Two years ago, I read the QueryTracker success story for Stefanie Gaither’s FALLS THE SHADOW and thought, “Wow! I have got to read that!” Well, fast-forward two years and I’ve finally had the chance. And, bonus, Stefanie agreed to answer my questions about the five things I loved best and has offered to send a…
point of view
MG Series Recommendation: The Books of Elsewhere by Jacqueline West
I had another YA book ready to review today, but I bumped it because I finished reading the final book in Jacqueline West’s The Books of Elsewhere series last week and I just have to gush about it. THE SHADOWS, the first book in the series, was one of the first middle grade books I…
YA Review: IGNITE ME by Tahereh Mafi
Eventually I’ll get back to middle grade, but there have been a string of YA books in series I’m already reading that have come out in the last few weeks, and I have another one today. I originally picked up SHATTER ME by Tahereh Mafi because of Twitter buzz. Although I didn’t fall in love…
How I Tackle Revisions: Getting Inside Secondary Characters’ Heads
Last month I posted about the first two steps of my revision process and said my next step was to write a few scenes from non-main character viewpoints. I’d never done this before, and I don’t know why. I think it just never occurred to me. Well, now that I have, I will definitely be…
How I Tackle Revisions, Steps 1 & 2
It’s been over a month since my last writing post and for very good reason–I’ve been taking the first step toward revising my work-in-progress: letting it sit. I’ve learned to set a first draft aside for at least a month. Often that’s hard to do, but with the holiday season, it was much easier. I…
Missouri SCBWI 2013 Conference Recap
On Saturday, I attended the Missouri Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators conference. I would categorize this as more of an inspirational than a working conference. It consists of a series of keynote addresses with one breakout session. There was the option to attend an additional breakout session on Sunday morning, but as I…
Why The Supplementary Novella Trend Works
I am really loving this trend of authors writing novellas to supplement a series. With the exception of authors I’ve been reading for years, I typically don’t buy books unless I’ve already read them. Plus, let’s be honest, it would get very expensive to buy every book I want to read. So, I check them…
MMGM: ONCE UPON THE END by James Riley
So, I usually wouldn’t review two books by the same author in the same series so close together, but I can’t help myself. It’s been a while since I read a book and just had to read the next, and the next right away. But that’s how I felt about the HALF UPON A TIME…
Emails, Footnotes and Tweets: When Authors Experiment with Format
I’m always impressed when an author pulls off a unique format. I’ve read quite a few books lately that stray from the standard narrative format and thought I’d share. Maybe they will inspire you to try something new! The journal entry. The journal/diary entry is probably the most common detour I’ve seen from the expected…
The Benefits of Reading Your Work Aloud
Do you ever hear advice and discard it because you don’t understand why you would do that? For me, one of those pieces of seemingly pointless advice was to read your work aloud. I didn’t understand what I would gain from an exercise that would take much longer than just reading the way I usually…
YA Review and Giveaway: THE ARCHIVED by Victoria Schwab
Remember when I said there was another author at the event with Ally Carter? Well, it was Victoria Schwab, and although I’d heard of her, I’m not sure I would have picked up a copy of THE ARCHIVED anytime soon without the event. So, a note to authors: events work! And I’m so glad. 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…
Welcome!
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, you’ll 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 you’re a writer pursuing traditional publication, visit my Resources page for more targeted links. If there’s something I haven’t tackled on the blog that you’d like me to address—including questions about my books!—please contact me and I’ll do my best.
*Please note I do not review books by request.
Currently Reading
