BAD TASTE IN BOYS was the first zombie book I’ve ever read, and I loved it. I would have written a review, but it fell in that Christmas vacation window. Since the sequel was already out, I demanded that my library purchase it, so now I get to talk about BAD HAIR DAY instead. I…
YA Review: LET THE SKY FALL by Shannon Messenger
I should have known I would love this book. After all, KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES made my top 5 middle grade reads of 2012, but I confess the description for LET THE SKY FALL sounded like something I’d heard before. I was so wrong, and I think that’s part of Shannon Messenger’s charm. She…
10 Tips for Titling a Manuscript
I posted once before about why titles are important, and agent Suzie Townsend also posted about titles here. What it comes down to is that for most agents, the title is your first impression. You include it in the subject line of your email, so even if it’s at the end of your query, it’s…
The Challenge of Writing Multiple POVs
Janice Hardy had a great post Monday about handling cliffhanger endings with multiple POVs. She focused on scenes and how to keep up the tension, reader interest, and reader investment as you switch between points of view. My current WIP alternates between two POVs, so I’ve been dealing with this challenge myself. I thought I’d…
YA Review and Giveaway: PERFECT SCOUNDRELS by Ally Carter
A few weeks ago Ally Carter came to St. Louis on tour. It was a Saturday night, but we don’t get many author visits here, so I told my husband he was in charge for the evening and went to hear her speak. I have never seen so many teenage girls squeeing over an author!…
Yes, No, Wait
I’ve often had discussions with my friends about how when you pray for something, God has three possible answers–yes, no, or wait. If it’s “yes,” obviously I celebrate! And if it’s “no,” at least I can figure out how to move on. But that “wait” answer … I hate that one, especially since I can’t…
SCARLET, A Perfect Follow-Up to CINDER
Those of you who have been following me for a while might recall that my favorite young adult book of 2012 was CINDER by Marissa Meyer. The day after I posted my review of CINDER last fall, I discovered Marissa Meyer was coming to town as part of the Fierce Reads Tour and I got…
Why I Love My Library
Agent Michelle Witte started a #librarylove hashtag today on Twitter. I didn’t go back and read the original article she linked to, but the gist of it was that a few–and I stress few–authors felt like people were “stealing” their books by getting them from the library. I’m not going to go into that, but…
Should You Re-Query Agents with Your Revised Manuscript?
If you came to this post hoping for an absolute answer to this question, you’ll be disappointed. I’ve been on a querying blitz this past week, sending the YA version of DUET out into the world. Because I already queried a number of agents with the MG version, this question of re-querying has come up…
Always Learning, Always Improving
I’ve heard it said you have to write a million words before you’re ready for publication–or something like that. Now that I’m working on my third manuscript (ok, fourth if you count the totally amateur shelved one I don’t like to claim), I really get it. I’ve learned so many things through the writing-critiquing-querying-submitting process…
Does It Make Sense?
I’m going to admit something that will make a lot of you cringe in horror: I didn’t have anyone read my first novel before I queried agents. Well, maybe my husband. I don’t remember for sure. The thing is, I had this idea that it wouldn’t be mine anymore if other people gave me their…
YA Review: SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY
I’m excited to be writing my first YA review of the year. I picked up SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY mainly because I’d read so many helpful blog posts by Susan Dennard. I wanted to support her book since I’ve learned from what she shares online, so … good marketing strategy on her part! But, even…
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