As part of my book’s release, I have several juicy tidbits to share. First, I’m excited to say that Publisher’s Weekly just published an article about my research for The Case of the Terrible T. rex. Woo-hoo!!! Click here to read.

Also, in celebration of this momentous occasion, Drake, Nell, and I have developed a book trailer. We invite you to share it with your friends, with teachers, educators, budding scientists, and readers of all ages. If you share it with at least five friends, please let me know. I’ll enter your name in a drawing for a FREE AUTOGRAPHED COPY of The Case of the Terrible T. rex!

Thanks so much to all you Doyle and Fossey fans!!

– Michele

Ten-year-old Liam gives fossil-hunting a try.

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure whether I’d like squatting in the dirt all day long under the hot Montana sun, chipping away at dirt or at a rock wall with my dino-hammer. PaleoWorld warned me when I signed up: “This is not a tour.” They weren’t kidding. If one doesn’t like heat, bugs, dirt, thundershowers, squatting, sitting on rocks, or hammering until your arm falls off, then maybe a visit to an air-conditioned dinosaur museum would be a better choice.

Some people didn’t tolerate it too well; after five minutes of chip-chip-chipping with the ol’ sweat drip-drip-dripping, they’d sit and yak with their neighbor, or check their watch to see if it was lunchtime yet. Not me, man. Turns out, fossil-hunter blood flows through my veins. I was content to dig for eight hours a day, heat or not, fueled by the anticipation of discovery.

Violators have been warned!

At first, the discoveries were modest: croc teeth and croc skin (called scute), dino dung (coprolite), small therapod teeth, mini-vertebrae, fish scales, weathered fossil bone, hadrosaur teeth, tortoise shell, and pieces of triceritops frill. But then came the day when we went to one of Jessica’s must-watch microsites.

Now Jessica Martin is PaleoWorld’s intrepid, ever-patient paleontologist and field leader. For the past three years, she had been dutifully keeping an eye on this area as it was sloughing off large pieces of rib bone. Three times a year she scouted the area, looking for the source — the dinosaur embedded in a sedimentary layer, eroding off bits of bone as it gradually became exposed and weathered. . . .

So on this day, while prospecting, I spotted a bone sticking out of a hillside and sounded the dinosaur-call. Jessica hurried over to the spot and, while clinging to the side of the hill, announced that it was, indeed, fossil bone. She called for her tools. The excitement was palpable. Would the bone continue into the hillside, or was it just a little piece temporarily embedded in the surface on its gravitational journey to the bottom? Jessica chipped away at the hillside while I stood alongside. At 10 inches the bone was still going strong. At 14 inches, still going. Finally, at a whopping 20 inches, the bone came to its natural end. Ecstatic and anticipating a soon-to-be-completely-exposed dinosaur, we named our discovery, Judy.  We even held a little Judy-celebration party which consisted of big smiles, plenty of woo-hoos, and the dancing of jigs. (Although identification is not yet absolute, we believe the bone to belong to a carnivore. A BIG carnivore!)

The next day, which was to be my final day, we precariously dove back into the hillside with our rock hammers and excitement, officially creating site #4 for PaleoWorld. Seven of us chipped and hammered away until the opening was so large we could stand in it. In the course of the day we uncovered a perfectly preserved tooth belonging, again, to a BIG carnivore! Possibly and hopefully, the same one! It was a thrilling end to what, I hope, is only the beginning. . . . I’ll keep tabs on the team and on “Judy” through their daily logs at www.paleoworld.org (click “2010 Field Investigation” in the upper left corner).

Not all treasures are millions of years old!

Dino-hunters come in all sizes and ages

Hannah preps a fossil for removal from the field

This happened most recently while researching my book, The Case of the Terrible T. rex, book six in my Doyle and Fossey, Science Detectives mysteries series. I was neck-deep researching paleontology, including compiling a list of museums of natural history, and places where kids could go on summer dinosaur digs. As I investigated the dino-digs, I thought, I want to do that . . .

So here I am on the Levrick Homestead, thirty miles north of Jordan, Montana. Which is to say, in the middle of nowhere. This morning I packed sunglasses, sunblock, water bottle, TP, rain gear, camera and video equipment and headed off with a team of paleontologists, students, and amateur bone diggers like myself. In good spirits, we bumped our way along rutted tracks into the far north of Hell Creek basin, where some of the finest dinosaur fossils have been discovered, including the first Tyrannosaurus rex ever found in the world. (Prior to that, we never knew T. rexes existed!)

With picks in hand, we went to work on one of the excavation sites. For a while it was nothing but the soft thuds of our picks. As our intrepid leader, Jessica says, “There’s something about the sound of picks hammering in the early morning.” It’s a musical melody that rings of adventure. You never know what you will find . . .

Every now and then someone would stop and say, “I think I found something.” Sometimes it was nothing more than a rock. Sometimes a rather nondescript fossilized bone. But throughout the day, covered with dust as the Montana sun bore down on us, we unearthed mini-treasures millions of years old: fish scales, a rib bone, a toe bone, turtle shell, dinosaur teeth and dinosaur dung. . . .

I’ll be here for the next seven days. I’ll try to blog, but I’ll admit, I’m pretty wiped by the time we get back to camp. (Plus the Internet is touch-and-go.) In the meantime, I’ll keep playing that musical melody– discovering history, and having an adventure of a lifetime.

Author Susan Marlow

I first met Susan Marlow at a writers’ critique group, where we took turns critiquing one another’s book excerpt or short story. I immediately   “took a shine” to Susan. She was down-to-earth, insightful, and funny, her writing strong and resonant. Although at the time she’d not been published in the book publishing world, I felt confident that it was only a matter of time. Finally, after years of meeting together, there came a day when Susan excitedly shared the news: the editors at Kregel Publishers loved her book! Not only that, but they wanted more. More, more more! (Every author’s dream.) Now Susan is the successful author of the popular six-book Circle C Adventure Series for middle graders, starring spunky Andrea Carter, who can’t quite seem to stay out of trouble. Not only that, but a prequel series is currently in the works. It features a younger Andrea Carter and will be geared toward early elementary age children. Susan also teaches some pretty awesome writing classes and has produced a workbook for aspiring writers. (More information about Susan and her books can be found on her website: www.susankmarlow.com.)

Needless to say, I feel like a proud sister-mama when it comes to Susan Marlow. I recently had an opportunity to interview Susan regarding her work, her creative process, and her advice for writers:

HOW DO YOU GET YOUR IDEAS FOR YOUR BOOKS?

A lot of times I play the “What if?” game. For example, for Book 4, San Francisco Smugglers, I asked, “What if I sent Andi to San Francisco?” After all, there was a reason I set the series in California. That particular state has “more scope for the imagination” (to quote Anne of Green Gables)-both the country setting and opportunities to explore city life in 1880, as well. Once I asked myself the “What if?” question, I went looking for different opportunities for adventure (aka “trouble”) Andi could get herself into in San Francisco. I then used the internet and old biographies and writings from early San Franciscans to build the story. For Book 3, Family Secret, I asked, “What if Andi found out she had an older sister she never knew about?” and went from there.

WHAT IS YOUR WRITING PROCESS LIKE?

I’m a “by the seat of my pants” writer, or one who sees a scene playing out like a video in my head. Then I write it down. Later, I put all the scenes together with thought-out transitions. It’s a crazy way to write, but it’s worked for years.

DO YOU CREATE AN OUTLINE BEFORE YOU START WRITING?

I attempted to once. My mentor helped me create it. Rather than making things easier for me, I felt trapped. So I never looked at it once things started moving for me. I think outlining is a good idea, and I wish I could do it, but instead I struggle, waiting for my “muse” to kick in and do some creating.

IS THERE A PART OF ANDI THAT REMINDS YOU OF YOURSELF WHEN YOU WERE HER AGE?

Definitely. She’s who I would want to be if I could do it all over again. I was the oldest of four girls, and all my growing up years I wanted brothers-preferably older brothers. Andi’s got it made: older brothers, horses, freedom (most of the time), and interesting adventures. The life I’ve created for her is probably not reality, but it’s sure fun to dream!

DID YOU ALWAYS KNOW YOU WANTED TO BE A WRITER?

It’s not like I “wanted” to be a writer. I always was a writer. It’s what I did on rainy days when I was a kid, or when I had a free evening as a home-school mom, or while traveling long distances in the truck. Now, if you ask if I always wanted to be a published author, well, that’s a different question. No, I never really wanted to be a published author. I never thought about it until people started prodding me to look into it. I just liked to write. It didn’t matter to me if anyone read my stories or not. In fact, I preferred that they didn’t read them.

WHAT WRITERS OR BOOKS INFLUENCED YOU THE MOST?

As a teen, Robert Heinlein’s books influenced a lot of my writing at the time. He created outer space stories with real-life characters that came alive. I wanted to write like he did.

WHAT IS YOUR DAILY WRITING SCHEDULE LIKE?

Right now? Non-existent. I have no schedule. I’m up to my eyebrows with writing-related activities like marketing and editing (for money). And promoting. And more marketing. I just signed contracts for Books 5 and 6 in my Circle C Adventures series, and I’m very thankful they’re already finished and turned in to the publisher, because I have no time to write them!

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE AS A WRITER?

Thinking up new and creative ideas for more stories. Sound strange? Don’t all writers have dozens of story ideas buzzing around in their heads? Perhaps. But not this writer. I think it’s because my head is packed full of everything else that writing involves.

WHAT ASPECT OF THE WRITER’S LIFE DO YOU ENJOY THE MOST?

The opportunities that have come my way because I am a published author. I really enjoy editing, and I make a lot of money doing it-way more than the money from being an author (sad but true). I love meeting the kids and getting e-mails from them about how much they love my books. I like networking with other authors and writers. The hardest part for me is when I’m having so much fun with the writing-related aspects that the actual writing gets left behind.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MOST COMMON MISTAKES YOU SEE WITH BEGINNING WRITERS?

Since I have a lot of experience editing for a publisher, I see manuscripts in all forms. The manuscripts that bog me down the most are the ones where the (beginning) author has made the same kinds of mistakes over and over again: overuse of pet words like “just” and “that.” Overuse of “ly” adverbs instead of strong verbs. Overuse of “ing” verbs, especially being used as dialogue “tags.” Run-on sentences and wordiness, which usually involves a lot of telling instead of showing. OK. I’d better stop because I could go on and on about this. After 50,000 words of this stuff, I want to pull my hair out!

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR ASPIRING WRITERS?

Learn how to self-edit your own work. Whatever it takes, whatever it costs, pursue excellence in your manuscripts. Go to writing conferences and gobble up knowledge like candy. Find an honest critique partner and learn from him or her. Never be in a hurry to finish a manuscript. And if you’re seeking publication: never give up!

I’m tickled to announce that — woo-hoo! — the entire series of DOYLE & FOSSEY: SCIENCE DETECTIVES is being released in paperback by Sterling Publishing. THE CASE OF THE GASPING GARBAGE and THE CASE OF THE MOSSY LAKE MONSTER will be released on June 2 (that’s next week!), while THE CASE OF THE GRAVEYARD GHOST and THE CASE OF THE BARFY BIRTHDAY will be released on September 1.

My fellow scientists, these are not merely reprints. These are new improved editions, with new colorful covers. Trust me on this one. I’m soooo excited!

And in case those four books aren’t enough to keep you happily experimenting, THE CASE OF THE CROOKED CARNIVAL is with the illustrator right now and will be coming out next Spring. I’m currently writing THE CASE OF THE CREEPY CAMPOUT, which is due to be released in Fall 2010. So, tons of DOYLE & FOSSEY stuff is coming your way, guaranteed to keep all you young scientists up to your ears in bubbling test tubes and baffling mysteries!

For my book VOYAGE OF ICE, it was necessary to travel to Alaska to further understand the Arctic whaling industry and to experience the wild and woolly north for myself. (You can only learn so much from a book.) In Anchorage I toured a whaling museum and went running by the river and saw moose roam through town. But visiting the big city wasn’t enough. Since I planned for my characters to be shipwrecked way up north, I had to travel to Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost point in the United States.

I had a great time conducting research in Barrow. I dipped my hands in the Chukchi Sea. Brrr! I saw polar bears rummage among whale remains, and Arctic foxes dart into their snowy burrows. I witnessed the people of the Inupiat village harvest a 50-ton bowhead whale which they’d hauled up onto the beach after hours of trying to figure out how they were going to do it. I went for a ride on a dog sled and was assured that the dogs could outrun polar bears, but was given a .45 just in case. Yikes! (Even though I was buried up to my neck under furs, I remember that my teeth actually froze in my head and ached all the way up to the top of my skull. That last tidbit certainly ended up in my book.)

Despite the chill, all of this research was great fun (especially since I didn’t get eaten by a bear, nor did I have to shoot one). I now felt I had a good feel for telling my tale of the North. It was time to go home.

But the research trip wasn’t finished with its surprises. Five months prior, some friends of mine in Anchorage had been “adopted” by a stray cat that frequented their back porch. This courageous little calico had braved the Alaskan wilds and desperately needed a home. Except my friends couldn’t keep her. Would I take her? After some deliberation, I told them that I would. But there was a problem . . . I had only one hour between flights in the Anchorage airport, so we’d have to make it fast.

SHEBA

Once I landed in Anchorage I hurried off my flight and out of security. I met up with my friends, took the cat (who’d meanwhile had shots and sported a spiffy health certificate and assorted travel documents), and then raced back through security. (I felt kind of like the spy who’s made the transfer of the top secret briefcase stuffed with the Top-Secret-Take-Over-the-World-Stuff.) The cat and I boarded the plane just in time and off we flew. . . .

That was seven years ago.

It’s appropriate that my first blog for my young readers is about my cat, because she’s sat on my lap, filled my office with purrs, snorts, yawns, and snores, and given me kisses throughout the writing of many a book. In fact, she’s on my lap now, purring away. My little Alaskan kitty. A fine end to my tale, I think.