Jacqui Murray's Blog, page 160
September 30, 2013
19 Tips for Children’s Writers
When you set out to be a writer, you have to not only learn how to string words, sentences, paragraphs together, but pick a genre–and then abide by the rules of that style. You can’t call yourself a fantasy writer without an unusual life form and you can’t write science fiction without a good knowledge of cutting edge inventions.
Same applies to children’s writers. You may think all it takes is simple words, uncomplicated plots, and pictures, but you’d be wrong. Here are some tips if your goal is to become a successful children’s writer:
Children’s writers must enjoy children. Sound obvious? Not really. Thriller writers don’t love murder and mayhem. But to succeed with children’s books, you must be comfortable with and respectful of children.
Know what books today’s kids buy. And understand: That changes quickly.
Be very clear what age group of ‘children’ you are writing for, then be age-appropriate in topics, characterizations. Elementary age students read different literature than middle school.
Decide if you’re writing for children’s leisure reading or school. If you want the backing of teachers and parents, this will be important.
What made you laugh as a child? What made you cry? What made your heart beat faster? Write for the emotions.
From Jo Linsdell: “Writing a children’s book may, at first, seem like an easy task but it’s not. The skill of being able to tell a captivating story in such a limited number of words, the ability to combine the written story with the visual story, creating a simple text that flows smoothly…”
Use illustrations and sketches, even if you think you may not need them. They help you understand where you are going.
Setting in the story should be clear, as should time.
Story should include one strong character who solves the problem himself/herself (no parent stepping in to fix it–not in this genre).
it’s best to stick to one POV for early readers.
Plot has to be bigger than ‘wallflower new student finds the answer’. Avoid cliche story lines and characters. Be original.
Teach a lesson as part of the story. This will be important to access the education market.
Use short sentences, short paragraphs, short chapters.
Don’t preach or talk down to them in your writing style.
If you use long words, make sure meaning is conveyed in the writing. Children will love the challenge.
Bad guy comes to a sticky end, and little kids are never sorry for him.
One more bit on the ending: Make it strong. Children don’t like ambiguity.
never talk down to readers. They are children, not stupid. Treat them with respect.
Rachna Cchabria suggests children’s writers include animals, humor and plenty of dialogue. Click for a few more hints from this Bangalore, India writer.
What tips do you have that have helped you succeed in this genre?
More genre-specific tips:
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Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman , the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. She is webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for Examiner.com and TeachHUB, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, Cisco guest blog, and a monthly contributor to Today’s Author. In her free time, she is editor of a K-8 technology curriculum and technology training books for how to integrate technology in education. Currently, she’s editing a thriller that should be out to publishers next summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.
Filed under: Genre tips Tagged: childrens writers


September 27, 2013
Book Review: The Path
The Path: A One-Mile Walk Through the Universe
by Chet Raymo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
View all my book reviews
The Path: A One-Mile Walk Through the Universe, by Chet Raymo, is one of the most fascinating books you’ll ever read. Chet Raymo is a scientist, a thinker and a consummate inquirer. Everything excites him, draws his attention and I suspect threatens to distract him from his real job as professor emeritus of physics and astronomy at Stonehill College. Every morning, he walks to work along a course that covers approximately one mile. Having the type of mind he has, he can’t help but muse over every building, every smell, each part of his journey. It is in this book that he records his musings. Being a scientist with a passion for history, they are couched in the story of our Universe.He sees not just the upturned rock, but the forces that moved it to its current position and canted it at the odd angle. He sees not the flower by the stream, but its historic pilgrimage from Europe to its current home in New Hampshire.
Here are a few more of his connections:
The Queset Brook tells the story of water power and the force of gravity pulling water downstream
The evolution of long stems on plants shows the competition in nature for survival of the fittest, competition being a moving force in our world
A walk through the woods takes Raymo to a consideration of the Earth’s two million living species–though there have been at least ten times as many that have become extinct
Raymo chipped off a piece of a local boulder, followed its history (displayed by matching its scratches) several miles out of his town to a south-facing ledge of bedrock identical to the piece in his hand. Why? Glaciers.
His town’s brook leads him to a discussion of the water planet that is Earth and the uses for water, its states in matter and its history
A winter skate on a frozen pond leads to a romp through the amazing nature of frozen water
A beehive leads Raymo to a story of the eighteenth century Bee Boy, a mentally challenged young man so fascinated by bees that he sought them out, grabbed them with his hands despite the stings, sucked their bodies for the honey.
Lying in a field of butterflies becomes a discussion on man’s obsession to wipe out insects (impossible–learning to cohabitate amicably is a better solution) and the failed effort to do just that with DDT
Standing in a water meadow, he ponders the molecular machinery and complicated simplicity of DNA that is at the foundation of all life
Enjoying the gardens in his hometown leads to a discussion on how man began to farm
After reading this book, I can’t take a nature walk without a similar look at what is around me, though mine is not so informed as Raymo’s. It doesn’t matter, because I enjoy looking at what’s below the surface, its history, even if I make only educated guesses. My only difficulty is following the erratic path of Raymo’s brain as he skitters through connections. In the fullness of the discussion, they become clear, but at the outset, I constantly had to stop and think about where he was going.
If you enjoyed Bill Bryson’s The History of Everything, you’ll love this book.
More book reviews:
Book Review: Bunyoro: An African Kingdom
Book Review: The Way We Never Were
Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman , the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. She is webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for Examiner.com and TeachHUB, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, Cisco guest blog, and a monthly contributor to Today’s Author. In her free time, she is editor of a K-8 technology curriculum and technology training books for how to integrate technology in education. Currently, she’s editing a thriller that should be out to publishers next summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.
Filed under: book reviews Tagged: book review, nature


September 25, 2013
How to Talk to a Writer
I’m reposting this from Today’s Author, for anyone who didn’t read it there:
My efriend, Kirk Allmond, had a hilarious run down of what NOT to say to a writer. Well, they were all true, but I still couldn’t stop laughing. Truisms like, “Leave a writer alone when they’re writing. You have no idea how difficult it is to enter the zone.”
So I decided to put together my own list of how to talk to a writer. See if you agree:
You can’t scare me. I’m a writer.
Patience and writing is an oxymoron
Patience and writers aren’t friends
Must. Remember. To. Eat.
Some days, writing looks a lot like work.
I successfully spelled ‘Worcestershire’ today in my book.
There are days I wouldn’t know a good plot twist if I woke up next to one.
Trying to write good dialogue is like trying to ignore a rejection letter.
Life after the 100th rejection is what Oprah might call a life-defining moment.
Understanding a writer who’s in the zone is like understanding the meaning of life.
Some days, I need a map to find my muse.
This is my writer’s face. This is my ‘go away’ face.
My head is like a bad neighborhood none of my characters want to live in.
Despite my past experience with agents, my mind is open to a miracle.
I keep a portrait of Mark Twain in my attic.
I have more pithy ideas for you, but I have a book to write. Well, I’ll just look in on Twitter…
More humor-and-writing posts:
Inspirational and Humorous Quotes–Part I
How to Add Humor to Dull Characters
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Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman , the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. She is webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for Examiner.com and TeachHUB, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, Cisco guest blog, and a monthly contributor to Today’s Author. In her free time, she is editor of a K-8 technology curriculum and technology training books for how to integrate technology in education. Currently, she’s editing a thriller that should be out to publishers next summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.
Filed under: humor, writers Tagged: humor, writers life


September 23, 2013
Writer’s Tip #57: You are not Superwoman
When you read your story, does it sound off, maybe you can’t quite put your finger on it, but you know you’ve done something wrong? Sometimes–maybe even lots of times–there are simple fixes. These writer’s tips will come at you once a week, giving you plenty of time to go through your story and make the adjustments.
Today’s tip: You are not superwoman. Don’t force yourself to wear the cape.
Here’s what I mean. You’re a working parent–maybe a single parent. You wake up going light speed from the moment your bare feet hit the carpet. You do your day job 9-5. You come home and make dinner, do homework with your children, get them in bed, make sure they have a dose of play with mom (or dad).
Then you do the household stuff–pay bills, do dishes, take the dog out for his business, maybe some cleaning.
By now, it’s 10pm. Somehow busy doesn’t quite cover your daily schedule. That story that’s banging around in your head like a caged bird is still there, begging to be told. What do you do?
I don’t really have an answer. I had to wait until my kids grew up to write. I thought I’d retire, let me husband work while I lived the leisurely life of an author. That didn’t work out, but I no longer worry about a spotless house, a pristine kitchen. I realize I am not superwoman, never was. Now I’m a writer who has a day job.
How about you?
More Writer’s Tips:
Writers Tip #53: What Motivates Your Character Provides Conflict
Writers Tip #49: Yes, You Must Format
–Click to have Writer’s Tips delivered to your email box
Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman , the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. She is webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for Examiner.com and TeachHUB, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, Cisco guest blog, and a monthly contributor to Today’s Author. In her free time, she is editor of a K-8 technology curriculum and technology training books for how to integrate technology in education. Currently, she’s editing a thriller that should be out to publishers next summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.
Filed under: writers, writers tips Tagged: superwoman, writers tips


September 20, 2013
Book Review: Bunyoro: An African Kingdom
by John Beattie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
View all my book reviews
Man’s path from paleo-history is a fascinating study. Since our records of that era is confined to rocks and natural artifacts, those like me who want to understand what man was like in that time must extrapolate from more recent but similar groups of primitive people (I used the word ‘primitive’ in the anthropologic sense meaning the basis for derived forms rather than crude or preliterate).
I’ve spent a good bit of time reading about world tribes such as the noble Maasai, the easy-going pygmies, the !Kung–all cultures that are disappearing as ‘progress’ assaults their borders and spreads a life style that they would never come by naturally.When these last bastions of early civilizations are gone, we will lose a critical tie to understanding how religion came to be, why man adopted jewelry as decoration, how counting evolved (some tribes count only to two, some as far as ten and then multiples of ten), and where symbolic names started.
This latest book, Bunyoro: An African Kingdom is about the Nyoro of western Uganda. John Beattie wrote his treatise in 1960, based on research he did in the ’50′s, before the Kingdom was banned by Idi Amin, before it was recreated in the 1990′s, before it adopted the very western religion of Christianity. In this eighty-three page book, he doesn’t cover any of my questions, but were I able to study the Nyoro, I’m sure I could find answers–and Beattie probably did too, just not in this short book.
Here are my notes from the book:
They live in small groups rather than villages, though they like to live close to one other. They believe good neighbors should help and support each other
The typical Nyoro is a small farmer who cultivates 4-8 acres of land, owns goats and chickens and maybe a few sheep. He grows millet for food, as well as sweet potatoes, cassave, peas and beans.
He makes beer from bananas
Transportation vehicles include bikes and even cars
They are courteous, hospitable and generous people, quick-witted, thoughtful and humorous
They believe that some people are always above others, some always below
Their government was European, as they were under British control, meaning chiefs were salaried positions. Councils advised them on a variety of decisions. Taxes were collected and sent to Britain.
Despite the British rule, I expected to find a traditional isolated native population, uncontrolled by any outsider, but Beattie’s description is of a people who embraced the progress of civilization and subverted their historic roots to a foreign system of life. Because Beattie reported them to be an amiable, content people, well-enough off, I suspect they were happy with the exchange. This is contradictory to the Indian experience with British rule. I wonder how much of that can be attributed to the size of the populations.
Their family units are patrimonial and polygamous with a high divorce rate.
Certain legal matters are adjudicated by neighborhood courts rather than a formal national system of law. The primary aim of these village tribunals is to restore good relations as well as to punish the offender.
Where a Western nation is hardly recognizable as itself fifty years ago, the Nyoro haven’t changed much. Despite the fact that Britain relinquished control of Bunyoro and they are now an independent Constitutional Monarchy, the typical year that Beattie experienced in the 1960′s is pretty similar to what Wikipedia currently details as typical:
January (Igesa), there would be harvesting of millet
February (Nyarakarwa) they did not have much work to do
March (Ijubyamiyonga) fields were prepared for planting simsim
May (Rwensisezere) there was not much work
July (ishanya maro), women would prepare fields for millet
August (Ikokoba) was the months of burning grass in the millet fields
September (Isiga) was for planting millet
November (Rwensenene) was named after grass hoppers
October (ijuba) was a month of weeding
December (Nyamiganura or Katuruko) was a month of rejoicing and festivities as there was little work to occupy the people
Today, they describe themselves as “the oldest Kingdom in East Africa and once the strongest military & economic power in the Great Lakes area.” For more about this fascinating culture, visit their official website. Find out about their King, their Queen, their world.
Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman , the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. She is webmaster for five blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a weekly columnist for Examiner.com and TeachHUB, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, Cisco guest blog, IMS tech expert, and a monthly contributor to Today’s Author. In her free time, s he is the editor of a K-8 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum, and creator of technology training books for how to integrate technology in education. Currently, she’s editing a thriller that should be out to publishers next summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.
Filed under: book reviews Tagged: Africa, book review


September 19, 2013
Check Out My Today’s Author Post
I invite you to drop by my article over at Today’s Author, 5 Ways to Write Like Your Hair’s on Fire. If you can’t make it, no worries. I’ll post here here soon.
Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman , the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. She is webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for Examiner.com and TeachHUB, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, Cisco guest blog, IMS tech expert, and a monthly contributor to Today’s Author. In her free time, s he is the editor of a K-8 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum, and creator of technology training books for how to integrate technology in education. Currently, she’s editing a thriller that should be out to publishers next summer.
Filed under: Guest bloggers Tagged: guest post, writing


September 18, 2013
6 Things I Wish I’d Known When I Started Blogging
Starting my blog, I thought was the hard part. That first post–putting myself on the line, ignoring that I had no hits, wanting to approve comments from spammers because that would look like someone loved me. The second post was easier and so it went.
But somewhere around the twentieth post, I figured out that I had to do blogging right. I couldn’t simply show up, spout off and slink away. There was a lot more to ‘blogging’. I could have quit–it was getting to be a lot like work–but I enjoyed the blogging. I liked the like-minded souls I sought out as I tried to market my blog. I learned a lot about writing by doing it often (writing novels takes years. Blogging lets me publish weekly. What a difference). So I started honing my skill.
Now, years later, there are a few items I wished I’d known early rather than late. Let me share them with you:
only reblog 10% of someone else’s post. If you’re on WordPress and push the ‘reblog’ button, they take care of that for you. But if you copy someone’s post and give them attribution, you blew it. You have to get permission if you are reposting more than 10% of someone else’s work. Where was I supposed to learn that?
hot links are bad. What’s a ‘hot link’ you say? That’s when you use a picture on your blog that’s posted on some other server. I don’t do that–I don’t even know how to do it. Let me posit a scenario. You find an image (in the public domain) that you like. You drag it to your blog post and drop it. It looks great. What a wonderful shortcut to save-insert-find media you usually have to do. But–it’s a no-no. You know you’ve hotlinked if you bring up that beautiful picture (that’s in the public domain) and there’s no link for where it’s hosted. This, like ‘reblog 10%’, I learned the hard way (thank you, Jack Reacher, for that term).
how long it takes to make a post. Most bloggers start out journaling–chatting about their life. When they get few readers, less comments, and realize they’re talking to an empty room, they give up blogging as another failed experiment on the pathway to success. Blogging is no longer journaling. Now, blogs focus on a theme, their popularity closely tied to the author’s voice and/or resources provided. Readers don’t want to see typos, grammar errors, or a waste of their time. In fact, you have to write-edit-rewrite-submit to get your blog posts ready for the public. Pretty much what your English teacher told you to do in high school. When your brain starts throbbing like a hand slammed in a car door–that’s when you realize blogging is a lot like work.
be myself. Let my voice take over. Like with any author you love, it’s not so much the plot they choose (there really are only so many plots) as how the author delivers it. That’s voice and that’s why readers will keep coming back to your blog. They want to know how you connect the dots. Humor? Empathy? Pithy? Whatever it is, make it yours and stick to it.
it’s easier than it sounds. So many of my fellow writers think blogging takes hours a day. It does, but only when you first start, as you’re getting settled. Then, you get into a rhythm:
Jot an idea down as a ‘draft post’ using whatever digital device you like (mobile, iPad, laptop, computer. Me, I’m always at my PC so that’s what I use)
flesh it out when the muse hits. That’s the problem, you say. You don’t have time to let ‘the muse hit’. I’m going to respectfully disagree, even though I don’t know you that well. You are a writer. The muse always lurks in your subconscious, ready with her opinions, attitudes, annoyances. You have trained yourself to ignore her, but now it’s time for a new habit. Write when you want–whatever comes out. In this case, flesh out the blog post.
review and schedule the post. I do a week at a time.
it’s harder than it sounds. You have to pay attention to proper writing skills, be careful to not plagiarize content or media, be a friend to your ebuddies, be constantly and brilliantly inspired, and be a tech genius who can fix all those geeky things that make social media work. Yikes!
That’s my list. What’s on yours?
Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman , the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. She is webmaster for five blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a weekly columnist for Examiner.com and TeachHUB, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, Cisco guest blog, IMS tech expert, and a monthly contributor to Today’s Author. In her free time, s he is the editor of a K-8 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum, and creator of technology training books for how to integrate technology in education. Currently, she’s editing a thriller that should be out to publishers next summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.
Filed under: bloggers resources, writing Tagged: blogging, writing


September 16, 2013
8 Tips for Romance Writers
When I think of romance novels, I think of Harlequin Romance. Steamy scenes, swooning bodies, hormones-as-crisis points, more detail than I want on private matters.
Interestingly enough, I met a Harlequin Romance writer at a conference. She loved her job and made a good living doing it. Sure, she wrote to a formula–a constrained length, drop-dead word count, books submitted on a tight deadline, formulaic editing–but she paid her bills following her dream. And she was clever, didn’t focus on non-stop sex, developed her characters/plot/setting as much as the romance side. I was impressed.
It didn’t make me want to change genres, but it did give me respect for a style of writing I had written off not only as a writer but a reader. As I researched this article (had to–I write thrillers), I found many recommended tips are what I follow as a thriller writer. I’ve included those at the bottom. I’ll start with some that are romance-specific:
have a wonderful, loveable, sympathetic heroine and hero–both
something throws the two together
plot must revolve around people who fall in love, then struggle to make it work. Think ‘chick flicks’. Romance Writers of America summarizes it:
“The plot typically falls into three parts: the setup, in which the couple meets; the turmoil, which separates them; and the reconciliation, which provides the happy ending.”
plot includes a ‘cute meet’ where hero and heroine meet–earlier the better
plot is as much about emotion as action
plot must include an insurmountable obstacle
plot makes it appear impossible that the hero-heroine can be together.
plot is most believable if the writer has been in love themselves.
conflict (so important in novels) will be between heroine and hero and it should be internal, not external
Include good romantic scenes
readers expect a happy ending. No real-life lesson-learned-the-hard-way in a romance novel.
The ‘romance’ style can cross genres–’romantic thriller’, ‘romantic mystery’–but you’ll recognize it because it has the above characteristics.
These next sound familiar, don’t you think?
Make both characters believable
Have characters meet in a unique way
Create conflict
Read a lot of romance novels (replace ‘romance’ with your genre)
If you write romance, you want to join Romance Writers of America. They’re an active, vibrant group who are probably just like you.
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More Genre Tips:
32 Tips for Science Fiction Writers
Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman , the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. She is webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for Examiner.com and TeachHUB, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, Cisco guest blog, IMS tech expert, and a monthly contributor to Today’s Author. In her free time, s he is the editor of a K-8 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum, and creator of technology training books for how to integrate technology in education. Currently, she’s editing a thriller that should be out to publishers next summer.
Filed under: Genre tips Tagged: romance, rwa


September 13, 2013
Book Review: The Land’s Wild Music
The Land’s Wild Music
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
View all my book reviews
I bought this book at the height of my addiction to Matthiessen. I’d read everything he’d written and wanted more. Mark Tredinnick’s The Land’s Wild Music was advertised as a collection of nature writers, including Matthiessen, so I assumed I’d get a boatload of essays with a similar passion, insight, a like innate ability to see into the soul of nature.
I now know that was an unreasonable goal, but, unfortunately, my opinion of Tredinnick’s encounters (his word) has forever been shaded by my sky high expectations. There is no other Matthiessen. If I’d known that going in, I would have been more accepting of the writings contained in this book. They are, after all, excellent examples of some of the best names in the nature writing genre–
The Edge of the Trees by Barry Lopez
The Heart of an Arid Land by Terry Tempest Williams
The Real World by James Galvin
As I look back on the book, I realize that it did expand my horizons of nature writers by presenting a side of the genre I hadn’t experienced, one that I’m not entirely comfortable with, but valid none the less.Here are some excerpts:
…that kind of enterprise, that sense of geologic time, that feeling for the larger order of life, that placement of the present human moment in the broader scheme of things…
…I point to a shrubby tree, one of many of its kind I’ve noticed crowding a logged slope, its leaves the shape and color of an olive.
We are standing high above the Horse Creek drainage, looking inland over the Three Sisters wilderness area. The spine of the Cascade range, running north and south, rises in three places before us.
I find myself swimming toward an eddy in the river, slow water, warmer water. We are whirling, twirling in a community of currents.
Both the Great Basin and the Colorado Plateau belong to the same weather; they are dry and full of sage.
The section borders the three hundred and twenty acres– ‘that almost imaginary thatch of peat bog surrounded by low hills and tall stands of lodgepole pine, with its own ocean of sage-gray-prairie lapping on tits shores and the whole Medicine Bow Range to drink in every day’.
Do you see what I mean? At times, it reads like talking to a brilliant scientist whose thoughts rest more in theory than the world around him. These essays hover above the land, not quite plumbing its true nature (although that last excerpt is pretty close). The words are slightly off center because I don’t believe the writer felt it as Matthiessen does. I don’t either, which is why I gave up the goal of being a nature writer. The best I could do was appreciate a well-written essay, not reproduce it myself.
Do you get those feelings when you read about nature in books? That feeling of oneness, of respect, of a shared goal?
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Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman , the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. She is webmaster for five blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a weekly columnist for Examiner.com and TeachHUB, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, Cisco guest blog, IMS tech expert, and a monthly contributor to Today’s Author. In her free time, s he is the editor of a K-8 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum, and creator of technology training books for how to integrate technology in education. Currently, she’s editing a thriller that should be out to publishers next summer. Contact Jacqui at her writing office or her tech lab, Ask a Tech Teacher.
Filed under: book reviews Tagged: book review, nature


September 11, 2013
9/11… We Remember
America, we love you.
Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman , the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. She is webmaster for six blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice book reviewer, a columnist for Examiner.com and TeachHUB, Editorial Review Board member for Journal for Computing Teachers, Cisco guest blog, IMS tech expert, and a monthly contributor to Today’s Author. In her free time, s he is the editor of a K-8 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum, and creator of technology training books for how to integrate technology in education. Currently, she’s editing a thriller that should be out to publishers next summer.
Filed under: politics Tagged: 9/11, america, patriotism

