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.

What’s in a Word (Cloud)?

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Way back in the beginning of this year, I picked a word for 2016: CHALLENGE. And boy, has this ever been a challenging year!

But I’ve had my share of blessings as well. Like the friends and family who’ve carried me through lots of challenging days. And so many friends whom I’ve never actually met in person…They’ve been there, walking beside me, too.

So on this Thanksgiving, my gratitude list runneth over. I grabbed a page from the month of November for today’s blog post over at the Muffin, “Counting Your Blessings in a Word Cloud.” Maybe you’ll see your actual name among those words. Or maybe you’re part of the “love.”

That’s really the only word you need, right? Happy Thanksgiving, friends!

A List of Favorite Things! (Pssst! Mostly Books! And Exclamation Points!)

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pexels-photoLast weekend, I hosted one of my SCBWI writer workshops at the Gwinnett County Public Library and gosh, it was just packed with wonderful writer stuff! And so I thought I’d share in list form, because…well, I love lists.

  1.  I’d be remiss if I didn’t start with my library. I LOVE MY LIBRARY SYSTEM! The Gwinnett County Public Library is a co-sponsor of these events and that means they do a swell job, promoting events in all of their 30 or so branches. And I–and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators– really appreciate that kind of promotion! If you have writer events, please check with your local library. You might be surprised what they can do for you, because…drum roll, please…they’re mandated to serve the public! Yay!
  2. Author Dori Kleber presented a workshop on the “Hero’s Journey in 32 Pages.” And it was excellent! I wish I could tell you more but I suspect that Dori will be giving that workshop quite often and you know what they say about the cow and the milk. (Wait, what? You’ve never heard that expression? Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free? Mom would say that to me in my younger–much younger–dating days. But in this particular instance, I’m referring to writer knowledge not, ahem, other things.) If you haven’t read her picture book, More-igami, now’s the time to go check it out! (And if it’s not at your local public library, why not ask about it? Your librarian might just order More-igami!)
  3. And speaking of books, NCTE will be in Atlanta this year–this week!–and SCBWI is sponsoring a FREE public book signing! With over TWENTY kidlit authors! You know what makes a great holiday gift for kids that you can feel great about after the holidays? A signed book! So if you’re in the Atlanta area, please come out and see us! And if you’re not in the Atlanta area, take a look around your area. I bet you’ll find a local author or two, signing books, just about any weekend. Think about supporting the authors and purchasing the gift that lasts a lifetime: books!

Well, that was an awful lot of exclamation points but I’m not going back to change any of those punctuation marks. Because I’m that excited. And besides, I love exclamation points as much as I love lists.