August 2007

I suppose it’s one of the most controversial topics a writer can take on. No, not sex or politics. Not religion, either. Reviews. Especially reviews of ones own work. Certainly it is known to be bad form to defend oneself against them.

We have all heard some writer say, “I never read reviews of my books.” And every time I’ve heard that I’ve thought, Yes . . . and she also flies.

Is it truly possible to send your work out into the world without caring how that world responds?

Four books of mine were published this past spring, two picture books, A Mama for Owen and Baby Bear Discovers the World, a ready-to-read, Mount Rushmore, part of my Wonders of America, series, and a collection of linked young-adult short stories, Killing Miss Kitty and Other Sins.