Now & Later

Well, friends, blog posts have been a bit thin on the ground here recently–but that doesn’t mean that exciting things haven’t been going on behind the scenes, or that I haven’t got some great stuff lined up for you going forward! Here’s a little recap/preview. NOW (well, not right now, but recently): 1) Writing: Hey, remember that… Read more »

Foodie Kidlit Friday: Interview with Taste Test author Kelly Fiore (and giveaway!)

Welcome to the first post in my brand new new blog series, Foodie Kidlit Friday! Every other Friday, I’ll be talking to authors of great food- and cooking-themed books for kids and teens, giving books away, and sharing recipes from my own forthcoming foodie middle-grade novel, All Four Stars. To kick the series off, I am so… Read more »

ALL FOUR STARS has a cover!

In case you haven’t already seen on Facebook and Twitter, today is the day that the cover for my debut middle-grade novel, All Four Stars, gets revealed to the public! The party’s happening over at Emu’s Debuts, where you can see the actual cover, and at Mother.Write.Repeat., where my lovely fellow Putnam author Krista Van Dolzer is… Read more »

Thanks, and links

First off, I’d like to thank everyone who commented, e-mailed me, and shared links on Twitter and Facebook about my recent post “First drafting: Now 96% faster.” I’m so glad to hear that some of the techniques I shared are resonating with fellow writers. I’m planning to do a (much shorter) follow-up post soon on a… Read more »

First drafting: Now 96% faster!

There are certain rules that, for a long time, I believed applied to me as a writer. For example: 1) You’re a slow writer. A first draft takes you years to finish. 2) You need to handwrite your first drafts. 3) Outlining too much interferes with your creative process. 4) You need to revise as… Read more »

Advice for writerly types

Hello, friends! It seems to be time for my monthly blog update. First of all, I have a new post up today at EMU’s Debuts called “Wisdom from the 2013 EMLA Retreat.” The title pretty much says it all: It’s filled with great bits of advice that I picked up from other writers at the… Read more »

This Is Just To Say

I have gotten a new title* for my novel I know you were probably attached to the old one** Forgive me the word “delicious” so sweet but so long   Apologies to poets everywhere. Read the original here. * All Four Stars ** The Delicious Double Life of Gladys Gatsby

PARCHED launches!

Hello, friends! This week, over at Emu’s Debuts, we’re celebrating the launch of my friend Melanie Crowder‘s debut novel, PARCHED. I have a new blog post up over there (featuring quite a few pictures from my round-the-world travels!) about water use around the world. And if you leave a comment, you’ll be entered to win… Read more »