by Mary E. Cronin | Sep 7, 2016 | LGBTQ+, Middle-grade fiction, Uncategorized
After a summer off from blog writing and teaching, I have that fresh and exciting September feeling! A few insights from my summer travels in Ireland: The bookstores of Ireland were a feast, both the independent ones as well as the chains. There was a wide variety of...
by Mary E. Cronin | Jun 30, 2016 | Cape Cod, Community connections, LGBTQ+, Middle-grade fiction, Poetry, Teaching, We Need Diverse Books
Getting an invitation to talk about children’s books and summer? No way I’d turn that down! I had the chance to join host Mindy Todd and Falmouth librarian Jill Erickson at WCAI-FM (Cape and Islands NPR station) recently, and we talked about so. many....
by Mary E. Cronin | Jun 12, 2016 | LGBTQ+
I stare at the photo of a long-ago Gay Pride march. In it, I march with my girlfriend (now wife) and a bunch of young lesbians. I recently posted it on Facebook with the caption “I’m remembering my first gay pride, when my flamboyant 80’s shorts...
by Mary E. Cronin | May 2, 2016 | Conferences-workshops, LGBTQ+, SCBWI, We Need Diverse Books
Lively conversation and great questions added rocket fuel to our presentation yesterday on Writing about Characters with LGBT Parents. The New England SCBWI* Conference is broad and deep– 700 attendees, many workshops on all aspects of the writing life, and...
by Mary E. Cronin | Apr 16, 2016 | Conferences-workshops, LGBTQ+, SCBWI, Uncategorized, We Need Diverse Books
“Who’s your real mom?” “What do you mean you don’t have a dad/mom?” “Please bring these permission slips home to your moms and dads.” Life is just different for kids of LGBTQ parents. They navigate awkward questions, tricky social situations, and heteronormative...
by Mary E. Cronin | Feb 3, 2016 | Cape Cod, Community connections, LGBTQ+, Middle-grade fiction, Tomfoolery
May the road rise to meet you, and the wind be always at your back. ~Irish Proverb Tomfoolery. It’s a word I love, and the title of the middle-grade novel that I’m revising and preparing to send back to my agent, Linda Camacho. Tomfoolery just received a...