I love to talk to kids about creativity. All of my favorite teachers growing up were the ones that loved creativity, even if the assignment wasn’t perfectly met, a crazy fun writing idea got a little bit of extra attention. In my chats with the fifth and sixth grades at Meadowlark elementary in Great …
My first classroom chat was a blast. I had the time of my life chatting with the Kindergarteners at Meadowlark school here in Great Falls. They are hilarious. I talked a little about creativity in general, read a few pages from the book, then we all worked together to create Dab! He is a …
I have always enjoyed the idea of being in a classroom helping students. Oddly enough, I never loved the idea of being a teacher. I would definitely love to be a college instructor, or professor, or whatever the right title would be, but I have a healthy fear of large groups of kids younger than …
Lefty is Xander’s other grandpa. While he’s closer to Pops, who is much more of a nurturer, he loves him some Lefty as well. My great-grandfather was nicknamed Lefty and actually played some semi-professional baseball. While he died before I could get to know him really well, I liked the idea of having his memory …
I spent this Friday morning doing phone interviews with potential employees for my day job and started doodling this fellow. He is The Comfort Crusader, the outspoken superhero Xander conjures to help him endure a bus ride for a field trip to the Sugarbeet Falls Hospital. It’s not necessarily my best artistic endeavor, but it …
Pops is my favorite character. Partly because my kids call my dad Pops which makes it ultra personal, but also because I fashioned him as a cross between a couple of my favorite real life characters. Do you think any other literary character is a cross between Bill Walton and Howard Stern? Throw in a …
When I started the process of writing Sugarbeet Falls I kind of just wanted to see if I could actually write an entire book. When I finished, I was thrilled. My dad and my mother-in-law both read it and were impressed (if perhaps a bit biased). After that I decided to try to find an …
