I am happy to report that I’m currently reading Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, thanks to the many great suggestions I found on last week’s Road Trip Wednesday on YA Highway. It is the first book I purchased on the (gasp) Nook color I got for my birthday. If you’ve read my blog before,...
What a fun day in the blog-o-sphere. Jamie over at J’aime… was kind enough to award my blog a Liebster Blog Award. The Liebster Award showcases bloggers with fewer than 200 followers. Thank you so much Jamie! Once the Award has been bestowed on your blog, pay it forward and recognize 5 other bloggers. Here...
**I’m updating this post because it perfectly answers YA Highway’s Road Trip Wednesday question: What was the best book you read in September? I can’t wait eat up all the juicy suggestions from fellow readers! I mentioned last week that I would save the review for White Cat for another time, and here it is!...
Why the Publishing Industry Isn’t Dying One of the great things about my writing conference last month was talking about great YA books with other people who love YA books. So here are two lessons I need to mark down as learned. 1. When someone who loves the same books you do says you have...
My boys were playing with friends last week, and the game of choice was making silly videos with their cameras. My boys are seven and five. Their friend burst into the room with joy, eager to show me the video she couldn’t wait to put on YouTube. Of course I paused to contemplate how much...
Back in June, an article in The Wall Street Journal caused a stir in the world of young adult fiction. (You can read it here.) I follow what goes on in that universe because I mainly read YA books, and I’m writing one. Most everyone with an online presence in the YA world had something...
A few months ago, I was convincing my husband to take me to Lollapalooza for our anniversary. He swears I’ve permanently damaged his hearing dragging him to concerts, but he usually indulges me anyway. While searching for flights and hotels, somehow I stumbled upon a writing conference taking place the same weekend, in Jacksonville. This...
It’s finished. Last night I finished the first draft of my YA novel. I haven’t blogged in a while because I’ve spent all my writing energy on this draft, and I can’t believe that I’ve finally done it. The feeling is not quite as sweet this time around; I know that the hardest part still...
Show, don’t tell. If you’ve ever taken a class or read a book on writing, you’ve heard it. Three little words provide the best, simplest writing advice. But this perfect sentence has an obnoxious cousin: “Easier said than done.” What got me thinking about showing verses telling? When I’m online, I usually end up on...
My favorite and most reliable way to find great new books used to be asking friends what they were reading and loving. I still do that. But my new method has moved up on the list, and it has me pretty excited. Following blogs and tweets in the publishing industry leads to an ever-expanding network...
