Sonya M. Black

Back to school is almost here at my house. Another week and it’s over. Six glorious days left of no alarms. No bedtimes (not really - bedtime is still enforced) and no wake-up calls. Teachers are back in the classroom, putting the final touch on lessons plans, and making sure everything is ready for the big day. Parents are headed to the stores to get school supplies, and kids are squirming and whining that summer is almost over while secretly yearning to return because they’

Cats are often found in the company of writers. Some are more dog-shaped than feline, but it doesn’t matter. Cats (or pets in general) provide much-needed inspiration for the writer’s muse (and are often endlessly entertaining). As I write this, my kitten, Puck, is dragging a shoelace around the house. I’m not entirely sure where he got it. It probably belongs to one of my son’s shoes. Now, this shoelace has been through every room in the house at least twice in the last hour

Imagine yourself in front of a room of more than a hundred eight and nine-year-old kids. Scary thought, I know. They see you as a celebrity of a sort because you have done something they have only dreamed about. You have published a book. Now, imagine that you have been asked to impart some wisdom to these young minds about what it takes to be a writer. Hold the phone, you say, what do I know about being a writer? Fear courses through your veins as you imagine a shark infeste