Hayley Barrett is the author of Babymoon (Candlewick) and What Miss Mitchell Saw (Simon &Schuster/Beach Lane Books). Two more books, Girl Versus Squirrel (Margaret Ferguson Books/Holiday House, Aug. '20), and The Tiny Baker (Barefoot Books, Sept. '20), are on the way soon.
Hayley lives outside of Boston with her husband John. Their two terrific kids have flown the coop.
So what are Hayley's 5 Favorites?:
My favorite place to write:
I love to write while standing at my kitchen island.
My favorite mentor text:
I don't use mentor texts often, but I'm a dedicated re-reader of books I love. I recommend returning to childhood favorites. Read them again and ask yourself a few questions. Why did you like this book when you were a child? Do you still see now what you saw in it then? What do you admire about it?
My favorite writing tip:
Don't throw a good idea or turn of phrase away. If it won't work in the project at hand, tuck it someplace safe for future reference. It may belong in a different book.
My favorite marketing tip:
It's important to network outside the children's literature community and share our books with those who might find them particularly appealing. Have you written a tennis book? Find the tennis people!
My favorite book event of the year:
Attending local book launches for my friends and colleagues is always a blast.
To learn more about Hayley and her work, visit her website.
As always, if you have read the author's work, please take a minute to review them using the above links.