Donna Maloy

We had the hottest May and the hottest June on record where I live. Add to that, we’re deep in a serious drought over most of Texas. A nice LITTLE hurricane would be a blessing! I don’t deal well with high temps; my energy level goes way, way down. So what perks me right back up and gets me going? Going out again with my author friends! Even better– joining my critique partner friends for calm…

Winter on the Gulf Coast, 2022

It’s January on the Gulf Coast and that means it’s time for these twice-blooming Fashion azaleas to stun with its coral colored blossoms. hey will be amazing again in spring, but right now their bright presence on the front lawn is a startling contrast to the leafless trees around them. We don’t normally get hard freezes here, so we aren’t really prepared for them–neither our plants nor our…

At last I can announce…

My Regency Era novella, The Captain’s Last Quest, will be published next August by Dragonblade Publishing in an anthology called Tales of Timeless Romance. The story was inspired by the forbidden romance between Princess Charlotte (the popular daughter of the Prince Regent of England and the first “People’s Princess”) and the handsome hero, Prince Leopold. He can scale his captive lady’s tower…

I so excited to be a finalist in DragonBlade Publishing‘s The Write Stuff contest! But the winners won’t be announced until July 1. That’s a lifetime from now. Or so it seems. I suppose I have no choice but to learn patience. Aaargh! So, while I wait (and keep on editing), I’m going to give my website a major style change. New graphics, new material. So now you, Dear Reader, have something to…

I so excited to be a finalist in DragonBlade Publishing‘s The Write Stuff contest! But the winners won’t be announced until July 1. That’s a lifetime from now. Or so it seems. I suppose I have no choice but to learn patience. Aaargh! So, while I wait (and keep on editing), I’m going to give my website a major style change. New graphics, new material. So now you, Dear Reader, have something to…

Even introverts are having trouble coping with this pandemic. For those of us who love eating out, visiting with friends and family, and writing in that special, quiet location… well, it isn’t fun. And for me it isn’t very productive.

I’m trying. I’ve almost got my entry for Dragonblade Publishing’s historical novel contest ready to go. Now if I can just finish all the work associated with…

WRITER RESOURCES: Forty-One Sounds of Laughter?!?

I’m absolutely chortling over a website I just discovered. It’s called Written Sound (www.writtensound.com). This website for writers provides an onomatopoeia dictionary, complete with nuanced definitions of the individual sounds and, where available, actual sound-bites.

Writing gurus are always reminding us to use all five senses, including hearing. But how do you put into words the strange…

The 2016 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards reported a record-breaking 320,000 works submitted for judging at the regional level. From the award winners, the Art.Write.Now.Tour was curated by Johanna Burton, Keith Haring Director and Curator of Education and Public Engagement at the New Museum in New York City. The exhibition is produced by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, the nonprofit…

Context = Clue

Context gives us clues to the meaning of an unfamiliar word, the emotion behind a friend’s reaction, the point of a political slogan.

The word “flag” can call several images to mind. But even if we’ve never used it this way ourselves, we can sense the meaning through context of a sentence like, “My energy level flags at the end of the day.”

When everyone else cheers for your…

Teen Tuesday: Are you funny?

“I know one 18-year-old high school senior in Attleboro, Massachusetts,  who is so funny!”

“How funny is she?”

“She’s so funny, she got a free-lance gig writing jokes for Saturday Night Live!”

Ally Beard (The Sun Chronicle)

It may sound like a joke but it’s real life. Ally Beard has been writing jokes for years. She’s done improv classes, talent shows, and open mic standup comedy.

In early…

One of my Works-In-Progress was nominated for the Joan Lowery Nixon Award at the 2016 Houston SCBWI conference. The winner will be selected by author Joy Preble (It Wasn’t Always Like This) and will get a year’s mentorship from Joy. Fingers and toes crossed!

SCBWI stands for Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. The Houston regional conference, on October 22, was fantastic!

The…

Monday Advice from Editors and Agents: A Pleasure Principle

Mashable is a global, multi-platform online media and entertainment “magazine” with tech, digital culture and entertainment content. If you have unlimited time to browse its ginormous daily content, you’ll find articles on everything from new gadgets to Hollywood scandals to human interest articles – like a story and videoabout the cool 92-year-old woman who wrote a song for Willie Nelson’s…

Cover Reveal! and a contest

I’m so happy to announce the new cover for CELIA AND THE WOLF is finally finished. Isn’t it brilliant? And scary? I think Middle Grade readers will enjoy it as much as the five-star story inside.

(Check out the great reviews HERE.)

And it’s just in time for Halloween!

For those of you who haven’t read the story yet, a terrible villain is planning something truly awful for the night of All…

TeenWriter Tuesday: Making It Work as a Writer While You’re Still in School

Wisconsin teenager Amy Zhang played tennis after school. She went out with friends and did homework. She also wrote a book. A very good book called Falling Into Place. She was 16 when she found an agent who sold it to pa publisher. It was released in 2015 and now has a four-star rating on Amazon.

It wasn’t even her first book.

How did she do it?

In an interview for GMA News Online, Amy talks…

TeenWriter: The #WeWriteBooks Contest is almost here!

I just found out about this and couldn’t wait for TeenWriter Tuesday to tell you!

The #WeWriteBooks Contest will open NEXT WEDNESDAY, September 14.

Submissions may be made from September 14 through September 28 OR UNTIL THEY GET 300 ENTRIES. So hurry up and enter!

If you are UNDER 21, don’t have an agent and are unpublished, then you’re eligible to enter.

Submit 3,000 words or less of your…

Monday Advice from Editors and Agents: Three Tips for the Price of One

Today’s three tips provide some dead-on great advice about

Your VOICE

PITCHing your book

STRIKING THE HEART of your reader

The advice comes from Chris Keeslar, who’s been a leading industry professional for over 20 years. Keeslar started editing romance for Dorchester Publishing, where he worked with authors such as Marjorie M. Liu, Victoria Alexander and Lynsay Sands. He is currently the…

Fun Friday: 4th Graders, Families and Teachers Get FREE Admission to National Parks

Pueblos

Explore ancient dwellings!   FREE

Waterfalls

See a waterfall taller than a building!   FREE

  Fourth graders, take your family along! Teachers, download activity guides and send your whole fourth grade class!

Grizzlies!

EVERY KID IN A PARK

This is a terrific program called EVERY KID IN A PARK, from the U.S.

Wolves!

Bison!

Department of the Interior. It targets THIS SCHOOL YEAR’s fourth…