I’ve been spending the past few years getting my doctorate degree in creative writing with the thesis Breaking the Curse: Retelling a Folk Fairy Tale to Explore Trauma and Healing in Novels for Young People. During my research, I came across Donna Jackson Nakazawa’s brilliant book Childhood Disrupted. She included a resilience questionnaire, which I have adapted here for creative writers to use in their character development process. I recommend taking this questionnaire alongside the Adverse Childhood Experiences quiz. Resilience Questionnaire My character believes that their mother loves them. Definitely True Probably True Not Sure Probably Not True Definitely Not True My...
I’ve been spending the past few years getting my doctorate degree in creative writing with the thesis Breaking the Curse: Retelling a Folk Fairy Tale to Explore Trauma and Healing in Novels for Young People. As part of my research, I came across the Adverse Childhood Experiences quiz. I have adapted the quiz for creative writers to use in their character development process. I recommend taking this alongside the resilience questionnaire. The CDC’s Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACE Study) uncovered a stunning link between childhood trauma and the chronic diseases people develop as adults, as well as social and emotional problems....
Well, ahem, it’s been a while. I don’t know about you, but 2021 sped by for me. But I am here now with some updates! I’ve been busy the last few days updating this website with new resources and opportunities. You can browse the pages, but I’ll also summarize the new things here. Starting with the most exciting… Books The book page has been updated to reflect the latest award nominations (including The Invisibly Boy‘s inclusion on theJames Reckitt Hull Children’s Book Award KS3 Shortlist 2021!) and two new international covers for The Eleventh Trade. I absolutely adore the Turkish design, and...
This year has been a ride, hasn’t it? But there have been some good things happening, and I’m here to share them! PhD Program and Move Long-time readers will know that I loved my master’s at Bath Spa University. In fact, I loved it so much… I came back! Last fall, I applied for and was given admission to Bath Spa’s Creative Writing PhD program. Why do a PhD? A couple of reasons, including gaining experience, the opportunity to teach, and an excuse to return to the United Kingdom for a few years. My PhD project is on messages about...
One of the coolest things in my life was seeing my book out in the wild, but a close second? Seeing The Eleventh Trade in different languages — and the covers international publishers choose for the story. And now, a little under a year since the English language version launched, I can finally share all of the translations with you! If you want to see a cover in more detail, just click the picture. Van Niets Naar Iets (Dutch) & L’Ultimo Scambio (Italian) The Dutch and Italian version of The Eleventh Trade took the cover from the US design....
I’m so excited to share some information about my second book, The Invisible Boy! I already had the idea for this story back when I sold The Eleventh Trade. Now, almost two years and ten drafts later, I’m diving into the final sets of edits, getting the cover, and preparing to introduce the world to Nadia Quick. She’s an aspiring journalist (in the tradition of her hero, Lois Lane) and the only things she likes more than good stories are crazy leggings. The Invisible Boy launches June 9, 2020! Add it on Goodreads Cover art by Deborah Lee Nadia...
I hope you have enjoyed these flashback entries from WriteOnCon 2018! Remember to sign up for the 2019 conference, which takes place February 8-10! In this workshop, I talk about how to find your novel’s opening — one of the hardest parts of the process, if you ask me. I give short talks, then release the viewer to do writing exercises. I also read and discuss some of examples. Early in the workshop, I ask the viewers to answer these polls. You can’t vote in them now (sorry!) but I’m including them as examples below. My YA fantasy is about a girl...
I’m continuing my theme of sharing my events from WriteOnCon 2018 (an annual online kidlit writing conference I help organize) in preparation for WriteOnCon 2019. If you haven’t signed up yet, you should! This is a recording of a live workshop I did (which basically covers the premises in my How Plot and Narrative Strengthen Stories entry). You can still follow along yourself, try out the exercises, and hear me discuss people’s entries. Questions? Leave a comment here!
Last year for WriteOnCon 2018 (an annual online kidlit writing conference I help organize), I worked with the lovely Sarah Driver and Jess Butterworth to put together a video that would entertain and educate. We all selected an excerpt from one of our first creative projects and then took a bit from the first chapters of our debut books. As we discuss and critique our writing (and the ways it’s changed), we talk through tips that can help young writers on their way. It was a lot of fun! Included in here is a sneak peak at the Very First...
In 2018, I exceeded my initial goal of 50 books and went on to read 100 (aka my secret goal). Many of these were Middle Grade (surprise!), with a scattering of rom-com YA and some non-fiction. I also read 50+ picture books… which I didn’t always count on Goodreads but which I’ll list here cause picture books are amazing. Below are some of my favorites from the year, with their publishers’ descriptions and a little note about what I liked. You can see the complete list of my year in reading (sans some picture books) here. Picture Books King...
