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Welcome to my website! I wish I had fresh-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookies to offer you
As you can probably tell, I’ve created this website myself. (Which is why I can't figure out how to get rid of the silly line breaks or weird margins. It looks perfect before I send it off to the Land of Oz or wherever the man behind the cyberspace curtain lives.) Building this website tells you just about everything you need to know about me. I’m cheap, er, frugal. I tackle challenges head on, even when I know nothing about the subject - and I don’t take myself very seriously.
What it doesn’t tell you though, is how much I love writing, especially for young people. I often get asked when I began writing. But honestly, I can’t remember! I’ve always written, whether it was for school or for fun. I will tell you, if you promise not to hold it against me, that I was one of those annoying teacher’s pet kind of kids. If the assignment was to write four pages, I wrote six. If the assignment was to write non-fiction, I’d add a story to go along with it. If the assignment was to write a book report, I’d include interviews and illustrations. Yeah, I was an annoying kid. I’m still annoying but in different ways.
I also love to speak at schools or at book fairs or libraries or for home school organizations or Rotary Club meetings or supermarket openings or in line buying ice cream but NOT during movies. I have to draw the line somewhere. So if you have a group of kids near and dear to your heart who would like to hear about my writing experiences, or who would like to ask me questions, or who will buy me ice cream, check out the Author Visits page and let’s work it out!
I am a native of Colorado, the mother of three smart, funny kids who do their best not to be embarrassed by me. It's their full-time job. I’ve been married to the same indulgent man for more than half my life. I’m sure they’d all be happy to tell you how annoying I am, but not if they expect me to share my fresh-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookies with them.
In addition to all kinds of newspaper, online, magazine, newsletter, permission slip and grocery list writing, I am always in various stages of writing books and trying to convince people to buy them. My first book, which is selling briskly, thankyouverymuch, is An UnCivil War - the Boys Who Were Left Behind. It's historical fiction for middle readers. This book was born because my son couldn't find any good "boy books." So he asked me to write one. That was a challenge I just couldn't pass up!
The story involves 12-year-old cousins, Johnny and Silas, whose families have adjoining farms. They are left behind to tend to the sheep and the apple orchard when their fathers go off to fight in the Civil War, one for the Union and one for the Confederacy.
Here are some blurbs that made me with weep with uncontrollable glee and self-admiration:
. . . a superbly written work of historical fiction for young readers ages 10 through 15 . . . . An UnCivil War is an enthusiastically recommended addition to middle school and community library collections. ~ Midwest Book Review, Children’s Bookwatch
This book makes you feel like you were communicating with people who actually lived through the horrors of the Civil War. It is dramatic, poignant, exciting to read. I plan on making this book part of our Civil War curriculum. ~ Harriet Robbins, Teacher/Team Leader, Florida
Hi, my grandma got your book and then shared it with me. I love to play lacrosse and race motorcycles but I don't like to read. Although I hate reading I found your book very interesting and it always kept me reading because there were no boring parts in it. I especially liked the part where James and Sam took the boys on their first hunting trip. I would like to congratulate you on writing such a cool book. ~ Parker J.
I would highly recommend this book. ~ Lyn Milner, Home Educator, Washington
This story puts the Civil War on a personal level as you read and feel how it affects both families. This is destined to become a classic for young adult reading. ~ Barry Johnson, Bookseller, North Carolina
Today’s young adults need to grasp the significance of the Civil War as a defining moment in the total history of the United States. Rebecca Cornwell has grasped the essence of our Civil War. ~ Bob Hegarty, Civil War Buff, Massachusetts
I also wrote a 24-page booklet entitled Reading Maniac - Fun Ways to Encourage Reading Success to go along with a presentation I do which, oddly enough, shares the same title. It includes over 50 games and activities to help reluctant readers with their letter-sound relationships, vocabulary, and comprehension. Since I can’t think of anything more important than a love of reading, I wanted to help kids enjoy reading more. I’ve found that if you’re better at something, you usually like doing it more. That’s why both the seminar and the booklet were born. Parents find Reading Maniac helpful whether they homeschool, are encouraging an emerging reader or have a student struggling to read at a traditional school.
I’m hard at work revising (and revising and revising and, well, you get the idea) a series of funny time travel adventures for middle readers. It’s way too much fun to write and I make myself laugh out loud when I work on it. The tricky part seems to be finishing it . . . although I've never actually seen a definitive number of books that constitute a "series." Who says it can't be 487?!
In addition, I'm working on a YA novel based on my great grandmother's life. It's great fun to delve into the past and try and recreate past lives. Hopefully I won't irritate my family by asking all sorts of nosy questions. But that's one of my many charms!
My new novel-writing obsession is a YA mystery involving synesthesia, tubas and other fancy stuff.
I've also discovered blogging, which I find great fun. Come visit me in Beckyland at http://beckyland.wordpress.com.
So I toggle between writing fiction and non-fiction, short pieces and long. I struggle with trying to sit still and let my mind work out plot developments in my fiction and research for my non-fiction. And, of course, I struggle with finding enough time to do all this AND bake fresh-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookies. I do not struggle with finding enough time to eat said cookies.
So, cruise around my website, play some games, order some autographed books, set up some author visits, then let's get busy on those cookies!
Becky Clark http://beckyland.wordpress.com
Me & My Books | Fun Stuff To Do | Contact Me | Ordering Info | Author Visits
So cruise around my website, play some games, order some autographed books, set up some author visits, then let’s get busy on those cookies!
Becky Clark Ampersand Press POB 3827 Parker, CO 80134
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while we visit. But then again, I always wish I had fresh-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookies.
