Tag Archives: middle grade writing

4:55a.m.

Posted on December 14, 2025 by PB Rippey

Oh hi! About to join my last BSU seminar before Winter Break, during which I’ll be completing a portfolio assignment and a critical essay. So: Shhhhhh (directed at the mini-zoo kneading my lap, nudging my ankles, or counter surfing in … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged 2025, Bath Spa University, children's literature, Dean Atta, Ellen Hopkins, fiction writing, Grad students, middle grade writing, mini-zoo, pb rippey, personal goals, Pets, Wibke Brueggemann, YA Novels, YA verse novel | Leave a comment

On being a Grad Student

Posted on November 17, 2025 by PB Rippey

My grad student life is consuming, especially as I get up very early for some sessions–and sometimes I don’t go to bed at all but power through to the wee morning hours with a midnight coffee and I’m loving it. … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged 2025, Califonria, children's literature, fiction, fiction writing, grad school, huskies, middle grade writing, personal goals, poetry, Puppies, puppy life, writing for children | 2 Comments

Yeovil Literary Prize Longlist

Posted on August 22, 2025 by PB Rippey

UPDATE: I did not make the shortlist. Again, so grateful for MONSTER recognition! I’m allowed to announce now that my historical fiction middle-grade novel, THE MONSTER AT ELIZABETH LAKE, longlisted for the 2025 Yeovil Literary Prize. I’ll know in September … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged 2025, Bath Spa University, children's literature, Elizabeth Lake, fiction, fiction writing, Graduate writing programs, kidlit, middle grade writing, poetry, Yeovil literary prize | 2 Comments

At Least Dust Them

Posted on August 18, 2025 by PB Rippey

Books on my desk that I squint at regularly as I world-build, revise, calculate financial bits, worry, shed a tear, laugh at something I’ve created (hopefully not unkindly), revise ad nauseum–yet books I never see. Seeing, replacing a few titles. … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged #amwriting, 2025, Barry Gibb, Bee Gees, books, children's literature, creative-writing, Disco, Disco ball lights, Eats Shoots & Leaves, fiction, fiction writing, Lisa Cron, Marine Biology for the Non-Biologist, middle grade writing, personal goals, poetry, Reference books for writers, Save The Cat, The Breakout Novelist, The Plot Whisperer, Writers on Writing, writing, Writing Tips | Leave a comment

O California! (mini-summer-break edition)

Posted on August 11, 2025 by PB Rippey

I live in a state people visit from around the world. California is vast and geologically diverse end to end: deserts, mountains, marshes, volcanoes, ocean–we have it all. Many of our family vacations are CA vacations–there’s just SO MUCH to … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged 2025, airstreams, back to school, California vacations, children's literature, dog beaches, dog friendly califonria, fiction writing, middle grade writing, mini vacations, personal goals, poetry, Puppy training, Santa Cruz California, teens, traveling with dogs, writing | Leave a comment

More Good (Shh) News

Posted on July 9, 2025 by PB Rippey

August 1st I’ll be able to post good news about my historical fiction novel. In the meantime, I continue to revise my work and: sequester pets in the guestroom as workers repair water damage from a leak spanning 2 floors. … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged #amwriting, 2025, adopted pets, children's literature, Dinosaurs, Heritage Valley, historical fictrion, kidlit, kidlit fiction writing, life, middle grade writing, personal goals, poetry, Puppies, SoCal, Ventura beaches, writer, writing | Leave a comment

Puppy Summer

Posted on June 19, 2025 by PB Rippey

My house still has a hole in the dining room ceiling, the upstairs bathroom has no walls, puppy only mostly uses his potty pads, cats are freaked by puppy and WILL PEE on his leash if it’s left lying around, … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged #amwriting, 2025, children's literature, fiction writing, life, Middle Grade Fiction, middle grade writing, personal goals, poetry, Puppies, puppies and cats, Puppy training, summer 2025, Teenagers, writer, writing | Leave a comment

Another Mslexia Longlist Placement

Posted on May 20, 2025 by PB Rippey

For my middle grade novel TROUBLE BENEATH THE WAVES, which I entered into the 2025 Mslexia Children’s & YA Novel Competition. I was informed yesterday that I did NOT make the shortlist: 😦 However, I’m thrilled TROUBLE made the longlist. … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged #amwriting, #amwritingmiddlegradefiction, 2025, children's literature, fiction writing, middle grade writing, Mslexia, personal goals, poetry, Puppies, writer, writing middle grade and YA | 4 Comments

M’s DAY 2025

Posted on May 14, 2025 by PB Rippey

My husband told a joke at the dinner table and I spit out my salad from laughing and looked up trying to swallow and there was an amber stripe on the ceiling from a leak in the teen’s bathroom upstairs … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged #amwriting, #aussies, #mothersday, 2025, Bathroom leaks, Bears, children's literature, dog, Dogs, faction, fictikon, life, middle grade writing, Mothers Day 2025, Pets, poetry, Puppies, puppy, Puppy chewing, puppy crate training, Puppy training, Queensland Heelers, Water damage, writer, writing | 1 Comment

April Cruelty (Remembrance of Things Past Edition)

Posted on April 16, 2025 by PB Rippey

Early twenties, fresh out of a British graduate school for acting, back home working as a hostess for a local resort restaurant (but of course), gathering my finances-what-finances as I prepared for a move down the coast to Hollywood—I met … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged #amwriting, #nevergiveup, 2025, acting, books, children's literature, creative-writing, dreams, fiction, fiction writing, Hollywood, IRL, middle grade writing, Novelists, personal goals, poetry, writer, writing | Leave a comment

Rain=Writing Weather

Posted on March 19, 2025 by PB Rippey

March is: first consistent rains since January’s wildfire evacuation. Terrible for burn zones, desperately needed for upcoming dry seasons. March is: positive writing news I’m not allowed to share, yet. March is: writing schedule–9am to 1pm (also 4am or 7am, … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged #staysafe, 2025, bird houses, birding, children's literature, Covid, fiction writing, Fire evacuation, life, Long Covid, Los Angeles fires, middle grade writing, Mom of teens, not cancer, personal goals, poetry, SoCal backyard birds, SoCal fire season, teens, vacations, Wildfires, writing | 2 Comments

Bath Spa University

Posted on February 18, 2025 by PB Rippey

Sept. 2025 I’ll be starting the MAWYP at Bath Spa University: Masters in Writing for Young People (Online International Program). BTW: 1. As you know, Bath Spa University is in Bath, UK, a city renowned for hot springs fashioned into … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged 2025, Amanda Root, art, Bath Spa University, Bath UK, Bill Nighty, books, Bradford-on-Avon, children's literature, Ciaron Hinds, Dakota Johnson, fiction writing, Jane Austen Society, Masters in Writing for Young People, MAWYP Bath, middle grade writing, North Oxford, personal goals, Persuasion, photography, poetry, Roman baths, Sally Hawkins, Teatime, travel, Wiltshire, writing | 2 Comments

Christmas Books

Posted on December 30, 2024 by PB Rippey

‘Orbital’ was on the top of my Christmas list. I’m only a deer’s-trail in as I stop and re-read sentences and whole pages and savor and blink hard and hope the book won’t’ end. I’m grateful Samantha Harvey won the … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged #amwriting, 2024, Ann Patchett, children's literature, Chirstmas Books, fiction, fiction writing, Hillary Clinton, Judi Dench, middle grade writing, Orbital, poetry, Samantha Harvey, Something Lost Something Gained, The Hourney, Tom Lake, writer, writing | Leave a comment

December Decor

Posted on December 9, 2024 by PB Rippey

My stocking is hung with extra special care. Also, still reeling from the Mslexia longlist notification. Yours in hope and creativity and a reminder that if your unicycle, like mine, is still hanging from your garage rafters since 2019, maybe … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged 2024, children's literature, Christmas 2024, fiction writing, life, middle grade writing, personal goals, poetry, Rebellion, Resistance, unicycles, Whatever, writing | 2 Comments

Tumultuous Times Pre-Nov 5

Posted on October 29, 2024 by PB Rippey

So here are happy pictures. Happy scrolling. Happy voting.Cast: hummer, Bby Darwin, Arlo doggy, Shadow cat, Kaia (RIP), Valencia mtns., etc.

Posted in Writing | Tagged #amwriting, 2024, children's literature, fiction writing, life, middle grade writing, personal goals, poetry, writer, writing | 2 Comments

3rd Place Honor

Posted on August 16, 2024 by PB Rippey

My middle grade novel TROUBLE BENEATH THE WAVES placed 3rd in this year’s SCBWI Sue Alexander Grant competition. Woo hoo! Per SCBWI’s Kite Tales: “A beachside setting and strong voice help set Trouble Beneath the Waves apart. The middle-grade excerpt by PB … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged 2024, children's literature, fiction, fiction writing, life, middle grade writing, personal goals, poetry, SCBWI, SCBWI Sue Alexander Grant 2024, SCBWI-LA | Leave a comment

Creating Update

Posted on August 2, 2024 by PB Rippey

Helloooo, August. I write 6-7 days/week, but it was extremely challenging to haul my butt into the office chair for most of July as I’ve been grieving for my girl Kaia. We adopted her at 10 weeks old, she developed … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged #amwriting, 2024, children's literature, chronic kidney disease in dogs, death of a pet, Dogs, fiction revision, fiction writing, middle grade writing, personal goals, Pets, poetry, Valencia CA, vegetation fires | Leave a comment

Follow Mary Averling

Posted on July 9, 2024 by PB Rippey

So much focus these days on first pages of mss and I maintain my opinion that it CAN take more than a first page to keep a reader reading and that there’s nothing wrong with that, however, the first page … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged #amreading, #amwriting, 2024, book-review, book-reviews, books, children's literature, fiction writing, kidlit, Mary Averling, middle grade writing, Reading, SCBWI, The Curse of Eelgrass Bog, writing | Leave a comment

I Heart Research

Posted on June 4, 2024 by PB Rippey

Research project happening as I revise the 1st 1/2 of my new middle grade novel. Sometimes I procrastinate waaaaaay too much about what it is I think I should research, only to get my butt in my office chair, begin … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged #amwriting, 2024, children's literature, fiction writing, middle grade writing, Pteranodons, writing, writing research | Leave a comment

Challenges

Posted on May 29, 2024 by PB Rippey

Tiny violin on repeat this week and it’s only Wednesday, novel revisions continue, my teen takes his final school final tomorrow, camping at Lake Tahoe is scant weeks away (teen has never been camping), the dog’s blood test results are … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged 2024, art, books, camping, children's literature, fiction writing, food, Gollum, June Gloom, Lake Tahoe, life, middle grade writing, personal goals, poetry, Summer 2024, Swimming laps, teens, travel, writing | 5 Comments

Madness!

Posted on May 7, 2024 by PB Rippey

A devoted genre-jumper, today I’m focusing on one of my novels-for-adults. The following quotes are keeping me on track as I revise, sipping a Nespresso-espresso that may keep my eyes open at bedtime. “What is madness but nobility of soul … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged 2024, children's literature, fiction writing, Isaac Newton, life, middle grade writing, personal goals, poetry, rescue dogs, Theodore Roethke | Leave a comment

‘Rough’ Words = Cat Bedding

Posted on April 11, 2024 by PB Rippey

Here is Shadow snoozing on draft #10000000000000000000… Yours in almost TGIF, PBInstagram: @pbrippey1

Posted in Writing | Tagged #amwriting, 2024, all cats rule, black cats rule, cats, children's literature, fiction writing, home mini-zoos, kidlit, middle grade writing, personal goals, speculative adult fiction | Leave a comment

Launchings

Posted on April 2, 2024 by PB Rippey

Been busy since this post, meeting self-imposed deadlines and requests for my writing. But now it’s spring break for my teen. Not going on a lengthy trip this year (last year: Route 66/Mitchell Caverns and other oddities). Instead we’re visiting … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged #amwritng, 2024, art, books, cats, children's literature, fiction writing, middle grade writing, personal goals, photography, poetry, Rockets, Santa Barbara, Space X, Spring Break 2024, travel, writing | Leave a comment

Prep: SCBWI Writers Day 2024

Posted on February 27, 2024 by PB Rippey

Writers Day 2024 is my favorite SCBWI annual event as it’s held at the Skirball (therefore sentimental–when my teen was a toddler I took him to the museum’s Noah’s Ark exhibit, often). Lunch is included with the price and is … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged #amwriting, 2024, children's literature, fiction writing, middle grade writing, personal goals, poetry, SCBWI Writers Day 2024, Skirball Museum, writer | Leave a comment

Conference Wrap-Up

Posted on February 15, 2024 by PB Rippey

My only criticism of this conference: No critique groups should have been held in the lobby/lounge area of the hotel. The noise level there was distressing. Critique groups held in faculty suites should have been the norm (deeper critique shared … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing | Tagged #amwriting, 2024, Big Sur Children's Writing Workshops Monterey, children's literature, Critique, editing, feedback, fiction, fiction writing, Harry Potter, middle grade writing, personal goals, writer, writing, Writing Tips | Leave a comment

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PB learns to ride the unicycle!
UPDATE: my unicycle hangs from a hook in our garage. Sometimes I tell it: I'll be back.January 1, 2025
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