Mark Twain on Plagarism

According to the online Merriam-Webster dictionary "plagiarize" is defined as:
: to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own : use (another's production) without crediting the source

As a nonfiction writer the subject of plagiarism must be at front of my mind at all times when working on an assignment. It's also something I like to discuss with the children at my school visits. And maybe because it is at in the front of my mind I've discussed it on a regular basis with my own daughters when seeing them work on essays or research papers for school. I discussed it again with my older daughter as she left for college and now my younger daughter will be reminded again as well.

So, when I came across this article about Mark Twain and a letter he wrote to his friend Helen Keller regarding an incident of plagiarism that she was accused of, I found Mr. Twain's take on plagiarism, creativity, and originality very interesting, no less something that I could relate to. Imagine that! Something I could envision myself and Mr. Twain discussing over a cold drink after a softball game.


"I totally agree with you Mr. Twain."

I enjoy the fact that something written so many years ago can still resonate with writers, like myself, today. Thank you Mr. Twain for your wisdom and insight on the subject of plagiarism.

Rest in Peace, Maurice

Children's author Maurice Sendak died yesterday at age 83. I think the New Times article and slide show combined make the perfect tribute to this iconic artist of children's books. I think he must be a part of every children's author's literary life. But the truth is, for most of us, he was a part of our lives way before we even thought about being authors.

How did Maruice Sendak inspire me to be a children's writer? Well, this book was the first wordless picture book I chose to share with my children. It still sits on their bookshelf today, amongst other worn favorites. I often tell the story about how I decided I wanted to write children's books. I don't remember the precise moment I made this decision, but I do remember it was during the time I was reading picture books aloud to my two young children. So, there were many authors that inspired me to tell stories through picture books and Mr. Sendak was one of them. For that I thank him.

Rest in peace, Maurice.

Am I the only one who didn't know this?

Stephen Hawking wrote two children's books with his sister Lucy. I haven't seen these books yet but I'm definitely going to check them out at the library. They're for ages 8 and up. They look great don't they?

You can find more information on these children's books and Stephen Hawkin's other books on  Stephen's  web site.

The Resurrection of the Blog!

One of my New Year's resolutions was to start blogging again and the holidays even provided me with an idea for my blog for the coming year. The problem was December and January brought me tight deadlines for three new joke books. What a great reason not to have time to blog! So, here it is March and I finally...have a chance...to catch my breath.

My idea for the blog this year was taken from a conversation over Christmas dinner. My mother-in-law said you must wake up every day with the goal to learn something new. So I thought, wouldn't it be great to share what we learn each day?  It can be something as simple as a fun fact or how you learned of kindness in an unexpected place.

Today, I learned something via an email from Gotham Writers Workshop that included 10 Questions for the Writer. The first question listed pertained to a grammar question that came up in one of my manuscripts. While our critique group went back forth about when to use the words lay and lie, we eventually came across the correct answer. Although we learned how to use them correctly, even in their past tenses, I still found the rule hard to remember. Thanks to Gotham teacher, Brandi Reissenweber, today I learned an easy way to remember the rules for these two very different verbs. So lie back in your chair and read Brandi's simple tips here. I also learned that you can email your writing questions to WritingQuestions – at – WriterMag.com.

What I'm Reading This Summer

After completing a couple of projects and getting a few submissions into the mail, I decided to take a break from writing and focus on reading. This is difficult for me to do without feeling guilty about not writing. But the books I've chosen to read are probably some of the best choices I've made so it's helped me get over feeling too guilty. Here's a peek into what I've had on my nightstand, coffee table, kitchen table, car, pool...

Right now I'm in the middle of Moon Over Manifest which I happened to spot on the library shelf and couldn't understand why it wasn't checked out. So, although I had a handful of other books in my arms I added this one to my pile and I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

Our book club's choice this month is The Weight of Silence which I just couldn't put down and read it in just a few days leaving lots of time to read other books before our next meeting:)

Then I picked up this book, The Glass Castle which we were going to make a book club choice but didn't. Again, another book I couldn't put down. Reading this book made me count my childhood blessings over and over with each new chapter. My one-word description for this book...unbelievable!

And finally, I had this book on reserve, Heaven is for Real so I had to pick it up from the library. I started reading the book jacket, then the prologue, and then the first chapter. I found it so compelling I never put it down until I finished it that same night.

I have four days until our next book club meeting and the challenge is going to be how many more books can I read in the next four days...without feeling guilty!

Meet Guide Dog, Panzy

Dogs have helped guide people who are blind or visually impaired for many years. I found several people who are "puppy raisers" or people who volunteer to be foster families for puppies but I decided to approach The Seeing Eye in Morristown, New Jersey to find a guide dog and his partner for the Guide Dog Heroes  book. Living in close proximity to such a great resource I was able to tour their facility where they offered me access to their library and they even let a photographer take some great photos of guide dogs and their partners in action on the streets of Morristown.


ISBN 978-0-7660-3198-2

I never had the opportunity to meet Izzy and his guide dog Panzy in person during the writing of this book. Izzy was busy at school so we did the initial interview over the phone and then followed up with emails. Izzy explained that his email program reads aloud to him since he can't read from the computer. During school visits I explain to children how Izzy never had a guide dog until he went to college and found it difficult to get around both on campus and in his dorm room. When Izzy told me all the different ways Panzy helped him to lead a more independent life it touched my heart. He told me how Panzy helped him to ride the right train so he didn't have to rely on other people take him back and forth to school or work. My favorite story he told me was the time he took Panzy to class with the most boring teacher ever and even Panzy didn't want to stay he was so bored. Izzy made me laugh and cry with his stories.

All of the dogs featured in this series are heroes in their own special way. I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to speak with so many incredible people who have either changed people's lives by their passion for their work with dogs or have had their lives changed by a dog. A very wise person who knew little about this project told me I needed to go out and meet the dogs. She suggested I go to the dog show to speak with dog handlers. I realized later that maybe going to the dog show wasn't exactly right but perhaps her words  about meeting the dogs and their handlers was what I needed to take away from our conversation. It not only brought something special to each one of these books but it forever changed the way I view dogs.

Meet Therapy Dog, Tuxedo

Therapy dogs bring positive changes by visiting people. They often visit assisted-living centers and hospitals. Many libraries and schools use therapy dogs for their reading programs. Kids love to read to dogs and dogs love to listen!

Tuxedo is a Portuguese water dog, the same breed as the Obama's dog. I never heard of this breed until I met Tuxedo and his handler Melanie.I met Melanie and her mom through a friend who thought that they would be a good fit for my Therapy Dog Heroes book.They turned out to be perfect. Tuxedo was a very friendly and gentle dog. He kept sticking his head in my pocketbook that was on the floor and I couldn't understand why until I realized I had a bag of cough drops that he must have been able to smell. We look some pictures before we headed out to the assisted-living center where Melanie, her mom, and Tuxedo often visited. That's Tuxedo on the cover of the book!

ISBN 978-0-7660-3200-2

We spent an hour at the center visiting with people who anxiously came down the hallway into one of the dining rooms when we told them we were looking for people to be in pictures for a book. There was no lack of participation that's for sure and Tuxedo seemed to enjoy the attention. There was a time when most nursing homes would not allow animals to visit. That has changed, thanks to published research about the benefits of therapy dogs.

If  you have a dog that is calm, gentle, and especially friendly, you might consider training him as a therapy dog. Therapy dogs can be any breed. Before your dog can perform therapy work, he must be properly socialized and trained to receive certification and he should be checked over by a vet to make sure he's in good health.

Here's a picture my daugher's dog who lives with us provides us therapy all the time! He's a shih-poo, a shih-tzu/poodle mix and is often mistaken for a Portuguese water dog puppy.