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What's new:
I could say that one of the dogs ate my March newsletter, but we're in the digital age, so...the truth is the month just flew by, so I'm catching up on all things now. April has been a busy month! In addition to taxes being due, I also had two other writing projects to complete.
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One is a middle grade novel. I can't tell you more about it yet because the deal hasn't been announced, but I'm really excited about this story and the team attached to it! More soon...
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The other project is a short, non-fiction graphic novel for Capstone about the Mount Everest Disaster of 1996, which will release in 2023. This is the second title I've done for Capstone in their "Deadly Expeditions" series. The first was THE DOOMED SEARCH FOR THE LOST CITY OF Z, which came out earlier this year.
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I'm also busy planning for the release of my debut picture book coming out with Cardinal Rule Press on July 1, 2022! It's called THREE POCKETS FULL: A story of love, family, and tradition. Since you're a newsletter subscriber, you've been added to a super-special list of people who will receive an advanced electronic copy of the book. That will be arriving in your email soon. Once you read it, please leave a review on Goodreads, if you have an account.
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Now is also a great time to pre-order the book! You can order it from anywhere you choose (Amazon, Barnes & Noble), but let's try to help out our local bookstores, which you can find by using www.indiebound.com. If you don't have little ones at home to read to, you can always buy the book as a gift for someone else, including your favorite elementary school teacher or local librarian. In the next block, you will see an early, 5-star review!
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Reviewed By Rylanne Burdette for Readers’ Favorite
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Beto refuses to wear a guayabera to the wedding he has coming up, saying that he has better shirts he would rather wear. He and his Mami go back and forth, Beto refusing to have anything to do with the shirt and Mami trying to convince him to wear it. When Beto goes to the basement, trying to find the perfect hiding spot for the shirt so he never has to see it again, he finds some family pictures he has never seen before. His mom finds Beto looking at them, and they talk about how much they miss Beto’s dad but say that he could never be replaced. Three Pockets Full: A Story of Love, Family, and Tradition by Cindy L. Rodriguez is a must-read story.
Three Pockets Full touched my heart in a way I wasn’t expecting when I started reading it. It’s a book about family, but it’s also about grief. Readers don’t see this until later, but it is an emotion that Beto encounters. While his mother misses Beto's father too, she has found a new man to marry, who she loves dearly as well. This doesn’t mean that Beto’s father is going to be replaced though, and this understanding plays a big part in finally convincing him to wear the shirt. Cindy L. Rodriguez has written a children’s book full of beautiful art that encourages interaction between children and the people with whom they read it, whether that be parents, grandparents, or other trusted people. I enjoyed this story and would recommend it to others!
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What I'm reading:
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Click on the image to get more information about each book.
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Writing tips:
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Read books and watch shows like a writer. As a writer, I am drawn to stories, whether in books or on television. Before publishing, I may have read or watched to be entertained, to learn something, or to detach from reality for a bit. I still do that, but now I also read and watch like a writer. I pay attention to how the characters develop, to the story arc, to the dialogue. Look for what works and what doesn't. This can all help when you go back to that work in progress.
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Shameless Dog Photo
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Denali: "Personal space? What's that?"
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Shameless Book Plug
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I have an essay in the teen anthology LIFE INSIDE MY MIND: 31 AUTHORS SHARE THEIR PERSONAL STRUGGLES. Check it out:
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