Ask the Author: Pamela McDowell
Answered Questions (4)
Pamela McDowell
Hi Ruth - it's wonderful to hear that the Cricket books are being shared in the classroom! The fourth book, Cougar Frenzy, will be published in the fall 2019. This story is set in Waterton Lakes National Park in the winter, which is a beautiful and quiet time of year in the town, with lots and lots of snow. There will be opportunities to incorporate different kinds of maps and GPS technology into extension activities with this book, to get your students exploring outside. I will develop a teacher's guide for this book, too, with other individual and group activities, which Orca Book Publishers will offer on their website for free!
Happy September!
Happy September!
Pamela McDowell
Hi Susan - great to hear about your avid young readers. Bats in Trouble will be on store shelves October 17, but you can pre-order copies from www.orcabook.com (and I think there's a discount for schools). And yes, there will be a teacher's guide with pre-reading questions, discussion topics, activities, and projects available for free on the Orca Books website. I hope your students enjoy the new book!
Pamela McDowell
Writer's block....that's when my imaginary friends won't talk to me. Sometimes I've written a scene that isn't quite right and the characters refuse to talk. Really. If that happens, I know something is wrong and I need to rethink where the story is going and what is happening. To make a change or get the ideas flowing in the right direction, I find a change of scenery helps. A walk might help. A couple of night's sleep lets my subconscious work out the tangle I've created. But if I have a deadline and need to push on, I like to take my laptop someplace else, away from my desk. I'll change rooms, or sit on the deck, on the trampoline (just sitting, no bouncing allowed), or at a picnic table.
Pamela McDowell
My most recent book, Ospreys in Danger, was inspired by a real event that occurred in Waterton Lakes National Park. An osprey nest really did catch on fire and cause the entire town of Waterton to lose power. That set my imagination off with "What would happen if...?" What would happen if there were chicks in the nest when it was struck by lightning? What would happen if they could be rescued? And the story grew from there.
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