What a lovely week! Why so lovely? Well… I spent mine in the Caribbean, cruising around, petting dolphins and paddling near white sand beaches. Hard life, I know. But right before I left, I also found out some amazing news!! … Continue reading →

I broke my self-imposed non-political blog rule a few weeks back to protest what’s happening to librarians all over the country — and in my kid’s school district. Today I read this excellent letter, written by Lin Oliver, the Executive … Continue reading →

It’s been an interesting summer. My first book, The Sinister Sweeetness of Splendid Academy, is off at copy edits right now. I’ll admit, on the final round of line edits, I found myself almost physically unwilling/unable to hit send. To … Continue reading →

Hi, Peeps! I am pleased to announce one of my short stories is in this month’s online kid’s mag, Literature4Kids. This one is about a crab called Tarquin — named after one of my son’s hermit crabs. And, yes. It … Continue reading →

There’s a been a bit of a furor on the Internet/Twitter/Author circuit about the Terrible Darkness that’s infecting the Young Adult bookshelves at Barnes and Noble. I am SO not going to weigh in on this argument, folks. Not that … Continue reading →

I had a wonderful dinner last night with a Writer Friend* who was unstinting with her ideas, encouragement, and advice. I think one of my favorite pieces of advice was this: Use your super powers. At first, I wondered how … Continue reading →

“One joy scatters a hundred griefs.” — Chinese proverb Today, let’s talk about joy in the writing life. And why not its red-headed, cross-eyed cousin, happiness, too? I know, I know. Happiness isn’t in vogue, is it? We’re supposed to … Continue reading →

If you hop on over to this post on the excellent Dear Teen Me website, I think you’ll see that I will do anything for a laugh. Or for sympathy. Or for attention. Whichever. Go ahead, laugh at me. I … Continue reading →

Hi, Writer Friends! As most of you know, I’ve been hip-deep in alligators and line edits. (I’m convinced that term does NOT mean what I thought at first. I had visions of small, piffly, “which word would work better” changes. … Continue reading →

Happy Memorial Day, Writer Peeps! I have good news. Not only do I get to sleep in tomorrow (what, that doesn’t rate as good news? Does for me.), my very first flash fiction story came out today in Flash Fiction … Continue reading →