Michelle Houts's Blog, page 2

Paper Love: Putting it in Words

I love mail. Letters, post cards, notes, photos… anything but bills and rejection letters! So, when it was my turn to blog for The Mixed-Up Files of Middle-Grade Authors, I decided to share a few words about Paper Love. January is great time to start the 52 Letters Challenge, although anyone can start at any […]

Celebrate the First Down

I grew up with college football. Correction: I grew up with Buckeye football. I was actually born a Nittany Lion. My father’s first teaching position was at Penn State.  I don’t remember much about those early years. I do remember a big lion statue, but maybe that memory comes from trips back to State College when […]

The Morning Person I Want(ed) To Be

At least a dozen times in my life I’ve tried to reinvent myself as a Morning Person. First, in high school, when I began to drink coffee milk and sugar with a tablespoon of coffee.  I thought it would be great to rise hours before the school bell, do some homework, pick out a fun outfit. It didn’t […]

In Danger’s Path: A Human Response

It’s been a heavy week. A week of bad news. Hurricane Harvey in Texas, wildfires in the Northwest, an earthquake in Mexico. Political turmoil that just worsens every time I think it can’t get much worse. And, with Hurricane Irma threatening Florida, it’s about to get heavier. I’m praying for friends there who’ve hunkered down […]

Retreat and Write: Children’s Writers Retreats

I love this time of year! I’ve always embraced Back-to-School season, as a mom and as an elementary school speech pathologist. I love new Sharpies. I love blank notebooks. I love that the end of August forced our household back to a more scheduled life. (Not that I didn’t love lazy summer mornings, mealtimes that […]

A New Post on the Mixed-Up Files of Middle-Grade Authors

Hey, all! I’ve been really bad about keeping up my personal author blog here.  But being a blogger for the Mixed-Up Files of Middle-Grade Authors keeps me blogging every six weeks or so. Over at the Mixed-Up Files, we’re randomly assigned dates to blog, and I was pretty excited when I saw I got May […]

A Word (or Two) with Phil Bildner – Reposted from The Mixed-Up Files of Middle Grade Authors

Along with this blog, I have the privilege of blogging for The Mixed-Up Files of Middle-Grade Authors. I’m one of more than 30 author-bloggers who take turns providing content relevant to the middle-grade reader, teacher, parent or librarian. Mixed-Up Files bloggers blog every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with some special events happening in between. We […]

My 2017 Word of the Year

Last year at this time, I chose my Word of the Year.  It was balance. I chose the word because I knew what 2016 had in store for me, and though most of it would be good, it would be a lot. I mean, a lot-a lot. I needed to edit one chapter book and write […]

Writing for Children – Where Do I Begin?

It’s been 20 years since I first asked that question. It’s been 14 years since I first earnestly began seeking the answer. It’s been 12 years since I attended my first children’s literature conference. It’s been 9 years since I got THE phone call from Random House with an offer on a manuscript that would […]

52 Letters in a Year Challenge – It Just Keeps Growing!

About a year and a half ago, I rebuilt my website (well, I didn’t actually do it. The great goddesses who do such things did it for me) and when I did, I added a page highlighting something I love:  letter writing. I can’t remember when I didn’t  adore mail. I had a pen pal […]