Works In Progress

Below you will find summaries of my unpublished writing, projects writers call "works-in-progress."

NONFICTION

Hoatzin Nature Stinks! Animals You Don't Want As Pets is a nonfiction book for those 10 and up that highlights animals with offensive smells. Each one possesses other amazing, bizarre, or admirable qualities that might make you wish you could bring one home. Mom might not appreciate the fact that your turkey vulture defecates down its leg when it is frightened. And Dad may not love the hole torn through the wall the wolverine makes to escape. Each of these creatures is "wild"ly interesting, but best left in its natural habitat where it can stink to its heart's content.

Untitled Picture Book Biography

A young lady dreams of succeeding in a man’s world at a time when the Iron Horse is the only transportation into the barren Southwest. She doesn't know she will have to go there to achieve her goals. It takes twenty years for her to gain acceptance into her chosen career, but in the great Southwest, she leaves her mark.

Over one hundred years later, millions of people every year still admire her magnificent works, and now will know her name.

Motorcycle Armor, Boneyard, Chopper: A Motorcycle ABC, appeals to those who love things that go zoom! It includes historical facts, proper terminology, and tame slang, while encouraging those interested in motorcycles to enjoy a safe ride.

PICTURE BOOKS

No Sugar! addresses the universal desire of a young child to assert her own identity. On an overnight visit to her Grandma’s, Kimberly announces that she wants to be called by her full, given name. She imagines herself as Princess Kimberly in her glass slippers, or Lady Kimberly belting out rock songs, or Kimberly the Great, the finest magician in the world. But Grandma always addresses her with gooey endearments that just make Kimberly cringe. Kimberly is an independent girl who actively, but gently, solves her problem. And the unexpected twist at the end is a sweet, satisfying conclusion for Kimberly, Grandma, and the reader.

Dragon Descending Dragons: A Vietnamese Folktale, embellishes the traditional story that explains how Halong Bay, a UNESCO Natural World Heritage site, was created. After eons of protection by the Emperor of Jade, the dragon mother and her children must repay him by saving his Vietnamese people on Earth from a fierce attack by sea. To the invaders’ surprise the dragons defeat them with something other than fire. And the Emperor of Jade grants mother dragon one wish. While the story is in prose, the Emperor of Jade speaks in rhyme.