War and Millie McGonigle #6
March 25, 2021
No Comments
Did you have a Rosie in your life? What did you want Millie’s and Rosie’s friendship to do for the story?
War and Millie McGonigle #5
March 16, 2021
No Comments
What kinds of parallels do you see between Millie’s experiences in 1941 and what children are experiencing now?
War and Millie McGonigle #4
March 11, 2021
No Comments
My experience of the war is mostly second hand—my Uncle Chester’s stories about fighting in the South Pacific, my father’s struggles to find tires and gas for the car, my mother’s complaints about rationing.
War and Millie McGonigle #3
March 9, 2021
No Comments
We know you grew up with a brother. Is there someone in your background that brought the character of Lily, Millie’s younger sister, to life for your readers? I wanted a sibling who was the opposite of the adorable Pete and my equally adorable brother. Luckily, I can’t remember anyone I knew who was as whiny and difficult as Lily. She
War and Millie McGonigle #2
March 4, 2021
No Comments
Your book is full of the details that make 1941 in San Diego, California, so authentic. Mission Beach, Northern Tissue splinter-free toilet paper, Jungle Gardenia. What type of research did you do, which sources did you use, to help young readers connect to this place and time? Did you have to look up each product mention to make sure it was available
War and Millie McGonigle #1
March 2, 2021
No Comments
How did the idea for Millie’s Book of Dead Things come to you? Haunted by her Gram’s death and the looming war, Millie became fascinated with death and dying.
My Aunt Joan
January 23, 2020
1 Comment
My mother’s youngest sister, / My aunt Joan, was glamourous. / She wore red lipstick and high heels / And her hair rolled in a sausage.
A Recipe for Hanukah
December 19, 2019
No Comments
My husband thinks chicken is one of the basic food groups so we generally make chicken for any special occasion, including Hanukah. Chicken this way is very nice on a cold, dark, winter’s evening. And it’s easy.
Becoming Californians
December 10, 2019
No Comments
My father loved California and the / Heat. / He’d do cannonballs / Into the neighbors swimming pool / And float with only his nose, / His belly, and his toes / Above the water.
Reading Past, Present, and Future
December 5, 2019
1 Comment
I’m in a holding pattern with my own writing at the moment while I await editorial feedback on my book in progress (more later) so I’m able to tackle the books on my bedside table. Here’s what’s happening now.
