What’s That Other Character in the Scene Thinking?

Happy September! Does it feel like fall yet where you are? Here in Missouri, we’re at the stage where it’s cool in the morning and evening, downright cold overnight, but still hot in the middle of the day. I’ve resorted to switching the HVAC from heat to air conditioning. September marks the third anniversary of…

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I See What You Did There (With That Twist)

Happy Spring! At least it feels like spring to me, since spring break starts in about six or so hours. It’s a bit dreary here in Missouri at the moment, but if we wait a few days, that will change. Fortunately, I don’t have to wait for it, as I’m heading to Disney World! (Cue…

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Choosing the Right Words for Your Novel

Happy February! Last week, I participated in World Read Aloud Day for the third consecutive year. For the unfamiliar, World Read Aloud Day is an annual celebration of the power of reading aloud sponsored by LitWorld and Scholastic. Authors offer free virtual school visits during this one day of the year. Typically the visits include…

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How I Restructured My Work In Progress Using Save the Cat

Happy September, friends! You may recall a few months ago I talked about tackling a self-edit for my current manuscript. One thing I didn’t get into during those posts is that I had tried something rather ambitious when I drafted the book–and I already knew it might not work. In the first step I mentioned…

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How I Self-Edit A First Draft

Happy summer! It’s in full swing here–at least schedule wise. The weather has been unusually cool the past few days thanks to a storm that came through over the weekend, but I expect the heat to return soon. Missouri is notorious for jumping from 60 degrees to 90 in a single week. On Friday, I…

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Austen, Twilight, and Other Book-to-Screen Ramblings

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…

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Revision Tip: Why You Should Read Your Manuscript Aloud

Before I get into today’s topic, I want to mention that my November newsletter is out today, and in particular, I have several events coming up over the next month. I have two signings at St. Louis Barnes & Noble stores, a virtual panel you can tune in to from anywhere, and will be participating…

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EVERY OTHER WEEKEND Plus A Few Other YA Books You Should Read

Review time! My schedule got a bit crazy toward the end of 2021 (not even going to get into why), so a couple of these reviews are actually holdovers, but I didn’t want to miss out on covering them here on the blog. It’s quite a variety, from contemporary young adult to contemporary with a…

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6 Months to Release: All About Research!

It’s Feb. 24, which means today marks six months until the release of YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN DELAYED! I’ve been counting down the months leading up to release with behind-the-scenes information about the book. In case you missed any of the previous features, they included: 9 Months to Release: Playlist 8 Months to Release: The…

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