Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope you’re celebrating with loved ones. I’m celebrating by sending out my monthly newsletter and talking about one of my favorite topics–book-to-screen adaptations. In addition to this topic, the newsletter also includes a “Who’s Your Character Valentine?” quiz featuring the main characters and love interests from Your Life Has Been Delayed…
Random Stuff
7 Months to Release: Your Life Has Been Delayed Watch List
It’s Jan. 24, which means YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN DELAYED releases in just seven months! Also, in case you missed it, my cover was revealed last week. Actually, even if you didn’t miss it, I just really love looking at it, so I’m going to drop it here again anyway đ. At nine months out,…
It’s Pretend To Be A Time Traveler Day!
During the November Twitter chat for #the21ders, one of the questions was: If your book were a holiday, what would it be? In case you aren’t aware, there are days out there commemorating pretty much everything, and sure enough, I found Pretend to Be a Time Traveler Day! Which happens to be celebrated on Dec….
YOUR SECRET’S NOT SAFE WITH ME Aesthetics
In the days leading up to Pitch Wars, mentees posted various novel aesthetics on Twitter, and I thought it would be fun to compile them all here on my blog. I’ve mentioned this before, but my idea for this manuscript started with the setting in the middle of the novel. We were on our annual…
YOUR SECRET’S NOT SAFE WITH ME Watch List
Writers are always talking about play lists for their manuscripts, but with one exception, that’s never been my thing. (That exception would be my violin story, which totally has a play list, but it’s mainly classical music :)). I just find music too distracting while I’m writing. However, I’m a major movie buff, and so…
MMGM: THE SWAP by Megan Shull
Last fall I watched a Disney TV movie called “The Swap” and thought, Wow, I wish I could read that as a book. Turns out it was based on a book! (Also, have I mentioned before how it’s my dream to have one of my books made into a Disney TV movie? Because, honestly, that’s…
How to Stalk WriteOnCon Ninja Agents 2017
If you’re in the kidlit community, you probably know about WriteOnCon and missed it as terribly as I did in 2015 and 2016. Well, hallelujah, it’s back! I don’t have anything to query at the moment, but I do have a work-in-progress ready for some feedback in the forums, so I’ll definitely be dipping a…
Remembering a Friend Lost Too Soon: Ashley Gammon
It’s not often I diverge from writing topics on the blog, but the unexpected death of a friend last Friday compels me to express my grief the best way I know how–with words. I first met Ashley Gammon in 2006 when I interviewed her for a job at the public relations firm where I then…
A Halloween Memory
A couple of days ago I received an email that said, “Guess who’s turning 87 on October 31?”, and my breath hitched a bit. Because she’s not. My grandma passed away in January. I immediately went in and deleted her birthday from my BirthdayAlarm account, but I didn’t really need the reminder anyway. Halloween loomed…
Romance in Kidlit and Other 2014 MOSCBWI Takeaways
Last Saturday I attended the Missouri SCBWI Conference. 2014 was my fourth year attending, and it’s interesting how my attitude toward this conference has changed. My first year, I soaked up everything. I was new to the world of writing for middle grade and young adult. I was just discovering all of the resources available…
WriteOnCon! With Advice If You’re Posting in the Forums
It’s WriteOnCon time! WriteOnCon is a free, online conference for picture book, middle grade, young adult, and (this year) new adult writers. If you fit into any (or all!) of these categories, you should definitely check it out! The information I’ve gleaned from this conference over the past few years is beyond measurement. One of…
Remembering My Grandma: Life Goals Accomplished
Between the holidays, sick kids, and snow days, it’s been a crazy few weeks. In the midst of that, my grandma went into the hospital, and after a week of trying several different treatments, she passed away peacefully on Saturday. I’ve spent the last several days working on a movie filled with pictures of her…
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Welcome to my blog, where I review* books I love, offer writing tips, and share thoughts about reading, my writing journey, and other random stuff. If you subscribe, youâll also receive news about my books and upcoming events. Check out the categories in the sidebar to narrow down some of my older blog posts, or if youâre a writer pursuing traditional publication, visit my Resources page for more targeted links. If thereâs something I havenât tackled on the blog that youâd like me to addressâincluding questions about my books!âplease contact me and Iâll do my best.
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