'Mastering the Art of Teaching Timed Writing: The Case of the Backyard Mystery Portfolio' is the first volume of the 'Mastering the Art of Literacy Series'. It is in the format of an informal interest inventory,. It incorporates the use of writing portfolios, writers workshop, and preparation for the timed writing assessments across the grades. Dr. DeMakas is an outside researcher of a National Writing Project site and is available for in service training. She is an associate professor at Indiana University Northwest and teaches literacy courses in the School of Education. For more information contact: megdemakas@reflectiveteachinginc.com. Dr. Meg G. DeMakas, Loyola University Chicago, 2008, a reading teacher in IN, KY, and VT, studied the writing process of the National Writing Project for her dissertation, 'The Northwest Indiana Writing Project: Summer Invitational Institute'. She is a facilitator for the project as well as an associate professor of teaching methods of writing and reading at Indiana University Northwest. She currently is writing the second volume of the Mastering the Art of Literacy Series, 'Mastering the Art of Teaching Reading Experientially.' Volume Three, 'Mastering the Art of Making Children's Books' is available already at BlueMoonPublications@Reflectiveteachinginc.com, Amazon.com, and Kindle.com. She also has written and illustrated five children's books under her non deplume, Meg Ellen Grandfield, and they are available on the same websites.