Powerfingers on their way to writing their next books.
Last week my writing group met for a joint book signing at a local bookstore. We call ourselves the Powerfingers. And indeed we lived up to the name this month - between us we signed two book deals and a movie option!
This seems like the perfect time to introduce you to the group that sustains my writing. Just like raising kids -- or any all-consuming, worthwhile endeavor -- writing books takes a deep support system. We may write alone, we may parent alone, but for best results we write our books and raise our kids together.
So in time for holiday book ideas, here are new authors you may enjoy discovering. We write memoir, true crime, novels, poetry, renegade parenting and more. At the end, you'll see an announcement for a 2014 Read Along for my book being offered by Not Just Cute. If you've been meaning to pick it up, now you'll have company. Giveaway ends today!
Fleda Brown A fall-in-love with poet, Fleda served as Poet Laureate of Delaware and is a former Professor of English at the University of Delaware. She believes nursery rhymes help develop the skills of language and poetry. Fleda has published numerous books of poetry and writes a thoughtful blog. Read more about Fleda.
Mardi Link is the author of three books, including her new memoir about single motherhood, Bootstrapper. If you like funny, irreverent writing set in the Midwest, try her book. Garrison Keillor liked it - you might, too. Hardback is out, paperback coming soon. Read more about Mardi.
Cari Noga Cari is one those extraordinary mortals who can write a novel in a month. She regularly creates new work during NaNoWriMo, national novel writing month. Her first endeavor is published as Sparrow Migrations, a novel set around the Miracle of the Hudson plane crash in New York City, featuring a 12-year-old boy with autism. She's a true starlighting mama, raising two young kids and writing at odd hours on the side. Read more about Cari.
Anne-Marie Oomen teaches creative writing at Interlochen Center for the Arts, and we all benefit. She's a playwright and author of numerous books of collected essays, poetry, and memoir. Like many teachers-who-write-books, Anne-Marie uses the summer months to write, write, write. Read more about Anne-Marie.
Teresa Scollon Teresa is a marvel. Primarily a poet, Teresa is a National Endowment for the Arts Fellow, essayist, writing teacher and author of the book To Embroider the Ground with Prayer, poems about life in rural Michigan. If you don't have a poet in your writing group, I recommend getting one. Teresa shaped my book's first chapter. Read more about Teresa.
Heather Shumaker And then there's me. If you're following this blog then you're probably familiar with my book It's OK Not to Share. Now you can read it in the company of others. It's OK is the featured 2014 Read Along book at Amanda Morgan's site Not Just Cute. She's offering Google Hangout interviews as part of the Read Along, with me and author parenting bloggers. Hurry over - book giveaway ends at midnight tonight. Read more at my author website.
Who's on your support team? Do you need to gather more like-minded people around you - for parenting, writing or other endeavors? Are you stuck in a reading rut: is it time for you to discover and fall in love with new authors?
Wow, Heather, thanks bunches. You are so right; we can't do it alone. The writing may start in the attic, but in short order, we (and most writers) are at that communal table, turning to a few key people for those essential perceptions of the all-important Reader. Plus it's fun. Thanks for doing this.
Yes, life is indeed a dance between solitude and community. So glad you're part of my writing community.
Thanks for sharing, Heather. It occurred to me recently how there are five of us, and five fingers on a hand, which curls up into a fist. Nice metaphor for the smashing impact we have on each other's work, and hopefully on readers, too.
Fun.
Heather - Oh what a fun introduction to your PowerFinger cohorts and for sharing their books as well. Write on!
Happy book writing to you, too!
I have your book - got it just a few days ago. It's a book I want to give to family, friends, and schools. And I'm only half way through it. Thank you for writing it!
You're most welcome! Thrilled you love it so much. Thanks so much for getting in touch.
Hi Heather,
Is there a way to find preschools following your renegade rules in Massachusetts?
Sincerely,
Julie
Julie - Hmm...I will have to put that question out to readers. Thanks to readers, I now know of some fantastic play-based preschools in Iowa, Connecticut, California, Ohio, etc. Let's see what we can find out.