…or “Why I Wrote The Scarred Letter” Background A high school English teacher, I taught The Scarlet Letter year after year. For some students (too few), it became a favorite book that they remembered even years after graduating. For others, Hawthorne’s sentence length, ornate language, and complicated concepts made the …
When I was in school, I had a bizarre experience involving cheating. As a preface: most of my classes were useful, and most of my teachers were dedicated. However, in a class which I shall not name, I remember an answer sheet being passed around during a ten-question quiz. The …
The dedication to The Scarred Letter reads: To Dolores Phillips, who taught me more in three months than most people do in a lifetime. I was lucky enough to have Ms. Phillips as my first grade teacher from September until late in the year, when she passed away. Even though …
During the last week in June, I attended the Shenandoah University Children’s Literature Conference. The conference invites award-winning and nationally- (and internationally-) recognized authors to present talks and roundtable discussions to attendees. In the afternoon, small group sessions are led by leaders working in education, and two graduate credit options …
I was tagged by the lovely Clara Bowman-Jahn, author of Annie’s Special Day, to share the answer to four questions about my writing. Check out her website for information about her newest release. You can also visit her blog, facebook, and twitter. What am I working on? Right now, …
This month’s challenge is to write a story beginning with “My favorite color tastes like…” Today’s story comes to us from Val Muller, author of the Corgi Capers mystery series and the supernatural chiller Faulkner’s Apprentice. The story below is written in the voice of a rebellious protagonist riling up …
I had a dream early this morning in which a voice told me I did not appreciate my job enough. It was not an indictment, simply a fact. The voice told me that today I would be reminded. Today, my birthday, helped illustrate that cliché about the best gifts and …
While I planned to write Corgi Capers 3 over the summer, a fortunate influx of writing projects (Forging Freedom anthology and some other exciting forthcoming projects I’ve written or edited) has put me behind schedule. Looking at my upcoming schedule, it looks like I’ll be writing Corgi Capers 3 in …
Today’s Halloween-inspired tale comes from Val Muller, author of the Corgi Capers mystery series. If you like spooky tales, check out her horror novel (for grown-ups), Faulkner’s Apprentice, also available as an ebook for just $2.99. Her short horror story also appears in the just-released anthology Scared Spitless, available in …
I apologize if I’ve shied away from social media lately. I have been working on a few editing projects lately—ones I am quite proud of. The first I’ve mentioned here. It’s an anthology that’s been over a year in the making—Freedom Forge Press’s Forging Freedom Anthology. You can read all …