Author: Madeline Slovenz

Madeline was born on the Jersey shore a long time ago. If you are a Generation Z reader, you might refer to that time as “the olden days”. Back then, she loved to read but didn’t like pretend stories. She had little time for that. Madeline wanted to know what really happened; and always demanded of her mother, “Tell me stories about what it was like when you were growing up.” That’s what drives her writing today. Today, Madeline is retired from wearing the many hats of her working past–waitress, actor, designer, telemarketer, Kelly Girl, puppeteer, theater director, playwright, mask- maker, woodcarver, teacher, ethnographer and staff-developer. Most of her time is now spent Chicago, IL where she enjoys writing fiction from her perch overlooking Lincoln Park and Lake Michigan.
Posted on

Young Adult Books with Young Male Protagonists

shadow of boy on bicycle against a sunset
Photo by Tim Graf on Unsplash

When I was still a classroom teacher, many teenage boys in my advisory were reluctant readers. Advisory was free time for pleasure reading, a gift that our principal gave the students. His goal was that if we provided children with guidance about how to enjoy books and the time within the school day for quiet uninterrupted time for their enjoyment they would develop the life-long love of reading.

Continue reading “Young Adult Books with Young Male Protagonists”
Posted on

Writing to Publish

books on a shelf
Photo by Host Sorter on Unsplash

Since retiring in 2012 I have been involved in a bi-monthly writing group at The Next Door Cafe in Chicago. Every two weeks, eight of us critique one another’s writing. Peer review is a gift we give one another; but writing to publish is whole new world. Though an online course at The Write Practice called Write to Publish, I’m being guided to gradually move into a public arena through development of this website, polishing writing to publish on my site and maintaining a bi-monthly blog. It’s time to self-publish my stories on this site and get some of my writing out to new readers for public feedback.

I have an 80,000-word draft of my coming-of-age novel awaiting revisions before I begin looking for a publisher. That’s a huge job sitting on my desk weighing me down. In my class, I’m working on a short story that will be used as a teaser for my forthcoming book. It features my teenage protagonist at the moment he discovers his best friend from childhood has become his girlfriend. It’s not ready to publish yet, but I have a complete draft of it that is being circulated among my fellow students for peer review. Please join me on this journey and subscribe to my newsletter. You will be rewarded with a bonus short story.