I recently saw the new Marvel movie, Dr. Strange. I enjoyed its dazzling dreamlike special effects but also found it helpful to me as writer. I’ve been struggling with how to make the [...]
NaNoWriMo has officially begun and not just for adults. Some teachers are even doing NaNoWriMo with their students. It’s pretty cool that trying to write a novel in a month has become a [...]
Suicide is the SECOND leading cause of death in people ages 12-18, and many people have been touched by this heart-breaking issue. There are a lot of resources available to teens struggling with [...]
When I set out to write a novel inspired by the case of Charles Schmid, the “Pied Piper of Tucson,” I knew from the start that I was not the only writer to find a story in this case.
I was recently talking to a woman about my book at a wake (yeah, I promote wherever I can 🙂 ). When I said, “It’s a YA thriller,” her eyes glazed over. I quickly added, [...]
Between the Zika virus and the latest warnings for Olympic athletes not to put their heads under the water in Brazil because it is full of disgusting stuff I’d rather not talk about here, [...]
I’m in my last week of Camp NaNoWriMo, a summer version of November NaNoWriMo in which you get to set your own word count goals and bunk in a virtual cabin with other writers. I wish I [...]
The horrific massacre in Orlando left me feeling helpless but I have to believe that one way to tackle the bigotry and hatred that triggered it is to provide young readers with books that promote [...]
I used to be a good girl, a little too good actually. In school I never talked to ‘my neighbors.’ It took years for me to work up the courage to tear that little label off my [...]
It finally feels like summer, which means I am enervated, craving ice tea, and in the mood to slather on sunscreen and read. There are so many YA summer reading lists out there it’s hard to [...]