Howdy, y’all! I am just back from Whidbey Island, where I spent a week writing in one of the most beautiful places on earth! I came thisclose to finishing a draft of a new novel, and that made me very … Continue reading →

Happy 2019, writer and reader friends! I hope your year is full of books… and maybe even a few short films. 🙂 Once again, I have the great pleasure of co-hosting the annual 90-Second Newbery Film Festival in San Antonio, … Continue reading →

  Are you a young writer (or know a young writer) in search of the perfect creepy tale to tell? Join the amazing Kat Shepherd and me for a writing and craft-filled workshop sure to scare the stories out of … Continue reading →

Howdy, y’all! I am excited about this weekend (September 28-30), since it means I’ll be in Houston at their amazing SCBWI conference teaching and learning and playing with all my big city writer friends. I’m giving a mini-workshop on writing … Continue reading →

Happy October, friends! I hope you’re doing what I’m doing these days! That is, writing spooky stories, picking your Halloween costumes, planning where to hide the Snickers bars from your own dear trick-or-treater children, and gearing up for NaNoWriMo, or … Continue reading →

Oh frabjous day! Friends, if you are the sort of reader/writer/librarian/humanoid who listens to podcasts… or likes book reviews of fun/funny/wonderful middle grade books… or wants to laugh as I use ALL THE  EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!! while talking about great books?* … Continue reading →

This has been an incredible fall for my writer friends who have new books out. This week, I celebrated with my good friend Tara Dairman, as she welcomed The Great Hibernation into the world! I adored this book–it is full … Continue reading →

Hey, friends! What are you doing here at my blog, instead of spending your free hours scrolling through the TWO HUNDRED (or so) amazing items on Kate Messner’s KidLitCares auction, for Hurricane Harvey Flood Relief? I’m been bidding on items, … Continue reading →

Wow! I can’t believe the summer is almost over. I’ve been traveling, reading, writing, and teaching. Oh, yeah! Kids: there’s one last chance to take a (free!) writing workshop from me this summer, on August 9, 2017 from 4:30 PM … Continue reading →

I interrupt my summer writing and blog-ignoring to say a huge, happy book birthday to my friend Cory Putman Oakes on the launch day of her utterly amazing, incredibly fun/creepy/fast-paced/mysterious YA WITCHTOWN! I snagged an early reader copy of this … Continue reading →