Ever have a bucket list item become a reality? Ever have two of your wildest dreams come true simultaneously? That was me in 2018. I had always, always dreamed of becoming a published author, and in 2017, I marked that off the bucket list when Macmillan published my YA Fantasy, TRAVELER. I longed to be on a high-level author panel, and was hopeful an invitation would open up somewhere. TRAVELER’s sequel, DREAMER, had just come out when a fellow author approached with an offer I had to pinch myself as… Read more Three Years Ago Today I Was A Panelist at Comic-Con →
Tropes: you love some – you hate some. And the truth is, tropes appear and reappear in stories for a reason. From the classic Cinderella story to the innocent maid winning the true-loving heart of the bad boy, a trope that is beautifully fleshed out, creatively spun, or turned on its head can rocket a story to greatness. Likewise, a badly written or tiredly overused trope can result in a book being thrown into the dreaded DNF (Did Not Finish) pile, and a trope that personally grinds your gears can… Read more Let’s Talk About Tropes We Hate →
I used to be one of those people who would never, I mean absolutely never listen to an audiobook. I knew I’d never have the same level of enjoyment. I loved visualizing as the words came off the page (or my Kindle) and filled my head. I couldn’t imagine hearing it. That wasn’t reading! It would surely lose much in the process. And then . . . I experienced a devastating brain injury that put me in the hospital for a month, and on short-term disability for nearly half a… Read more Print vs. Audio – Where Do You Stand? →
I am, and will forever mostly be a fantasy/sci-fi YA and romance writer. So when BLUE first crept into my brain, my first thought was, “Yeah, that would make a… Read more It’s Cover Reveal Day For BLUE! →
We all know 2020 was a rough year, and writing-wise, it was a mixed bag for me. Overall, I managed to: Finish 2 YA manuscripts Draft a new YA manuscript (and complete NaNoWriMo) Query 3 YA manuscripts Write and publish 2 romance novels Write and publish 3 romance novellas Publish a romance novella collection All during a pandemic while dealing with a special needs child virtually learning next to me while I’m working from home at the full-time day job. It’s been a challenging year, but damn. I’m proud of… Read more New Year, New Goals →
I’ve been through a bit of a writer rollercoaster lately (writercoaster?) first with my imprint shutting down, then my having to dump my non-responsive agent (who left agenting not long after). Now I’m back in the trenches with three different manuscripts under my arm, knocking on agent’s doors and begging them to pleasepleaseprettyplease read more than my first ten pages. It’s grueling, and the sad fact is for all of us in this position, only a very small percentage of agents respond at all. The few who do send you… Read more I May Have Book News Coming Soon . . . →
It’s official! I’ll be at NoVa TEEN Book Festival on March 30th! If you’re in the Northern Virginia/ DC area, come on out! They’ve got a fabulous lineup of authors,… Read more I’m Going To NoVa TEEN! →
That’s right! This Thursday, February 7th, TRAVELER is having a birthday! To celebrate the book that made me a traditionally published author, I’m giving away the following: Signed copies of… Read more It’s A Book Birthday Giveaway! →
