Robin Hood Found Guilty!

100 years ago today, Richard Packard, bookkeeper for Harris Brothers & Bartlett, was found guilty of embezzling over $6,000. He gave all the money to the poor. He told the judge that he just wanted to be known as a "good fellow."

I found this gem in the Library of Congress' digital historical newspapers, www.loc.gov

New book is born!

As a proud mama, I want to announce the publication of my newest book, History Digs: The Birth of the United States. You can find out more about it, and purchase a copy at www.cherrylakepublishing.com/shop/show/10573.

Here's the cover and a peek inside:

Reason for Being

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been ripping out one of my novel's plot strands, redesigning it,and knitting it back in again. It can be a painstaking process.
I was stymied by one particular scene. I had moved the setting back in time, and Jane, my main character, was learning how to bake biscuits in an old fireplace. I'd done my research, and managed to get in the steps involved without overwhelming the reader with information and bogging down the pacing. But something was missing. What on earth was it?
I was reading an article in the SCBWI Bulletin www.scbwi.org about putting emotion into illustrations when I realized that was what was lacking. The scene wasn't about Jane baking biscuits, it was about how Jane felt baking those biscuits. My scene finally had a reason for being.

Revision Routes

Long time, no post. But I have been busy.
I’ve been using Anita Nolan’s book mapping strategy (www.anitanolan.com/theend.html) to get a visual picture of my novel.
I discovered a weak subplot and set about revising to make it stronger. Of course, changing one part of a novel always affects another section…

I’d love to hear from anyone about strategies they use in revision.