Outta’ this world blog

June 11, 2024 — In previous posts, I wrote about the relationship between childhood interests and careers, a topic I find intriguing. My interest in writing started from a very young age. And my writer parents were early role models. My father even “published” my first little picture book before I’d even started kindergarten. He titled it A Jack-O. He cut out parts of pictures and some words I’d drawn in crayon, added to it a bit, and turned them into a little book in a binder. As I’ve blogged before, I still remember the thrill that gave me and clearly, I’ve cherished it, as I still have the booklet to this day. 

I have a folder full of other very early writings, many from the first grade (ages

February 13, 2024 — I admit I haven’t had any kind of routine around my writing or book associated activity since I retired. Come to think of it, maybe not ever. We all know how life is — full, busy, unpredictable. Maybe we have to get children ready for school, get to work, come home and make dinner. Our children need something, maybe simply our time and attention, and that’s a priority. Even without all of that, some days we have this or that appointment, dishes, seeing friends and family, exercise, meditation and errands to fit into the day. Ad infinitum. 

When I took part in the book fair for the Troy Public Library, a young student asked me a series of questions for a class assignment. I was happy to help him. Wh

Oct. 31, 2023 — Since How Happy Is a Lark was my first attempt at self-publishing a children’s picture book, there was lots to learn at every stage of the process. I won’t try to outline all of the steps here, not only because I won’t remember everything, but also it would be really tedious. 

So, to summarize core steps (interspersed with some related tangents):

First, you get an idea for your book.
Next, you develop your idea.
At some point, you start to write, and you write, write, write.
And then, you edit, edit, edit.

Serendipity touched my process a few times when, some 15 years ago, my phone rang at work. Even then, a ringing phone was a fairly rare occurrence, wi