4/1/09 -- Since it's April Fool's, I thought it would be fun to offer up the one-and-only example in all 18 of my published books that I've written about this mischievous day of pranksterism. What follows is an excerpt from ATTACK OF THE MUTANT UN...

3/30/09 -- I'm well into the rewrite of STORM MOUNTAIN, and things have been going fine. Well, up until yesterday, anyway, when I noticed mistakes that I was sure I'd already fixed on a previous draft, ranging from word repetitions to misspellings...

3/25/09 -- School visits completed in Columbus, Georgia, I've since driven to Charleston, SC to see my mom and sister and her family. Then on to Lexington, Kentucky to meet my wife, Debbie, at her mom's house. The family time has been great, and I...

3/18/09 -- Halfway through my author visits here in Columbus, Georgia and I'm having a great time! The kids are fantastic, as are the educators and the local barbeque. And to top it all off, the weather, which was very rainy at first, has cleared....

3/14/09 -- I'm packing to leave for a week of school visits in Columbus, GA, followed by a week of time with family in Charleston, SC and Lexington, KY. But I'll keep working on the rewrite of STORM MOUNTAIN every day, if possible. One of the grea...

3/13/09 -- Friday the 13th -- a bad luck day to the superstitious. Not to me, though. I was born on Friday, July 13th, 1951, and have had 57+ years of great fortune. Sure, I've broken bones and lost the car keys, flunked trigonometry and wrecked t...

3/11/09 -- In January I was honored to be interviewed by Michael Jung for Suite 101, an online magazine. From the interview he authored two articles: Talking With Children's Writer Tom Birdseye and Storyteller Shares Thoughts on Children's Books. ...

3/10/09 -- Today a literary quote from the great Groucho Marx: "Outside of a dog a book is man's best friend. Inside a dog it's too dark to read."

3/9/09 -- I'm back from Oskaloosa, Iowa, where I spoke at a young author's conference March 5th and 6th. A great event, it was put on by dedicated educators, and attended by over 1,000 aspiring writers. On top it that, it was a balmy, unseasonable...

3/2/09 -- Sad news. Two of my books are going out of print: the hardcover edition of AIRMAIL TO THE MOON, and the hardcover edition of I'M GOING TO BE FAMOUS. Fortunately, "Airmail" will still be available in paperback, but "Famous" will be gone-g...

2/27/09 -- I received the lost email today (see post below) containing editorial comments on STORM MOUNTAIN. The print-out is over three pages long, single spaced, and that's just for big picture stuff, not line editing (specifics on word choice, ...

2/26/09 -- I just found out that an email was sent to me quite a while ago containing editorial comments on STORM MOUNTAIN. Only problem is, I never received it. The message was probably labeled as spam and junked, or just lost in cyber space. Of ...

2/23/09 -- With my first draft of ATTACK OF THE MUTANT UNDERWEAR: TAKE TWO done, I'm now going over it to see what fits and what doesn't, what needs moving, rearranging, or cutting. Lots of work to do, but that's what I expected. Anybody out there...

2/19/09 -- For me, getting ready to write is more than just stepping into my office and turning on my computer. I need to focus my attention, and imagination, on the story, step inside that world and live and breath it with the characters. In the ...

2/17/09 -- Waiting for my flight the other day in Ft. Worth, TX, I saw these birds inside the concourse. They must have been waiting for their flight, too. Birds indoors at the airport = irony. Good day of writing. Really nice to get back into ATT...

2/16/09 -- Whew! Software issues have kept me from adding to my blog for two weeks, but now, obviously, I'm back. Back from Ft. Worth, Texas, too, and two weeks of school visits there. Great kids, and educators, all around a wonderful experience. ...

2/1/09 -- I'm sitting in the Portland International Airport (PDX) waiting for my flight to Texas. Around me people talk on cell phones, or with each other, or watch the parade of travelers on the concourse headed for their gates. Each with a desti...

1/31/09 -- Great day of skiing. That's my daughter, Amy, on the right, waving from the chairlift. Her boyfriend, Alex, is on the left. Later, I went over a jump, caught a ski tip and did a nifty cartwheel, landing on my head and shoulder. Ouch! On...

1/30/09 -- Whew! Spent the entire day rushing around getting lots of errands done before I take off for two weeks of speaking in schools in Ft. Worth, Texas. I reap the rewards of this frantic day tomorrow, though, when I get to go skiing with my ...

1/29/09 -- A notion I've been considering: A dream or goal without a plan is nothing more than a fantasy. So, for example, if I dream of climbing the Grand Teton in Wyoming (which I do), but have no plan as to how to make it happen, then it simply...