Sometimes you pick up a book and you’re not sure you’ll connect with it. Then you start reading and it’s like magic. You’re drawn into a world completely different from your own, and yet you feel like you’re a part of it. That’s how I felt about ZORA AND ME by Victoria Bond and T.R….
If: A Word That Gives Hope
So, last month I did a post about when it’s time to revise. Then, two weeks ago, I talked about timing and how that plays into querying strategy. I had this whole plan for finishing out my querying for DUET, not because I want to give up on it but because I’ve been working on…
MMGM: THE BFG
I got a little behind on my reading this week due to some non-writing commitments, but there’s a book I’ve been wanting to feature for a while that’s a favorite from childhood–THE BFG. Earlier this year, I kept seeing people post questions about their favorite books as children. Honestly, I could think of very few…
Missouri SCBWI Conference Recap, Part 2
Yesterday I posted Part 1 of my Missouri SCBWI Conference recap. On to Part 2… Illustrator Will Terry kicked off the afternoon sessions. He offered the most polished presentation of the day, and of course he had a visual component. Like Ms. Dryden, he spoke about how technology has changed the industry, but he had…
Missouri SCBWI Conference Recap, Part 1
I attended the Missouri SCBWI conference on Saturday. I drafted a single post with my key takeaways, but it was too long, so I’m splitting it into two. You’ll get Part 1 today and Part 2 tomorrow. The first keynote speaker was the very entertaining David Harrison, a prolific author who’s been publishing since the…
MMGM: THE END OF INFINITY
First of all, thanks to everyone who participated in my giveaway last week for a signed copy of Shannon Messenger’s KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES. The winner is: Orchid (@HauntedOrchid) It was so much fun doing a giveaway. I don’t plan to do one every week, but I will throw them in every once in…
How Timing Plays Into Querying Strategy
Querying is such a game of strategy. And timing is a major factor in so many ways. Here are a few I’ve been thinking about lately. Catching the agent at the right time. Although I don’t have the link handy, I once read an interview with an agent who listed 10 reasons she might reject…
MMGM: KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES with a giveaway!
Like everyone else who participates in MMGM, I anxiously awaited the release of MMGM founder Shannon Messenger’s debut novel, KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES. I’m thrilled to say that it met all of my expectations and then some. And because I want to give back to Shannon the way she gives back to all of…
Endings: How Much Can You Leave Hanging?
As I’m working on revisions for my current WIP, I’ve been musing over a question that’s occurred to me before: As an unagented, unpublished author, how much can I leave hanging at the end of my manuscript if I have ideas for a series? Unfortunately, I think the answer is: not much. When I wrote…
MMGM: SCIENCE FAIR
I love that my library lets me check out ebooks on my Kindle. Browsing through the available titles has led me to several books I might not have read otherwise. Today I bring you another library find–SCIENCE FAIR by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. Here’s the description: When Grdankl the Strong, president of the small,…
Character Flaws and Why We Have to Care
Over the past few days, I reread two of my favorite romance novels. Although I read much more MG and YA these days, I grew up reading romance novels, starting when I was 11. This may seem young, but there wasn’t the strong category of YA or MG books then that there is now, and…
MMGM: THE UNWANTEDS: ISLAND OF SILENCE
THE UNWANTEDS is one of those buzz books that I heard about so much I finally picked it up. I read the first book earlier this year, before I started participating in Marvelous Middle Grade Monday, but now there’s a second one, and I’m thrilled to cover THE UNWANTEDS: ISLAND OF SILENCE today. If you…
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