Margaret Willey

This week I got the lovely news that The 3 Bears and Goldilocks, my take on this ancient story, has been reprinted. I had also recently received the news that all 3 Beatrice books have been reprinted and are thus, "still alive" in the children's book world Even though I am so involved now with longer fictions, including adult fiction, I am so grateful that these books are still out there, still being purchased by parents and librarians. Sometimes I will read an entry on a blog by someone who has just discovered one of my picture books and is responding to it as though it were just published! That is a treat beyond words. And being able to still connect with children, through these books, has never been more important to me.

And I know I have a few more good picture books in me. Just have a few good novels to finish first! Read More 

I have been thinking a lot about conclusions and concluding chapters and final paragraphs and final sentences as I mentally prepare to revise and polish what will be my next novel, published by Carolrhoda Lab in 2014. I read a fine and feisty blog review of my novel FOUR SECRETS; the reviewer said, as many reviewers have said, "I could not put this one down." She also says in the review that "the ending wasn't 100% satisfying."

This got me to thinking about HOW MANY TIMES in my 30-year writing career I have heard this sort of remark about my novels. I would have to say that at least every one of my now nine novels has had a reviewer or a reader express reservations about the way I conclude a novel--saying that not every issue in the novel is clearly resolved. With this goes an assumption that I have somehow been careless about my ending(s). When in fact I obsess and revise and rework my final chapters to the word, making the story's ending EXACTLY as I want it--suggestive of resolution and transformation but not hard and fast. Not crystal clear. For some, not 100% satisfying. I find myself wondering if this will also be said about my new novel. It doesn't matter. My favorite novels always end mysteriously, suggestively, with subtle arrows pointing toward hope and new awareness. And this is the way I write them. This is they way I conclude them. This is how I roll.  Read More 

Sometimes I do feel that I wear too many hats as a writer. I have so many different in-progress projects--it's one of the reasons that my office is always stacked and piled with different materials. I flit from project to project, moving this or that along a little further, only rarely finishing something. Sometimes I look at this tendency in myself and wonder what is has cost me to be a creative person whose energies are always scattered.

In May I did several end-of-the-year school visits to talk about Folktales in general and my own original folktales in particular. The kids were so terrific. Putting together these presentations, and presenting them , took a tremendous amount of planning and preparing. Not to mention the traveling, searching for schools in other parts of Michigan. It took me far, far away from what I am doing now--the new novel, my editing tasks, my essays about my childhood. Far, far away. But I wouldn't have missed being in those schools for the world. Look at these beautiful children. Their smiles. I am so happy that this is still part of what I do--share folktales, and my love for these traditional stories, with young readers. Read More 

I have sold Beetle Boy to Carolrhoda Lab and I am so happy about it. It is another novel narrated by a sensitive boy--like Nate Wilson, tortured but noble in his integrity and his compassion. It has set me to thinking about why I am now so much more comfortable writing in the voice of such a boy--Pete Shelton, Nate Wilson and now Charlie--especially considering that my earlier novels were so girl-centered (a good example: The Melinda Zone). Perhaps it is the adolescent boys I have known since I first started writing for teenagers and my appreciation for their struggle. Somehow I believe in a wellspring of romanticism and emotional innocence in boys that no longer seems possible for girls, given what society asks of girls in the 21st century. Girls need to be harder, more wary, more defensive, more angry. With a boy, I can create a reluctant warrior, a sweeter creature torn by sexual longings and sexual ignorance. An adolescent confused about manhood and yet wanting to be manly in the best sense of the word. That is Charlie. I am so fortunate to have a manly editor to keep me in line regarding Charlie's voice and Charlie's dilemma. Think there is another essay in here somewhere.  Read More 

A recent discovery: January is still too post-holiday hectic. Withdrawal from family is impossible and unwanted. But February. Everything slows and whitens and stills in the February cold. The new novel hums. Writing about 3 new pages a day. I know, not very much, but A LOT of writing for the tortoise of a writer that is me.  Read More 

One of the highlights of a quiet January was spending an afternoon at the Ottawa County Juvenile Detention Center, the facility that I used as the setting for my novel. The experience was, from beginning to end, almost unbearably meaningful. 30 kids at the JVC had read the novel and had questions for me about plotting and characters. Most of the questions were WHY questions; WHY did I write Nate's journal in the language I chose; WHY did I make Renata an artist. It was a perfect opportunity to talk about decision-making in writing. We talked a lot about the illustrations. At the end of my presentation, each student gave me a thank you note in the shape of a crow. A few girls lingered at the end of the afternoon, wanting their picture taken with me. They were just girls. They were just kids. My heart sang with gratitude for the rest of the day. Special thanks to Carmen Dahlhoff for all her good work to make this happen. Read More 

"For older young readers, ages 12 through 18, there’s Four Secrets by Margaret Willey ($$17.95 hardcover and $12.95 ebook, Carolrhoda Lab, a division of Lerner Publishing Group) that tells the story of Katy, Nate, and Renata, three teens who decide to rescue Renata from being bullied every day by a group of older boys and, in particular, the school’s biggest bully. Things go awry and they end up in juvenile detention and the question is whether they will keep their secrets and whether a social worker will discover the truth behind their silences. For any young person experiencing bullying or wanting to intercede for a friend, this will prove a very compelling story."

Read all of Alan Caruba's recommendations hereRead More 

Part of the warm welcome for my book. Who knew FOUR SECRETS would lead to such striking centerpieces?

"Ah, the crows...crows symbolize bad luck, Mrs. Shield. I have had some very bad luck lately."--Renata Le Cortez

But it was VERY GOOD LUCK luck for me to be invited to give my first presentation about writing 4 Secrets to a fine group of Michigan school librarians and media educators.

Special thanks to Past MAME President Cyndi Phillip and Decorations Diva Dee Gwaltney.  Read More 

School librarians--the best and warmest and most learned audience a children's author could hope for. FOUR SECRETS warmly received. Much concern among librarians about bullying. Photo courtesy of Shelley Lazarus.

Late fall is the time for visits and videoconferencing with picture books--a kindler, gentler universe than all the focus on bullying and its aftermath. But I am so grateful for all the good things that are happening with FOUR SECRETS. Make no mistake. Just nice to be talking about bears and tricksters and the far north with younger readers.

Presentations include:
Clever Beatrice
Clever Beatrice Christmas
3 Bears and Goldilocks
Thanksgiving With Me

Thanks for the cool T-shirt, Harrison Park Elementary School in Grand Rapids! Read More