Kirkus Reviews: Lostuns Found
Good reviews are always a cause for celebration and getting a wonderful Kirkus Reviews review of Lostuns Found, my middle-grade steampunk novel, makes my extra heart happy! KIRKUS REVIEWS: LOSTUNS FOUND REVIEW "Skinner offers a steampunk middle-grade adventure novel about a bunch of scrappy urchins who battle...
How Long Does It Take To Write A Book?
As an author (and also as a book coach), I get asked this question a lot. How long does it take to write a book? It's an interesting question. One that I think is driven by both curiosity and, when it is an aspiring author doing...
Picture Book (Part 2): Submitting the MS or I think it’s done, I think it’s done!
Submitting the manuscript is always a big step in the publication journey. It's as true for submitting picture book manuscripts as anything else. After two years of writing, revising, re-visioning, asking for feedback from other picture book authors, and more rewriting, I finally had a PB ms (Picture Book...
Upcoming Appearances, Panels, and a Freelance Article

Book Signing
I have two major event appearances coming up quick. The first is the debut Cirque De Livre Writer’s Conference in downtown Mesa, Arizona May 27-19, 2016. I will be doing panels, signing books and hanging out with a lot of great authors, editors, illustrators, booksellers, screenwriters, etc., etc.
Here are the event details: Cirque de Livre
Here is my list of panels:
A Writer’s Life: Balancing Work and Work
Like many authors, in addition to my writing and book related activities and appearances, I have a day job. Luckily, it’s a job I really enjoy and I work with good people. It is, however, a job that requires me to do a lot of writing and editing, which surprises many people. I often get asked, “How can you write all day and then go home and write?”