Does an author really need to blog? Not necessarily. If you are writing fiction or a children’s storybook, probably not. If you’re writing nonfiction or memoir, probably so. To answer the question, you must ask yourself whether you can reach the audience who will buy your book with a blog. Children rarely make consumer choices about books, but their parents do. Tina L. Peterson wrote a middle-grade novel, Oscar and the Amazing Gravity Repellent. She has a Ph.D. in mass media and communications and is an activist for media literacy. In Media Parentis is where she blogs about smartphones and sleep deprivation, Superbowl Advertising Bingo, and why we need diverse children’s literature. If you have a way to speak to those who buy books like yours, then a blog may be a tool to pull customers to your writing. If you are writing for wildlife naturalists who spend the majority of their time in the field in remote locations like Linda J. Spielman, then you likely don’t need to blog because your customers aren’t likely to be searching online for A Field Guide to Tracking Mammals in the Northeast. But if your book is about a nonfiction subject on which people use search engines to seek out new information, then blogging can be an important instrument in your author’s bag toolkit. Blogging serves two purposes. One, it helps search engines keep your site at the top of the list of hits when someone types in your keywords. Every time you post…

Larry Scheckel’s new book, I Just Keep Wondering: 121 Questions and Answers About Science and Stuff, was released by Tumblehome Learning earlier this month.  This is the third in his I Always Wondered Series. Tumblehome Learning is a leading publisher of science books for children. Their books inspire readers to learn more about nature and the world around them. They help kids imagine themselves as young scientists or engineers and encourage them to experience science through adventure and self-guided discovery. In this volume, Scheckel answers questions you’ve probably pondered. Why can’t you tickle yourself? Why do water droplets dance on a hot pan?  Where does the light go when you turn off the switch? This sequel to I Always Wondered About That and I Wondered About That Too will educate and entertain readers ages 12 and up. “Assorted revelations for enquirers who prefer their science straight up but not without occasional (semi-) comical relief.” —Kirkus Reviews Larry Scheckel grew up on a family farm in the hill country of southwestern Wisconsin, one of nine children. He attended eight years of a one-room country school. After serving in the military and working as an engineer, he taught high school physics and aeronautics for 38 years. Now retired from teaching, Larry enjoys bicycling, flying real and radio-controlled airplanes, and solving crossword puzzles. Larry and his wife, Ann, live in Tomah, Wisconsin, and love to travel.    

On December 1, Tumblehome Learning will release of Larry Scheckel’s new book, I Always Wondered About That: 101 Questions about Science and Other Stuff. Entertaining and educational, this book applies science to phenomena that are part of our everyday lives with questions and answers that appeal both to science nerds and those who struggled through high school chemistry class. Hypothetical, irreverent, and quirky questions—the kind you think of when driving down the road, mowing the lawn, or contemplating a sunset—are answered here with both wit and wisdom. It’s a perfect holiday gift and available for pre-order now. Is time travel possible? Why are raindrops round? How far is it to the horizon? Why doesn’t the longest day of the year have the earliest sunrise? If you are in a falling elevator, can you save yourself by jumping up just before it hits ground level? Why is there a big E at the top of the eye chart? These and other questions are answered in language even a fifth grader can understand. Larry Scheckel has been named Tomah Teacher of the Year three times, and Presidential Awardee at the state level for six years. He is the recipient of the Tandy Award, Kohl Award, Wisconsin Physics Teacher Award, Health Physics Society Award, Ron Gibbs Award, and Excellence in Science Teaching Award. He has authored articles for The Science Teacher and The Physics Teacher. He has been a Science Olympiad coach, robotics mentor, organized field trip and star gazing sessions, and given orientation…