very rarely needs “my take.” The last several years of seemingly … [Read more...] about Stay In Your Lane During Wartime: It’s a Long and Winding Road to Your True Calling
MY BLOOD FOR YOURS: Why My Kids Books Are Not Safe, But They Are Good—And Intentionally Dangerous
“Parents beware!” One of my critics on Amazon warns parents of the intensity of my Green Ember kids stories. She’s not altogether wrong, and I am kind of sympathetic. My stories are dangerous. But I think she mistakes me for an enemy, when I’m an ally—an ardent one. I think writing violent and foul stories for edginess—to push boundaries for the sake of rebellious relish—is not only morally … [Read more...] about MY BLOOD FOR YOURS: Why My Kids Books Are Not Safe, But They Are Good—And Intentionally Dangerous
A Grateful Writer: Thanks, Walt
“This is what shapers do for those who have neither universe, nor personhood, nor name: We weave the world around them.” – Walt Wangerin, Jr. I was sad to learn of the death of author Walt Wangerin, Jr. He died yesterday. Walt's The Book of the Dunn Cow is phenomenal, and he's written many excellent books. But hearing him speak at the first ever Rabbit Room Hutchmoot in Nashville, many … [Read more...] about A Grateful Writer: Thanks, Walt
It’s a Great Day to Disbelieve Lies and Ignore Prompts to Outrage
Today is a great day to ignore social media and traditional media prompts to hatred, envy, outrage, and despair. It's a good day to love real people we're in real community with and to try super hard to disbelieve the lies we tell ourselves about our story and the lies our families or tribes or idols demand we affirm. It’s a good day to turn to Jesus. It is also a good day for a cookie. … [Read more...] about It’s a Great Day to Disbelieve Lies and Ignore Prompts to Outrage
My Place BESIDE You…
“My place beside you…” That’s the start of the sacred oath the characters recite in The Green Ember that resonated deeply with me when it first flowed from my fingers into the tale and has since moved so many readers. I don’t view my work as a platform to achieve “elite artist status” but as a magical-ordinary vocation where God has called me to be an ally in imagination to families who are … [Read more...] about My Place BESIDE You…
Be a Maker Not a Faker
Be a maker not a faker. We are bonkers over fake endeavors. Fake war. (Fortnite, Call of Duty etc.) Fake love. (You know what I’m talking about.) Fake public service/citizenship. (Social media fights.) Fake. Fake. Fake. No. Be a real human. And really make things. Don’t fake it till you make it. Make it. Then you don’t have to fake it. Make. Make better. Make more. Zach Franzen told me that … [Read more...] about Be a Maker Not a Faker
Enjoy Books and Ignore Authors (Mostly)
Don’t take advice from the wrong people. Everyone is telling a story. Everyone is kind of marketing all the time.So, if we believe the big problem of the world is bee stings, then we’re going to be telling everyone how [whatever is in the news] is reason for extra vigilance about bee stings and how our solution is more crucial than ever. The saying is wise: When you have a hammer, everything … [Read more...] about Enjoy Books and Ignore Authors (Mostly)
Don’t Wait. Create!
Making. Believing. Make believing. Make Believe HQ for me? The Forge. We converted a little garden shed to a writing hut/office. It’s ten feet from the house, so my commute ain’t too bad. I’m grateful for this modest little spot. I’ve written some books in there (the first, I think, was Ember Rising) and it’s been a good and useful place for me. It’s useful, but not essential. I still write … [Read more...] about Don’t Wait. Create!
Crying at Stories
Did I write something that made you cry? Good. If, while crying, you dreamed of becoming more than you were before you were reading, very good. If it’s a spark in your heart and then tears come, good. If it’s laughter, I am glad too. Tonight I cried after receiving, in a film, the work of a man’s art. It worked itself into my heart. I made commitments then, jotting them down through … [Read more...] about Crying at Stories
Seeds and Harvest and Minimum Wage Writing
The words from the screen grab and the picture are many years apart. During the time of that post, I was working very hard (battling discouragement constantly) and planting seeds. The picture below is a little evidence of the harvest that God provided later. I’m happy to say that I now make more than minimum wage writing. Seriously, that is a gift. I still can’t spell very well. (Perhpas … [Read more...] about Seeds and Harvest and Minimum Wage Writing