Writing a novel that celebrates the best and worst of food is pretty easy—just figure out the foods you love and hate the most, then go at it. Okay, maybe that simplifies things a bit, but not all that much, really. My novel BIG MOUTH is filled with my food likes and dislikes, with Shermie voicing my personal menu word-for-word. In the candy department, my list of lifelong favorite candies includes Haribo Gold-Bear gummi bears, just like Shermie. I’m telling you, when it comes to gummies, Haribo makes the yummiest, hands down. Read More…
If you don’t know the name of something, call it some variation of “beebee.” That’s my sons’ philosophy, anyway. In their Triplet Speak language, the word “beebee” is the default when you don’t know what you’re looking at. Tack another word onto that, and you’re set.
Three days into our England adventure, Read More…
Please forgive me for tootin’ my own “horn”, but I’m thrilled to report that the new issue of The Horn Book Guide gives BIG MOUTH a cool thumbs up! The Horn Book Guide reviews over 2,000 titles in each semiannual issue — virtually every children’s and young adult book published in the United States in a six-month period. Here’s what it had to say about Big Mouth… Read More…
How many blades of grass does it take to fill a horse? That’s what my son asked me today when we visited Redwings Horse Sanctuary, at Caldecott Hall in Suffolk. We’d been watching two horses named Chanel and Oliver eating the grass non-stop for several minutes. What I particularly remember about that question is the utter seriousness with which it was asked—as if Mommy could actually answer it. Read More…
Before our triplet sons were born, my husband and I pledged that we would do everything in our power to raise independent men. For the past 3+ years, we’ve consciously strived to do just that. In fact, just about every day you’ll hear one of us say at some point, in highly theatrical but sincere voices, “My goodness, you are Read More…
Life doesn’t get much better than standing at a table with a dozen taster bowls of jam in front of you and a plate piled with crackers. That’s where the boys and I found ourselves this morning at the farmer’s market held in a helicopter hangar in Beccles, England, just a short bus ride from our temporary home in Lowestoft. My husband, oddly (at least to my mind), wasn’t as intrigued by the jams. He wasn’t into the homemade truffles that we discovered, either. Stand back, though, when he saw the giant head of cauliflower at the next stall. Giant cauliflower! With big flapping leaves still on it! Eureka! Read More…
So we’ve established the need for more toys for these transplanted Yankee boys. Thus: The Car Boot Sale.
On Sunday the boys, Daddy, and I boarded Lowestoft’s 99 double decker bus bound for the parking lot of Africa Alive out past Kessingland. We were on the hunt at the heralded swap meet for new toys . . . specifically, cheap toys that we won’t mind leaving behind when we return to San Diego next August. It’s said that one man’s rubbish is another man’s toy bus…. Read More…
One lovely little corner of Lowestoft appears to have automated rubbish bins. Each Wednesday morning, the bins take themselves out to the curb. Each Wednesday night, the bins take themselves back to the backyard.
But Read More…
So how damaging is it, really, for a 3-year-old to listen to a group of men crooning about tobacco, beer, gin, lassies, and their “jolly, jolly grog”? That’s what the firstborn of our trio did in our first month here in Lowestoft, England, when we visited the town of Great Yarmouth for their annual Maritime Festival. Read More…
It’s probably the hot dog that makes me hungry when I see the cover of BIG MOUTH. Then again, maybe it’s the tomatoes, or the bowl of mustard, or the onions, or the long squishy line of mustard, all items that turn a plain old frank into a full-fledged meal. Or maybe, quite simply, it’s the red and yellow title. Looks like a fast food joint logo, doesn’t it?
During my interview with the North County Times this summer, the reporter asked me if I’d used the colors red and yellow in BIG MOUTH strategically. “Absolutely,” I replied. “Sort of….” Read More…
A swan will just as soon break your arm as wait patiently for you to huck stale bread at its head. That is, if our local constables are to be trusted.
One of our favorite things to do in Lowestoft is feed the swans in Oulton Broad. Oulton Broad is part of the network of man-made bodies of water known as the Norfolk Broads (although, it’s actually situated in Suffolk, not Norfolk). Besides having the largest group of wild swans I’ve ever encountered, Read More…
My sons got their first two-wheel bike this week—with training wheels, of course. We hadn’t intended to buy them one until we return to San Diego next August, but on a walk through our Lowestoft neighborhood we spotted the little beauty in someone’s front yard with a For Sale sign. Just four pounds ($8 U.S.). What a deal! We snatched it up. The next day, we bought a bike helmet and took our new wheels for a spin. Read More…
This summer I worked with a wellness coach for ten weeks. The key thing that I learned is that it’s okay to do only as much as I can and not beat myself over the head because I can’t do all that I should or would like to do. Sounds simple, but it was a very important lesson during the launch of my second novel BIG MOUTH in July. Read More…