Hey there, friends and readers!
So glad you found my blog, but if you want more up-to-date news and info about me, my books and upcoming events, head on over to my website:
Saturday, February 17, 2024
Sunday, February 19, 2023
It's Publisher's Weekly Official!
New Book Deal!
So excited to announce--just as The Claiming is releasing into the world and finding new readers--The Winter Heir, book 2, in the Fractured Kingdoms series has been picked up for publication!
Saturday, January 28, 2023
Release Day!
And it's happening! The Claiming has gone out into the world! Happy book birthday!
It can be found...pretty much everywhere in print and digital. Here are some links:
Monday, November 21, 2022
Thursday, March 11, 2021
It's Official!
I'm delighted to share that The Claiming has been picked up by the incredible Val Mathews at The Wild Rose Press. I can't wait to share these quirky misfit characters with the world!
Monday, January 25, 2021
Exciting News!
So happy to officially announce that I am now represented by the wonderful and fabulous Shannon Orso of Victress Literary!
Not only does Shannon really know her stuff, but the community of writers and agents at Victress is unbelievably supportive of each other--always pushing each other to create their best works. I can't wait to get going!
Monday, November 16, 2020
Tuesday, September 15, 2020
So Excited!
The 2020 PNWA Conference is coming up--which is super exciting in and of itself--so many great authors, agents, and editors presenting.
But my personally exciting news is that I have been selected as a FINALIST in the Literary Contest for my YA Contemporary, Fish Food and Other Constellations.
Honored, thrilled. All the good feelings.
Can't wait for the conference!
Thursday, June 6, 2019
Writing is Revision
We all know this.
It doesn't make it easier.
We want to take that first draft and shine it up a bit and be finished, praying that somehow the amazing thing we had in our heads miraculously translated onto the page.
It doesn't work like that.
Polishing up a first draft would be the equivalent of scooping raw clay from the earth, applying glaze and throwing it in the kiln. I'm not an expert on pottery, but I'm pretty sure that would lead to a shiny glob. Not useful. Not too beautiful.
But, if we were to take that pile of raw earthen stuff, and start to shape it, it could be beautiful. That's the work of drafting and revising. It's taking things out, and stretching. It's molding and shaping. It's coming to look at that material and finding new properties in it.
And then undergoing the firing process--working out the impurities--let's call that critique. It's all necessary.
Maybe it's painful. Maybe the "firing" hurts--I've had a couple of occasions when the critique poked my buttons--or found buttons I didn't know I had. And even then, when I took a step back and looked honestly at the work, I could see the value in those observations. And I was able to make the work better.
And that's the point, right?
We have these characters in our heads, and we want to honor their stories in the very best way that we can. That's what I have to remind myself through the revision process. That it's getting better. That my characters are becoming real--to someone other than me. That their stories are absolutely worth every arduous revision.
It doesn't make it easier.
We want to take that first draft and shine it up a bit and be finished, praying that somehow the amazing thing we had in our heads miraculously translated onto the page.
It doesn't work like that.
Polishing up a first draft would be the equivalent of scooping raw clay from the earth, applying glaze and throwing it in the kiln. I'm not an expert on pottery, but I'm pretty sure that would lead to a shiny glob. Not useful. Not too beautiful.
But, if we were to take that pile of raw earthen stuff, and start to shape it, it could be beautiful. That's the work of drafting and revising. It's taking things out, and stretching. It's molding and shaping. It's coming to look at that material and finding new properties in it.
And then undergoing the firing process--working out the impurities--let's call that critique. It's all necessary.
Maybe it's painful. Maybe the "firing" hurts--I've had a couple of occasions when the critique poked my buttons--or found buttons I didn't know I had. And even then, when I took a step back and looked honestly at the work, I could see the value in those observations. And I was able to make the work better.
And that's the point, right?
We have these characters in our heads, and we want to honor their stories in the very best way that we can. That's what I have to remind myself through the revision process. That it's getting better. That my characters are becoming real--to someone other than me. That their stories are absolutely worth every arduous revision.
Sunday, March 18, 2018
SCBWI: Cheerleaders for the "Not Yet"
Writers live notoriously lonely lives. And maybe a few people make it really big and get to tour their published books, greeted by thousands of adoring fans. But even those folks still have to go back to their laptops/desktops/notebooks and sit down and write new things. All by themselves.
And yet we know that we need community. We need collaborators. We need encouragers. And for those of us who are not (yet) published, we need people around us to give us that voice of face to face encouragement, that little nudge to keep going. Much of this can happen in relationships with agents and editors.
But I am not there yet. I hope to be someday. In the meantime, I have SCBWI.
This is the Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. They can be found at www.scbwi.org
I stumbled across them while living in Germany. I found a critique group because of them. Then, when I moved to Portland, Oregon, I found another. I started going to mini-workshops and conferences.
There were maybe two dozen people at my first workshop in Stuttgart--I had no idea what it would be like. I didn't know any of the publishing terms. I wouldn't share anything out loud. And still, these lovely people welcomed me--at least they let me eat lunch with them and ask dozens of questions.
In the next and the next and the next, I learned more publishing terms and protocols. I started to learn how to hone my craft. I am still learning, and at each event I can squeeze in--which are admittedly few and far between--I take away one more small nugget of insight or encouragement.
At one of these, a newly published author encouraged us all that if we weren't published, it was a matter of "Not Yet" not an issue of "Not Ever". It had taken her two decades to get that first book out in the world. "Yet" became the watchword for the weekend. And I have been hanging on to it since.
Thank you to all of the people I have met through SCBWI--for your encouragement and enthusiasm and for making me a name tag that reads "writer".
And yet we know that we need community. We need collaborators. We need encouragers. And for those of us who are not (yet) published, we need people around us to give us that voice of face to face encouragement, that little nudge to keep going. Much of this can happen in relationships with agents and editors.
But I am not there yet. I hope to be someday. In the meantime, I have SCBWI.
This is the Society for Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. They can be found at www.scbwi.org
I stumbled across them while living in Germany. I found a critique group because of them. Then, when I moved to Portland, Oregon, I found another. I started going to mini-workshops and conferences.
There were maybe two dozen people at my first workshop in Stuttgart--I had no idea what it would be like. I didn't know any of the publishing terms. I wouldn't share anything out loud. And still, these lovely people welcomed me--at least they let me eat lunch with them and ask dozens of questions.
In the next and the next and the next, I learned more publishing terms and protocols. I started to learn how to hone my craft. I am still learning, and at each event I can squeeze in--which are admittedly few and far between--I take away one more small nugget of insight or encouragement.
At one of these, a newly published author encouraged us all that if we weren't published, it was a matter of "Not Yet" not an issue of "Not Ever". It had taken her two decades to get that first book out in the world. "Yet" became the watchword for the weekend. And I have been hanging on to it since.
Thank you to all of the people I have met through SCBWI--for your encouragement and enthusiasm and for making me a name tag that reads "writer".
Friday, December 1, 2017
NaNoWriMo 2017
Good Morning NanNoWriMos!
Congratulations to everyone who took the challenge and wrote something--anything--during the month of November. You rock!
This was my third year of trying to write a 50,000 word novel in a month. And apparently the old cliche is true--the third time is a charm. I actually finished it this year!
But I don't want to belittle the experience of previous years. Every time we sit down to write intentionally, good things happen. Maybe not the best writing. Maybe there is a whole lot of pretty terrible writing, actually, but somewhere in the muck, some small gems rise to the surface, and those are the things that keep us going--when we find that one good thing, that we can develop, and polish. Maybe it is how a character really came to life for just one scene. Maybe an arc that was bothering me worked itself out. Then all of the terrible writing is worth it.
Today, I am enjoying a slowly consumed cup of coffee, and I think I might just read a little--something that isn't mine. Any suggestions?
Congratulations to everyone who took the challenge and wrote something--anything--during the month of November. You rock!
This was my third year of trying to write a 50,000 word novel in a month. And apparently the old cliche is true--the third time is a charm. I actually finished it this year!
But I don't want to belittle the experience of previous years. Every time we sit down to write intentionally, good things happen. Maybe not the best writing. Maybe there is a whole lot of pretty terrible writing, actually, but somewhere in the muck, some small gems rise to the surface, and those are the things that keep us going--when we find that one good thing, that we can develop, and polish. Maybe it is how a character really came to life for just one scene. Maybe an arc that was bothering me worked itself out. Then all of the terrible writing is worth it.
Today, I am enjoying a slowly consumed cup of coffee, and I think I might just read a little--something that isn't mine. Any suggestions?
Friday, March 6, 2015
Question: What do age categories do for literature?
I am going to start proposing some questions to some things am I thinking about. Posting here helps me to "talk it out" in my own head. it's a bit of an indulgence, but bear with me.
So I am wondering about some of the limitations set by terms like "middle grade", "YA" or "Adult" in fiction. I like to write characters who are 18, 19, 20 years old. They are no longer "coming of age". That has pretty much happened. But they ARE coming into BEING. Who they are going to be as adults is forming.
As I think back onto my own life development, so, so, so much more happened from the 18-21 years than in the 14-17 (not that a LOT wasn't going on then, too) in terms of WHO I was really on my way to becoming. This stage really interests me as a writer. It interests me as a person. When I was in the classroom, I loved my seniors the best. I loved watching those who were graduating stepping out into a "real world", seeing them just transitioning to their soon-to-be adult selves.
I find college students delightful. Both their messiness and their maturity. I am just lucky enough to get to interact pretty regularly with a handful. Seeing the world through their nascent experiences is pretty awesome.
So, I want to write about them.
But WHERE do we put them? What type of category do we give to a "coming of being" story? It's not really adult. It's a little past typical young adult.
I do not want to criticize genre or sub-genre here. It has served the world of published fiction well. It serves me well when I wander the aisles in my favorite bookstore or mine the shelves of the library. I have some expectations for what I might find because of categorization. We need them. But I do want to suggest that there are limitations.
And I am wondering, what do we do about this?
So I am wondering about some of the limitations set by terms like "middle grade", "YA" or "Adult" in fiction. I like to write characters who are 18, 19, 20 years old. They are no longer "coming of age". That has pretty much happened. But they ARE coming into BEING. Who they are going to be as adults is forming.
As I think back onto my own life development, so, so, so much more happened from the 18-21 years than in the 14-17 (not that a LOT wasn't going on then, too) in terms of WHO I was really on my way to becoming. This stage really interests me as a writer. It interests me as a person. When I was in the classroom, I loved my seniors the best. I loved watching those who were graduating stepping out into a "real world", seeing them just transitioning to their soon-to-be adult selves.
I find college students delightful. Both their messiness and their maturity. I am just lucky enough to get to interact pretty regularly with a handful. Seeing the world through their nascent experiences is pretty awesome.
So, I want to write about them.
But WHERE do we put them? What type of category do we give to a "coming of being" story? It's not really adult. It's a little past typical young adult.
I do not want to criticize genre or sub-genre here. It has served the world of published fiction well. It serves me well when I wander the aisles in my favorite bookstore or mine the shelves of the library. I have some expectations for what I might find because of categorization. We need them. But I do want to suggest that there are limitations.
And I am wondering, what do we do about this?
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