Cynthia Chapman Willis's Blog, page 20

Rut What?

Yes, it's that time of year again. The time when the white tailed deer around here are in rut. Yes, rut--when deer develop mad crushes on each other and get wild-eyed and aggressive, jumpy and high strung—totally focused on mating. Think college/university frat party. Think late night bar scene. Except that the bucks have been preparing for the rut for about eight months. By preparing, I mean that they have been growing antlers. Why? So they can slam and ram and kick other buck butt. When...

What Do You Mean I Have No Internet Connection?

"Really?" I snapped at my beloved Mac. "You have got to be kidding me. No, seriously, this is so not the time for you to be messing with me."

But is there ever a good time to lose one's connection to the outside world? I think not.

Despite yelling, threatening, begging, still the words YOU ARE NOT CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET burned into my retinas. I considered a down and out temper-tantrum, wasn't above throwing myself onto the ground and pounding the floor while screaming, kind of like...

Book Vote, Anyone?

It's election day. Why not have a book vote? This is an activity that would work with a classroom of kids, with a book group, with a bunch of friends, or any group, really. The more the merrier. On a recent girls-night-out, for example, my pals and I launched into a spontaneous book vote at our dinner table. Each of us took a few minutes to talk about a favorite book until we decided on two novels that we were all intrigued by. Even our waiter was itching to get involved. In a few weeks...

Trick or Treat?

Which do you prefer? The sugar addict in me is inclined to scream TREAT as visions caramels and chocolates dance in my head. But then I remember a certain house on my block where I grew up. On Halloween, this cozy, yellow-painted ranch surrounded by a white picket fence, a house complete with white shutters and window boxes, transformed into a house of complete, no-nonsense horror. It was one, immense trick. No one approached this dwelling in search of treats. Oh no. On a kid's scale of...

Happy Birthday Buck Fever!

Today is the release day of Buck Fever. Very exciting! And perhaps a good enough excuse to eat a birthday cupcake. Why not? Buck's birthday is also (as I wrote in my last blog entry), an opportunity for you, or a middle school student, teacher, or librarian that you may know, to win a book. Because, to celebrate Buck's birthday, I'm giving away signed copies of Buck Fever and Dog Gone. To register for a chance at winning a book, you can comment here or send me an email at

Buck Fever Count Down

Is there anything better than seeing the UPS guy walk up to your house with a box of books? The other day I was gifted this excitement when multiple copies of Buck Fever arrived. Yea! And yes, I did launch into a full out Snoopy dance (after the UPS guy drove away, of course).

I'm also happy to report that Buck has been getting some lovely reviews. Booklist said "…The quietness of nature and small-town life is wonderfully reflected in Willis' patient and artful prose, and every hunting...

More Ideas to Motivate Kids to Read

In my last blog entry I offered up a couple ideas on how to encourage less motivated readers into the fabulous world of books. Today, I'll throw out a couple more ideas. Here they are:

How about a book chat?

Getting kids to ask and answer questions about books can be fun and encourage more involvement in reading. Often, if readers know that they are going to talk about what they are reading, they will pay a bit more attention and get more involved in that reading. What a lovely...

Ideas That Might Motivate Kids to Read

Yesterday I had the opportunity to talk with fifty plus teachers and librarians at an Educator's Event at the Hamilton, New Jersey Barnes and Noble. It is always wonderful to meet and chat with teachers and librarians. Whenever I do, I often hear about those students who are not motivated to pick up a book. So, for the presentation yesterday, I tapped into my experience as a Reading textbook editor and presented ideas that might, hopefully, motivate kids to read. Since these ideas were...

Top Ten

Have you ever had someone throw out a question that is both thought provoking and revealing? A question that really gets a conversation going? Here's one that I found fascinating:

If you were stuck on an island by yourself, with only ten books, which books would you want to have with you? Survival is not an issue. Your selection should be geared toward keeping yourself entertained. In other words, which ten books could you read over and over again and still learn from, enjoy, savor?

The Down and Dirty of Clichés

Yes, clichés can be my worst nightmare. These insidious little gremlins sneak up behind me and into my manuscripts. The buggers muck up the works. Sometimes the ornery little clichés even disguise themselves so that I don't recognize them right away. Since there is no Cliché-Be-Gone spray or ant-trap-esque device to use against them, I try to keep my eyes peeled for advice and help. Here are a few suggestions that I've come upon, just in case you, too, want to avoid clichés like the plague:

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