WELCOME!

Hello and Welcome to our first posting of our brand new blog! This blog was designed for, but not limited to, the writers of the Hunterdon County Children's Writer's Group. We are a diverse group, of about forty members, who have a single goal in common - to become published in the field of children's literature as either an author, or illustrator, or both!

The authors of this blog are the facilitators of the Hunterdon County Children's Writer's Group. Each facilitator runs her own smaller group of about 4 - 7 people. Some groups are sub-genre specific, meaning it is made up all picture book writers, while other groups have a mix of PB writers as well as novelists.

Who am I, you might wonder? I am Sheri Perl-Oshins. I founded this group of talented writers almost a year ago this spring. I had just joined the NJ chapter of SCBWI and was looking for a small group to join, but none could be found. So I asked Kathy Temean, RA of NJ's SCBWI for advice. She said start your own. At first I thought, "Who me? No. I couldn't." But then the more I thought about it, the more I thought, "Why not!"

First I considered where we would meet... the local Starbucks? Too small. The local Borders? Too crowded. Then it hit me, THE LIBRARY. Yes, of course. So I contacted my local library, the Hunterdon County Library, and asked if they had any writer's groups - specifically for writers of children's literature, and if not, could I start one. They said, "Funny you should ask, we were just talking about how nice it would be if we had such a group. Would you be willing to write a proposal?"

Well, four drafts later, a meeting with many heads of departments in the library system, and an embarrassing photo of me on the front page of our local newspaper, the Hunterdon County Children's Writer's Group was formed.

So what will this blog be about? Well, that's simple - everything and anything related to our group, writing for children, illustrating for children, the business of being a writer, and anything in-between.

Who is it for? Anyone! It is namely for our members, but anyone is welcomed!

How should you use this blog? That's simple too. Just read it! Then when you are done, please click the comment link below the posting you’ve read and leave a comment. WE want to hear from YOU! So don’t be shy…

Do you need to be a blogger on blogspot in order to leave a message? No. You can type your name and write under ‘anonymous,’ but of course I recommend you all begin a profile and well… why not start a blog of your own?

I had mentioned that the authors of this blog are the facilitators of the Hunterdon County Children's Writer's Group. Let me introduce you to them. All of our facilitators and members are talented and unique in their own special way. First, we have Cathleen Daniels, or sometimes Cathy. She is an author/illustrator. Next, we have Jeanne Balsam. She is also an author/illustrator. Then we have Laurie Wallmark. She is a children's writer. Her stories run the gamut between PBs and chapter books, to MG novels. Leeza Hernandez is another one of our many talented author/illustrators. Pat Koelmel is another author/illustrators. (We do have a lot of those in HCCWG!). And then of course, there's me, Sheri Perl-Oshins. I dabble in PBs, but my heart is really in MG novels.

And there you have it. That's us, plus about 30 something other important and talented writers and illustrators – our members – and THAT'S the Hunterdon County Children's Writer's Group!

I hope you'll come back routinely to check out our informative postings on formatting, dialoging, making dummies, how to give and receive a critique, and so, so, so much more.

Happy Writing Everyone!
Sheri Perl-Oshins
ks, ks