Tell us about yourself!
I live in Colorado with my husband, two daughters, and golden retriever. When not writing, I teach gifted and talented K through fifth graders at our local elementary school.
Tell us about your chapter books.
Benjamin Blair and the Case of the Missing Noun Hound teaches character values through realistic fiction. Readers can relate to the protagonist’s struggles because they are not far-fetched or wild.
It includes vocabulary boxes for newer words and discussion questions to enhance discussion for homeschool or grade school parents and teachers. It covers all the noun standards through second grade.
What kind of child are you trying to reach with your books?
Impatient, dog-loving, mystery-solving, hard-to-teach kids will thrive with this book. The lessons are disguised as clues to a mystery so children don’t even know they’re learning!
Give us a little flavor of some great characters or the setting.
There’s a clue book you can print so students can solve the clues along with the class in the story. The entire book is also available on YouTube read aloud by me so kids can listen while following along and meet “Ned the noun hound.”
What inspired you to write this series?
This book came about as the start of a spin-off series from the Character Club series. Benjamin Blair (or Ben) is one of three triplets who are the younger brothers to the main character in my first book for students ages eight and up called Jeanie Blair, Author Extraordinaire.
The triplets had so much spice and character that I thought they needed their own series.
The Noun Hound is a character I invented in the nineties in an attempt to spice up third grade grammar lessons. There are four more characters coming out with their own stories someday, teaching about verbs, adjectives, adverbs and pronouns.
This project was co-created with my dad, who did the illustrations. I’d had a dream to co-create a book with my dad since I was a little girl, and there is a tribute to him in the back of the book.
How did you know you wanted to be an author?
I wanted to be an author since I was in third grade, when I started a writers’ club with my best friend at recess. We invited everyone in the third grade.
The first day, it was just her and me writing stories on folded sheets of copier paper stapled together. The second day, it was just me, but I still have that series of books. They’re awful, but nostalgic to me.
What’s one chapter book you always recommend?
Anything by Jennifer A. Nielsen. She writes historical fiction you can’t put down!
What advice do you have for aspiring writers?
Just keep writing. Don’t get discouraged, and don’t feel like you have to finish everything. You never know when you may come back to it. There’s a season for everything.
What formats are your books available in?
- Paperback
- Ebook
Find them all here.
What’s next?
The next book in this series is in beta testing right now! It follows Joey O’Tooley’s (younger brother of Peter O’Tooley from Peter O’Tooley, Bugged and Bullied) mini-journey toward humility as he learns all about verbs from Herb the Verb, a puppet fireman locked away who needs the students’ help to save strong verbs.
If you’d like a sneak peek, choose the contact tab at http://www.CharacterClubOnline.com.
How can parents find you?
Parents can find me at CharacterClubOnline.com.
The books are available on CharacterClubOnline.com or Amazon.
Liked that?
Try these!
If you’re in the market for chapter books, I’d love to share my series with you!
Collar Cases is a Christian mystery series for readers 7-12.
Join investigative reporters Mittens Meow and Alex Digger as they solve mysteries in their small town and learn lessons about character.