Birthdays: Marjorie Flack (1897), Harvey Penick (1904), Michael Crichton (1942), Antjie Krog (1952), Laurie Halse Anderson (1961), Gordon Korman (1963), Augesten Burroughs (1965), Trudi Canavan (1969), Matthew Quick (1973), Aravind Adiga (1974), James Hendry (1976), Naomi Alderman (1976),

Marjorie Flack is best known for her children’s book “The Story about Ping”

Quote: “Do you know what we call opinion in the absence of evidence? We call it prejudice.” – Michael Crichton

 “Be nice to your parents, because if you want to be a published author, you’ll probably wind up living with them after college. For a decade.” – Laurie Halse Anderson

Tip: Your characters need to be multidimensional, believable, and interesting.

Jumpstart: Each year when the roses bloom… (use: garden, trophy, retreat)