Author Archives

Cathy C. Hallhttps://cathychall.wordpress.com/I write, write, write. Then I rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. THEN I submit all those polished-up words out into the world and sell 'em. It's a plan that's worked pretty well.

Tooting My Horn Tuesday About Writer Mama (and Karen Wiesner’s Books!)

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Cathy!!!
You have won First Draft in 30 Days & From First Draft to Finished Novel by Karen Wiesner.
Congrats!

You see what happens when you throw your name into the Writer Mama Back to School Giveaway? Any day now, I’ll be getting two swell books. And in a month (or maybe two) I’ll be finished with my first novel.

Okay, so maybe you don’t believe I’ll finish that novel in a month. But you better believe I’ll keep posting my two cents worth over at Writer Mama. That’s the only way you can win. And maybe I’ve already won Christina Katz’ new book, Get Known.

Take a look for yourself over at Writer Mama Riffs. But don’t wait too long. When September ends, so does the Giveaway!

Ranting on Banding

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When I was a little girl, I loved to go to the library with my mom. She’d go into the adult part of the library and I’d turn left, heading into the children’s section. Until one day, when I turned right and followed her into the adult section. I was probably 11 years old, maybe 12. The thing is, I thought I was 30. So, I read all kinds of books, most of which either scared me (I had a penchant for horror stories) or stumped me (I was a late bloomer). But my mother never, ever said, “Cathy, don’t read that book.”

I wonder what kind of reader I would have turned out to be if all my books had age bands, directing me to the proper category…Would my mother have felt duty-bound to say, “Cathy, don’t read that. It’s too old for you.”? Would I have skipped all those wonderful fairy tales and children’s books because I wanted to be all grown up?

I can’t say for sure. I can say for sure that age banding on children/teen books bothers me. There’s something so censorship-y about it. And a little lazy, too. I mean, are we so strapped for time that we can’t take a moment to pick up a book, thumb through and decide whether it’s a good fit or not???

You can read more about the issue at No To Age Banding. Because quite a few readers (and authors and librarians) agree with me.