I'm back in Oregon after two weeks of travel, first to upstate New York for a school visit on the Akwesasne Reservation, then on to Montpelier, Vermont, where I'm on the faculty at the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program in Writing for Childr...

The shortest day of the year, and I just finished the longest scene of my new novel -- Don't Forget to Put Your Pants On, and Other Very Important Tips for Middle School Coolness. Long title, I know. Maybe I'll shorten it. But now is not the time....

Still stunned. Still unable to wrap my brain around what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. I keep thinking that I'm a writer. I should have something to say, something that offers perspective, maybe a bit of clarity, even ho...

Before Thanksgiving I did author visits in elementary schools in Middlebury and Southbury, Connecticut. Lucky for me, I dodged Hurricane Sandy and the snowstorm that hit the following week. The weather was fine while I was there; the kids were eve...

The Washington Post Style Invitational contest asks readers to submit "instructions" for something (anything), but written in the style of a famous person. The winning entry was The Hokey Pokey, written in the style of William Shakespeare by Jeff ...

There are many, of course; more and more all the time. But I just finished listening to an audiobook version of Maggie Stiefvater's THE SCORPIO RACES (http://maggiestiefvater.com), so it's the one on my mind right now. Mostly I experienced this st...

On this soggy morning in the Pacific Northwest, I'm grateful for the gentle rain and light breeze. Wishing all who are in Sandy's path safe passage.

I'm at a writer's retreat north of San Francisco, outside the tiny town of Gualala. The schedule is simple, and with one main focus -- getting lots of writing done. Yesterday I mixed in a run on the bluff above the beach. Today I've been splitting...

Aristotle said: "Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an action but a habit." In other words, writers, keep at it and eventually you'll come up with your best. On the other ha...

As if a switch was flipped, the incredible string of seemingly endless sunny days we've been having here in Oregon abruptly ended, and today the rains came. For some people this is an occasion for sadness; the gray and wet bring them down. Not me....

This past weekend, while hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail with my wife, Debbie, I found myself contemplating the title of my new middle grade novel. On a school visit to Wilson Elementary in Corvallis, Oregon a few days before, a fifth grader had...

I'm happy to announce that STORM MOUNTAIN will be coming out as an audiobook. This is not a first for me; several of my novels and picture books are available in that format. Still, I'm particularly excited, as it provides a different way to exper...

I'm back from two road trips, one sailing with vagabond friends on Washington's Puget Sound. Below is a photo of me at the tiller. I loved the physics of the wind across the sails -- an invisible force with the power to move a two-ton boat. In the...

August is mountain time in Oregon -- hiking, backpacking, climbing, mountain biking. It's also writing time. I've been mixing the two, with good results. I've never completely understood the expression have your cake and eat it, too, but I think w...

Heading out for a three-day backpacking trip in the Eagle Creek drainage. Taking my notebook and pen for some daily writing. Have notebook will travel. Ah . . .

This past weekend I celebrated my birthday with my family by climbing at Smith Rock State Park. (Better late than never; I actually turned 61 on July 13, when I was teaching at the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA summer residency.) Below is my da...

Normal 0 0 1 32 186 1 1 228 11.773 0 0 0 I’m still on a bit of an adrenaline high after climbing a 300+ foot multi-pitch route called Moscow (red line below) in Smith Rock State Park in Central Oregon. Normal 0 0 1 79 451 3 1 553 11.773 0 0 0 I le...

. . . where a sampling of Vermont College of Fine Arts faculty (past and present) have gathered for a retreat. As you can deduce from the photo below, the weather is cool and blustery. But the company is warm and sparkling with wit and wisdom. Wri...

Last weekend was one for rock climbing and camping with my family in the desert of Central Oregon. Particularly inspiring was my son-in-law, Alex, who was born without a left hand. Despite the obvious limits, he climbs with as much enthusiasm and ...

I woke up on Sunday morning with a picture book idea that I have not been able to shake. (If I can shake it, then I figure it's probably not worth pursuing. If it insists in staying in my mind, then there must be something there.) This morning I h...