Barbara O’Connor is one of my favorite contemporary middle-grade authors. Her stories focus on relatable, likable characters who work together to achieve a goal, and there is often an animal involved. What’s not to love about that? In Halfway to Harmony, grief-stricken Walter Tipple, his new neighbor, Posey, and her rescue dog, Porkchop, discover a…
Writing Tip Wednesday: Head-Heart-Gut Polarization
Writing-manual author, Matt Bird offers a detailed explanation of why and how writers can create an ensemble of characters with different personalities. In The Secrets of Story, Bird explains how secondary characters can act as advisors to the protagonist, each in their own way. To illustrate, I will use the classic kids’ movie, The Sandlot.…
Teacher Resource: Let the Glitter Settle by Stefanie Lachenauer
Stefanie Lachenauer is the 2025 New Jersey Teacher of the Year, with twenty years of classroom experience under her belt. In her newly published mindfulness guidebook, Let the Glitter Settle, Stefanie provides detailed instructions for teachers, students, or caregivers to learn the practice of mindfulness. She relates mindfulness to the daily stresses faced by students,…
What I’m Reading: Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
My first novel of the New Year (it’s only the 21st, so still “new”) is Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I am a fan of Reid – Malibu Rising and Daisy Jones and the Six are my top favorites, plus Evelyn Hugo and Carrie Soto are right behind those. I liked Atmosphere, but admittedly not…
Writing Inspiration: Eudora Welty
In graduate school, I read Eudora Welty’s One Writer’s Beginnings the first time. I did not consider myself a writer then, and it was not a goal of mine at that time. My professional goals evolved around teaching English to middle school students. At that time, I do not think I connected with Welty’s book…
A Classic [not] to Consider: Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Posted on Author Jill M SmithPosted in A Classic to Consider, Care Givers, On My Bookshelf, What I'm ReadingLeave a Reply
I wish I could say otherwise, but after spending months trying to get through Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, I can only say, unless you are determined to read it, choose something else. Each year I incorporate a few classics among my reading selections. I approach each as a work of art, rather than as a…
Writing Inspiration: A Writing Retreat in Provence
A writer’s world can be a lonely one. Spending hours at a computer or with a notebook, imagining conversations and events taking place, is not the same as interacting with friends face-to-face. As a writer, I miss the camaraderie of working with fellow teachers, or other colleagues, despite belonging to various online writing groups. To…
A Gem of a Poem: “First Fig” & “Afternoon on a Hill” by Edna St. Vincent Millay
Posted on Author Jill M SmithPosted in A Gem of A Poem, Teacher Inspiration, Teacher Resources, Teacher TuesdayLeave a Reply
Two poetic gems by American poet Edna St. Vincent Millay are “First Fig” and “Afternoon on a Hill.” Students may be familiar with the expression “burning the candle at both ends,” but even if they are not, a quick explanation will show them how relatable the expression is. Perhaps they can compare it to their…
What I’m Reading: Perfect by Rachel Joyce
Rachel Joyce is a British writer of contemporary fiction. Her characters have such depth of feeling they seem real, as if they are in the room with you. The details she employs to show their moods and thoughts add to the story in a subtle yet impactful way. In Perfect, young Byron watches his beautiful…
Writing Inspiration: My Jewelry Box
I have just had the privilege of publishing my second short story, “The Pin,” on the Academy of the Heart and Mind website (on September 19, 2025). This was a fun story to write and revise – much more fun to revise than the novel I am currently working on. The inspiration for the story…