Writing is rewriting. A writer must learn to deepen characters, trim writing, intensify scenes. To fall in love with the first draft to the point where one cannot change it is to greatly enhance the prospects of never publishing.
Richard North Patterson
Author: Susan Uhlig
You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.
Maya Angelou
You can’t use up
Sea Change
I expected good things from Sea Change (Amulet Books, 2025) by Susan Fletcher, as I’ve read the author’s middle grade novels, and wasn’t disappointed. Besides a retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid” is intriguing in itself. And that cover!
Here’s the first line of the brief prologue: “Sixteen years after the first Mer baby was born, scientists tried to put the genie back in the bottle.”
In a world where illegal gene manipulation produced Mer people, Turtle saves a Normal from drowning. Despite their differences–she has working gills as well as lungs–Turtle is attracted to Kai and spends time on land with him. Now Turtle has a chance to be cured and become Normal. Not only can she then be with Kai, but it will mean she can spend time with the birth family she was taken from. But that will mean leaving her Mer family and friends. What will she choose?
You can see all of the author’s books here and read about Susan here. If interested, read my post about one of her other books.
The writer must have a good imagination to begin with, but the imagination has to be muscular, which means it must be exercised in a disciplined way, day in and day out, by writing, failing, succeeding and revising.
Stephen King
The writer must
Sam
Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
Sam (DCB Young Readers, 2025) by Eric Walters is as disturbing as its cover. But it’s also a good story with a hopeful ending.
Orphaned Sam can’t stay out of trouble. When a run-in with high schoolers ends badly, Sam is sentenced to Johnson “Blue Gables” Juvenile Center for six weeks. There he’s assigned to read a book about another redheaded orphan, Anne of Green Gables, which of course, Sam thinks is stupid. But despite himself, he gets interested in the story.
When I started reading this book, I didn’t even like the main character. However, the writing was so good, I pressed on. And my opinion of Sam changed as he did. I’m glad I persevered.
Read about this prolific Canadian author here. Here’s a list of many of his novels.