Thursday thoughts with Lisa - Book Recommendation: FROM THE DESK OF ZOE WASHINGTON

Pre-order campaign - order between now and November 8th and get free stuff!!

You might not know that 2020 has been a REALLY rough year for authors, publishers and bookstores. And lucky me, I have a novel coming out right after one of the biggest elections in American history when people will be thinking about a million other things besides my little book. So, in an effort to try and get some orders before November, I've partnered with a fantastic little bookstore in Portland called Annie Bloom's Books for a pre-order campaign. Order through them and on Nov. 10th I'll head over, sign/personalize books, stick some special gifts I've prepared into the package, and they will mail it off to you (or if you live in Portland, you can pick it up curbside). You'll be doing so much to support me, Scholastic, and Annie Bloom's.

DON'T JUDGE ME is inspired by the true story of girls who found a list being passed around at school rating them on their looks. It's a book about learning to speak up when you see something that's wrong and want to work to create change. It's about looking for and finding others who will stand with you. It's about being true to yourself even when it's challenging.

It's too early for professional reviews but the incredible Barbara Dee's quote will be on the cover. "A realistic treatment of an important topic. Readers will root for Hazel!" And Ms. Hottinger, a Middle School teacher, just read a review copy and told me, "I absolutely LOVED it." :) How can you beat that!? It's primarily for kids ages 9 and up, but I think Hazel's growth and transformation could be inspiring for just about anyone. Or if you are a fan of tortoises, you're in luck, there's one in the book named Pip. I truly appreciate friends and family's support, now more than ever. 

Direct link to order: https://www.annieblooms.com/book/9781338628548

Wonderful blurb for DON'T JUDGE ME

Thursday thoughts with Lisa - writing haikus

Today we talk about the haiku poem. I hope you'll try writing one after watching the video - I find them to be not too hard and kind of calming. Enjoy!

Thursday thoughts with Lisa - what makes a good beginning

Grabbing the reader's attention and getting them to continue reading after the first couple of pages isn't easy. So how do authors do it? What makes a good beginning, anyway? I explore some ideas in this video. Thanks for watching!

Thursday thoughts with Lisa - using memories in your writing

Have you ever hear that saying, write what you know? What does it mean? Should we ONLY write what we know? I talk about all of that in this video and share one of my books that has a big part of "me" in it.

Thursday thoughts with Lisa - where do ideas come from

Today I talk about ideas since that's what I'm working on right now - trying to come up with the best idea in the whole wide world for a new book! Ah, no pressure or anything, right?