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 →

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 →

Everyone’s laughing at how fast the whole thing is going for me – the pubishing thing, that is. Which makes me want to laugh, AND cry, and cringe. “It hasn’t been fast!” I want to scream. “It’s been glacier-slow! Continents … Continue reading →

I know quite a few authors now, and all of them have different stages of the publishing process that really appeal to them. Some of them (sickos) love revision, some go all gooey at the thought of seeing their galleys/ARC/finished … Continue reading →

What is it about a great writing conference that makes the following week seem positively bursting with writerly possibility? It’s like conferences produce tons of little idea babies that follow you home and keep you up at night. Kinda like … Continue reading →