You would have no reason to know this (and so you are forgiven for not sending a card), but today is Myrtle Hardcastle’s birthday! In addition to being her her actual calendar birthday, according to information in Myrtle Hardcastle Mysteries #2, How to Get Away with Myrtle  (I suppose you do have a reason to know this. Card negligence forgiveness rescinded.), it’s also the day I started writing the first Myrtle Hardcastle Mystery, Premeditated Myrtle, back in 2016.

So to mark the occasion, it’s the perfect time to talk about how the Victorians celebrated birthdays! (more…)

I had an amazing time last week at the St. Louis Writers Guild Summer Writing Camp. Our young camper-writers had loads of talent and some brilliant stories in the works! I, too, began writing when I was young—seizing every opportunity to hone my craft and learn more about the career of writing. Your young writer has plenty of opportunities, too. Here are just a handful of resources targeted specifically for kids who write. (more…)