Humor has gotten me out of some tough spots. Though I’m reluctant to ever say I’m funny (it’s not really for me to judge), humor is certainly a big way I approach the world and the people in that world. It’s sort of a passenger who helps me find the edges and articulate the shape […]
Tag Archives: Dev Petty
WHAT IF YOU’RE NOT READY TO FLY? by Dev Petty
posted by CBethM
I wrote Moth & Butterfly Ta-Da! long before our lives were upended by a global pandemic and long before my daughter went to middle school and found herself on the wrong side of a friendship triangle. I also wrote it before my own life had some twists and turns. Now, as we edge to the […]
FORGET COLORING OUTSIDE THE LINES…WHAT IF WE JUST DITCH THE LINES? (At Least Sometimes) by Dev Petty
posted by CBethM
CLAYMATES (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) came out in June and something special has been happening, maybe even more special than kids crawling into my lap to get a better look, or giddy smiles, or belly laughs. Though those things are pretty much totally great and certainly hard to top. Librarians, teachers, parents, […]
Art and Risk by Dev Petty
posted by CBethM
In June of this year, I have a book coming out and I have NO idea what’s going to happen. I’m newish at this author stuff, but I hear from a great many sources that a writer never really knows what’s going to happen with a book release- whether people will like the book, […]
Bookstores, Berkeley, and My Where by Dev Petty
posted by CBethM
A childhood in Berkeley was an extraordinary experience that is hard to explain in just a few words or even in entire books. Berkeley is often a place that ends up as caricature- hippies running around in Birkenstocks, wearing tie-dyed Berzerkeley shirts and drinking wheatgrass juice. While there are elements of that, it’s not its […]
Write! (You Know You Wanna) by Dev Petty
posted by CBethM
It took quite a while for me to identify myself as a writer. Until only recently, and despite enough picture book manuscripts to wallpaper the moon, I would gloss over my writer-ness, opting instead for “former visual effects artist,” “mom,” or “sandwich maker” which I’d throw in just to see the reaction. I waited […]
Finding the Words by Dev Petty
posted by CBethM
Sometimes I read posts here with a bit of envy. I read about people who went to their school library at recess and curled up with a book at every opportunity. I read about people who knew from birth that words and language and books would define their life, as a writer or a librarian […]
Stop Making (so Much) Sense by Dev Petty
posted by CBethM
It’s night time. We cuddle up as we always do, and I begin, “Once upon a time…” Isn’t that funny? Why do I do that? The books I write and the books I enjoy don’t usually start with “Once upon a time” or end with “Happily ever after.” Part of it is just trying […]