Give me a second and I’ll tell you, as soon as I figure it out. I suppose I spend most of my time writing children’s fiction. So, when people who want the short answer ask what I do, I say … Continue reading →

My agent-sister, Lisa DesRochers, nominated this blog for an award, the Scrap Heap Award. No, wait. Was it the Honest Crap Award? Something like that. As you may be aware, I refuse to post anything on this blog other than … Continue reading →

Okay, children’s book writers out there, I’m giving you fair warning: If you’re planning to write about a stuffed toy that learns to love a child, you’re going to need to make it a bear, or an otter, or a … Continue reading →

A perfect weekend. Yesterday we celebrated Dave’s birthday with a dinner at Eddie V’s and a night in the Hyatt Regency on Lady Bird Lake in Austin — free babysitting courtesy of Aunt Lari. Yay Lari! Yay free babysitting! (Of … Continue reading →

Someday I’ll have a book published and, right inside the cover, I’ll have an acknowledgments page — a crisp white sheet where I can list the names of the people who have helped me on my writing journey. Of course, … Continue reading →

I took French in high school, a “useless language” for a Texan girl. Anyone could see that I should have taken Spanish, right? I mean, here we are on the border with Mexico, etc. (I spent summers as a child … Continue reading →

I’ll admit: I have a problem. It’s not one of those fashionable ones you can talk about at parties either, or that goes away with diet, exercise, or Botox. I have a book problem. When I was a little girl, … Continue reading →

I just got back from NYC, from attending the wonderful Backspace conference, meeting my (darling, smart, funny, ambitious) agent, Suzie Townsend, and painting the town my own particular shade of red. (It’s more a fuchsia, really.) The whole experience was … Continue reading →

Okay, I know. I suffer from that affliction so many Texans (and even transplanted Californians who’ve lived here long enough) share in common: I love me some Texas. And this weekend, at the Texas Book Festival, I was feeling the … Continue reading →

Let me check… yep, yep. I recognize this feeling. It’s the exact same way I felt when I got asked to go to the prom my sophomore year of high school. Butterflies in the stomach, stupid grin on my face, … Continue reading →