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...
Last Tuesday (just over one week ago???), we officially welcomed The Eleventh Trade into the world! This debut week has been seriously amazing and also seriously so fast, so I’m going to try to capture it quickly for you all! Tuesday, September 18: Sarah Driver flew in from the UK prior to my launch, and together we presented a talk at Christopher Newport University entitled Research & Creative Writing. I had reserved a room for 50 people, but we overshot that a bit and had some students sitting on the floor. We talked about the why, where, how, and when of researching, and...
We are only 12 days from the launch of The Eleventh Trade. THIS IS NOT A DRILL, PEOPLE. On September 18th, my book baby will be on the shelves. For anyone to see. And read. So what does the life of an about-to-debut author person look like? Well… Busy Busy Busy The next month or two promises to be very exciting! And also very crazy! Next week, I’ll be presenting a talk about Creative Writing and Research with my lovely Sarah Driver at Christopher Newport University. The following Tuesday, September 18th, is launch day (!!!!). The launch party will be held at...
As I mentioned in my last post, I recently did a huge website overhaul to make sure my blog was appropriate for a fancy author sort of person. Also, since a lot of you seem to like my blog post about author business card designs, it seems that sharing a few tips from my research here might be helpful. There are three main elements to any web design — hosting, the design itself (the way it looks), and the content (what’s on it + the way it’s organized). I’m going to address them all below, and give you some ideas...
Hello, my lovelies! It has been Quite A While since the last real update, and that is because life and writing has been crazy. Mostly the good sort of crazy. But yes, crazy. Today I’m excited to officially announce my spiffy new look, brought to you in part by the wonderful Jonelle Jones. I knew that my website needed an overhaul with the approaching launch of my debut The Eleventh Trade, and I wanted to treat myself to a pro’s creative expertise. I have to admit, it was nice to put this in someone else’s hands and be the client in the freelance relationship...
Today is World Refugee Day! Later on, I’ll be spending my afternoon on the library floor reading with new friends. But I wanted to share a list of some of the books I’ve loved that cover refugee topics. These are in no particular order, but I’ve listed them with their publisher’s descriptions below. What books about refugees do you love? Tell me in the comments so I can add them to my massive TBR list! Picture Books: The Journey by Francesca Sanna With haunting echoes of the current refugee crisis this beautifully illustrated book explores the unimaginable decisions made as...
I’m so THRILLED to introduce you guys to my debut’s UK cover. Richard Merritt, Cherie Chapman, and the team over at Piccadilly Press have done a fab job putting this together, and I cannot wait to hold a copy in my hands. I always like it when authors post the cover process, so that’s what we’re gonna do! Also, I’m a bit unusual in that I’ve been working with both my UK and US publishers simultaneously on this project. So while the UK was building these concepts, the US was already several months into a completely different look, which may or...
Things have been scarce on the blog recently, and that’s down to three things: Deadlines for The Eleventh Trade revision The Invisible Boy draft 2 writing WriteOnCon‘s fundraiser!!!!! It’s the last thing I want to talk about today. If you don’t remember, WriteOnCon is an online kidlit conference covering everything from picture books to young adult, featuring tons of industry specialists from all around the spectrum. (I am personally incredibly ecstatic about GAIL CARSON LEVINE who is COMING TO THE CONFERENCE and I CAN’T EVEN DEAL!!!!!!!!!!!) Since I’ve been doing a lot over on WriteOnCon, I don’t want you guys to miss out....
Back in the spring, Bath Spa University contacted me about an opportunity to film an interview with the British Council in Manchester. I was all, “Pffft, why would they want to fly me out to talk to me?” But they were all, “We’re actually making these cool videos for every UK university and we’d like to cover your story and we’ll pay for all your expenses.” And I was all, “WELL OKAY THEN.” So the last week of June, I found myself flying over the Pond yet again. This time I brought my sister along as my travel companion. I...
