Lauri Meyers .

Thank you to all the participants in the Mentor Text Challenge. Remember mentor texts are an excellent defense against writer's block, lack of inspiration, and all sorts of writer's ailments. We have a challenge winner (selected by Random.org): Marcie! She has won a 2013 PiBoIdMo Journal and the warm touchy feeling that comes with knowing $3 goes to support Reading is Fundamental !  Marcie grabbed the book A Storm Called Katrina  and selected its first person narration style to apply to a WIP.  (Marcie - If I can't find you, email me at laurimeyers (at) gmail.com!) If you've been following along on the Mentor Text Posts, you deserve a prize for your commitment to studying craft. So just for you...  Excellent Resources for KidLit Nerds RenLearn  Type in the title of a book and get its book level, word count, AR points, etc. Scholastic  Type in the title of a book and get its grade interest level, grade reading level, and theme/su...

I've been meaning to say THANK YOU to Bridget Heos and the Mr. Pig writers at The Little Crooked Cottage  for running a giveaway I recently won.   I received this awesome Mustache Baby prize pack - Signed copy of Mustache Baby by Bridget Heos, mustache playing cards, and mustache binky. I've found sucking on a mustache binky while writing can really drive your creativity, and I'm much less likely to cry during editing. This week it dawned on me the best way to say thank you is via Jack O'Lantern. So I carved a Bad Mustache pumpkin. He came out quite wicked, wouldn't you say? If you have not read Mustache Baby, get your hands on it.  For writers, this book will push you to pun-perfection, as in this example when the baby's mustache turns out to be a bad mustache: Billy's disreputable mustache led him to a life of dreadful crime.  He became: A cat burglar. A cereal criminal.  And a train robber so heartless that he even stole...