Mount Mary University offers a master of arts in English with an emphasis in writing. I teach Novel Writing, Writing and Teaching the Memoir, Research and Workshop in Short Fiction, and (my favorite topic) Writing for Children and Young Adults.

Author Presentations Middle school, high school, book festival, writing conference, reading conference ... I always enjoy meeting and talking with students, readers, and writers. I'm also available for Skype visits. Send me an inquiry for fees and availability.

Each year, published Wisconsin SCBWI members are invited to participate in the annual Wisconsin Educational Media and Technology Association book fair. Keynotes for 2013 were Lauren Myracle and Linda Sue Park who have both been retreat faculty at the annual Wisconsin SCBWI retreat. Members of the Wisconsin Chapter of SCBWI at the Author Fair at WEMTA. Back row: Janet Halfmann, Dori Chaconas, Stephanie Lowden, Jacqueline Houtman, Patricia Pfitsch, E. M. Kokie, and Jesse Klausmeier. Front row: Julie Bowe, JoAnn Early Macken, Ann Angel, W. H. Beck, and Lisa Albert.

For Adolescents and Teens

Growing Up in a Family of Storytellers
This photographic presentation traces my own story as a lover of books and family stories within a family of nine kids and how these experiences opened up a world of writing for me.

Janis Joplin: A Piece of My Heart
The first time I heard Janis Joplin sing, her voice blew me away! She was so powerful and independent, strangely beautiful in a hippie chick sort of way. She didn't seem to care that she stood out as different, that she didn't fit the traditional definitions of pretty or popular. Her independence and uniqueness spoke to me, a bookish teen whose Irish twin sister had all the popularity. Her music has always stayed with me, prompting me to write Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing, sharing her life with a new generation of young adults.

Janis’ story reaches across generations, speaking as it does of growing up in a world that doesn't fit. As well as being a cautionary tale, this is the journey of a role model who used and grew her talent to rise above it all. Challenging to write, it has been rewarding to talk with teens about researching and writing about someone who has always been a personal hero.

Do You Want to Know a Secret?
How do the secrets we keep and share shape us? What happens when we tell? This workshop focuses on the power, intimacy and, sometimes, shamefulness of keeping secrets. The reasons we might keep a secret or share it and the effect secrets have on our friendships and families. In lecture, this will evolve into reading some of the diverse voices within the anthology Things I’ll Never Say, Stories About our Secret Selves (Candlewick 2015). In workshop format, participants will begin their own short stories.

For Writers

Building Tension in Story
This lecture and writing workshop provides 6 Awesome Tips and practice in filtering details through character, unpacking thought verbs and avoiding the use of bookends or framing that reveal too much too soon.

Creative Nonfiction and True Ways to Make it Amazing
Using some powerful examples of nonfiction currently on the market as well as my own best practices, this talk guides writers to rely upon research, musing, and narrative voice to create true stories that inspire.

Flawed Heroes and Cautionary Tales
This presentation about writing biography with a focus on most recent biographies of Janis Joplin, adopted heroes, Amy Tan and Robert Cormier shares the reasons I love flawed heroes and their cautionary tales. This presentation uses historical and contemporary music, story, and images to convey the historical significance of these heroes and to encourage teen audiences to recognize their heroes, flaws and all, to understand that those flaws can become cautionary tales, and to encourage teens to recognize how they might become the heroes in their own stories.

Secrets and Stories
Developing voice and character in short stories is probably one of the best ways to learn how to filter detail through a character's sensibilities to increase tension and create strong story arcs. This “how-to” will walk writers through the task of developing a well-constructed short story.