Birthdays: Lucretia Hale (1820), Eugene Field (1850), Paul Bourget (1852), Joseph Roth (1894), Cleveland Amory (1917), Allen Drury (1918), Barbara Dillon (1927), Jack Bickham (1930), John Bierhorst (1936), Demi (1942), Ellen Stohl Walsh (1942), Jon Berkeley (1962)

Cleveland Amory was an animal rights activist. Most of his books centered on his cat, Polar Bear, like “The Cat Who Came for Christmas”.

Allen Drury won the 1960 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for “Advise and Consent”

Quote: “Books cannot change. A thousand years hence they are what you find them today, speaking the same words, holding forth the same cheer, the same promise, the same comfort; always constant, laughing with those who laugh and weeping with those who weep.” – Eugene Field

Tip: Watch your verb tenses. Whether writing in present or past tense, keep it consistent. I’ve seen too many books where the writer slips from present tense (I am doing this) to the past (I did this) to future (I will do this) sometimes in the same sentence. Most books are written in third person/past tense (She painted the picture.). Some in first person/past tense (I painted the picture). Whatever person/tense you choose, make sure you are consistent throughout.

Jumpstart: This is National Beheading Day. Why would anybody name a day after such a horrible practice? What is the history behind this day? Your character celebrates this day – why and how?