Youth Writing Workshop. Yesterday I did a summer writing workshop for young students on the south side of my city. It was sponsored by the University of Texas, San Antonio. It was held on the grounds of the historic San Juan Capistrano Mission, which was built over 200 years ago by Spanish missionaries. It still stands and is today an active parish.  I have visited all five of our awesome Spanish missions in San Antonio. So much history unveils before your eyes when you tour these missions. The students in the workshop also learned the history behind San Juan.

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO

Check out this outstanding guest post on the Cynsations blog. Author Lori Mortensen writes on the topic “Hooking Readers.” She writes, “The truth is, authors have mere seconds to capture an editor’s heart.” True, so true. Read the entire post to find out “what makes an effective opening hook.”

Here’s a short deadline if you have something ready and would like to submit a manuscript to POCKETS. The deadline is August 15, 2016 for their contest. Hurry and best of luck!

“Children need to feel they have a place, that they’re not some object, and that they have a designated and honorable role in a family where everybody contributes.” – Scott O’Dell