This is my first Terrific Teen Tuesday with a soundtrack: When I was a high school student, among other writing that I did, I wrote song lyrics. I remember showing some of my lyrics to my classmates in creative writing class. Oddly enough, I did not show them to Mrs Crooks. Maybe I should have. … More Terrific Teen Tuesday – Teens Who Rap

The Winner of the Spooktacular Giveaway is SARAH (The Mortician’s Daughter). Congrats Sarah! She wins ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD by Kendare Blake. Here’s what GoodReads says about ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD: Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.  So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost … More Spooktacular Giveaway Hop – ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD – WINNER!!!

Yesterday I was thinking about becoming a teacher, a scary prospect for a number of reasons. The truth is, I’m not that academically inclined. I could never be an elementary teacher because I think my math skills are just about at the level of my daughter (she’s 8). For high school I could be an … More Terrific Teen Tuesday – Teaching the Teachers

In honor of Halloween I’m giving away the ultra-spooky ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD  by Kendare Blake. To enter all you need to is add one of my books to your Goodreads shelves OR follow this blog OR follow me on Twitter (comment to tell me what you’ve done). Don’t forget to click on the Spooktacular Giveaway Hop Image … More Spooktacular Giveaway Hop – ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD

When I started writing novels (aged about 10) I had no choice but to use a pencil and paper. I still have some of those early efforts. They are awful. Later I used an old typewriter. I didn’t know it at the time but I now realize this typewriter was much older than it needed … More Random Websites I Use While Writing

So this weekend a dream  sledgehammered me in the side of the head with a Shiny New Idea. So sparkly and shiny it came with a premise, a setting, a plot, the main character’s name (which led naturally to a naming strategy for all the characters), several scenes, visual motifs and a title. I wrote … More A Vampire/Reaper/Angel by Any Other Name

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday is a meme started by Shannon Messenger as a way of celebrating middle grade books on the web. Check her blog for a list of contributing bloggers each week. This week for MMGM I’m going to remind you all of a great trilogy for confident middle graders, THE SEA OF TROLLS … More MMGM : THE SEA OF TROLLS by Nancy Farmer

I have a confession to make. I’m addicted to broken boys. Now before you start getting all “but can’t you see how BAD he is for you. You deserve better etc” let me clarify; I’m only addicted to fictional broken boys. My real life boy is actually a relatively unbroken grown man. When I was … More I ♥ Broken Boys

The wonderful  Holly Bodger tagged me in this so I must respond, else I risk getting beat with a big red hat. Here it goes: Answers for The Next Big Thing What is your working title of your book? THE FRAIL DAYS Where did the idea come from for the book? I’ve wanted to write … More I got tagged – THE NEXT BIG THING

For Marvelous Middle Grade Monday This week I’m thrilled to present a guest post by Lucy (aged 8) who is reviewing the SISTERS 8 series by Lauren Baratz-Logsted with Greg Logsted and Jackie Logsted Full disclosure (Mom said I should say that): I didn’t read Annie’s Adventure (book 1) although Mom says I did a couple … More Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays – THE SISTERS EIGHT