Believable dialogue is one of the most important skills a fiction writer can learn. The speed and rhythm of a character’s speech tells a lot about their personality, the environment they grew up in and their education. It is essential to give your characters a believable voice to give them life. Like a musician who […]
When our daughter was born, some twenty-six years ago, she was placed in my arms and I began to float on air. I had the same experience almost six years later when our son was born. But that’s another story. It was my daughter’s very early childhood that led to the creation of Maggie MacCormack and the […]
When people say to me, “You have a great imagination”, it’s not always meant as a compliment. I remember many grade-school teachers commenting passive-aggressively when a student demonstrated a command of their imagination. “Oh, that’s very imaginative,” when really they wanted to ask, “Why did you have to do something so different?” I was stunned […]
The older I get, the more I try to simplify my life. If I’m writing, I ask myself if I can get to the point quicker and still be thought-provoking. And if I’m drawing, I ask myself if I can say it in fewer lines but achieve a fulsome, engaging picture. The more we learn, […]
I have seen and heard many people ask how they can get rid of writer’s block. Anyone who offers a definitive answer to that question is, in my opinion, the equivalent of a snake oil salesman, someone selling you a product to cure your ills that doesn’t work. Harsh? Perhaps. Are there some specific conditions […]
Musicians know this term well: “Develop your ear.” In its simplest form, it is the ability to hear what is going on inside of the music – it goes beyond just understanding the melody and the rhythm section. Musicians who develop this ability quickly mature and often take their playing to a higher level of […]
As I’ve grown older, raised children, and seen the social and political climate proceed towards increasing aggressive confrontation, my creative intentions have changed with it – or rather, against it. I’ve grown less interested in pushing audience boundaries with representations of violence and sex, and more interested in writing stories and making art that challenges […]
I miss Jim Henson. I miss his brand of creativity and I miss what he brought to the world of entertainment. I – who never knew the man himself – see Jim Henson’s work as singularly inspired and gentle. I felt that there was in it always an attempt to celebrate imagination, uphold quality entertainment […]
Despite serious interest from some established publishers early in Maggie’s development, author Kaja Blackley chose to pre-sell the initial print run for Maggie MacCormack and the Witches’ Wheel on Indiegogo. The campaign was a success, slightly exceeding its initial goal. Maggie’s first adventure is now on sale on this website. Copies may be ordered, in […]
Maggie MacCormack and the Witches’ Wheel is available for readers in Grade 7 and up . A free downloadable teacher’s discussion guide that can be modified in level-appropriate ways is available through the Resources tab under “For Educators.” This discussion guide helps educators spark lively conversations about topics for its young adult readers to think […]