I presented a workshop at the 2012 Illinois Reading Council in Springfield on March 15, to a room full of teachers and librarians, all interested in the subject of attracting reluctant teen boy readers. I feel i\’ve come full circle from 2008 when I attended a discussion about the same subject at the AWP (Association […]
Illinois Reading Council Read More »
Last week I discovered something about my novel, PULL. Somebody out there really likes it. And, they have nominated the book for two really big honors. PULL is a nominee in the Cybils Awards Young Adult Fiction category. This is the Children\’s and Young Adult Bloggers Literary Awards, and some blogger or fan liked the
Doing The Happy Dance Read More »
Advertisers will tell you, it\’s always easier and more cost effective to keep an existing customer than to go out and find a new one, or try recapturing a lost one. So it is with readers. No, I\’m not talking about my readers (well, yes I am, but only as a tangent) I\’m talking about
PULL\’s 2010 Reader\’s Choice award for it\’s first place in Young Adult books arrived in the mail today. I understand why it is affectionately known as a tombstone. Since I could not be in both New York for the RWA conference where the award was given, and in beautiful, if muggy, New Orleans for ALA and a
PULL Wins the National Reader\’s Choice Award – part 2 Read More »
I am a plotter. I\’ve tried pantsing it, and I get lost every time. I need to understand my beginning, middle checkpoints and ending before I can write word one. Especially I need that end, something for me to aim toward. That said, things change a lot between word one and the time I can
Plotting vs. Pantsing Read More »
I have been interviewed by Jo Ramsey about my writing journey on her blog, Where Fantasy and Reality Collide. Join me there, and read an excerpt from PULL. I hope you\’ll visit … and comment – it\’s lonely out there.
I’ve been interviewed Read More »
Today I am doing my once a month blog post at Romancing The Genres. I\’m going deeper into the subject of creating characters readers love–and love to hate. Come join me and tell me about your favorite characters. This is a follow-up to my first blog last week as a guest at Gemstate Writers
Characters – Part 2 Read More »
Todat I\’m doing double duty – attending the Love Is Brewing In Milwaukee conference, and guest blogging at Gem State Writers. My post there is the first of two blogs I\’ll be doing on ways to make characters walk and talk and act real. Please stop by and tell your own tactics.
Characters – Part 1 Read More »
I\’m in the final stages of being contest coordinator for my RWA chapter\’s writing contest – I know, I did it before and you\’d think I would learn, but for some reason I agreed to do it again. We have an all-electronic contest now – last time we tried to allow people to submit either
Things I learned from being a contest coordinator Read More »
Yesterday was my day for stardom. I was a guest on the Laura Dion-Jones Radio Show, WRMN 1410 AM broadcasting from Elgin, Illinois. (Someday I will have to put a radio program in one of my books). Naturally I alerted all my friends in the area – both of them (haha) – so they would listen in
My Fifteen Minutes of Fame Read More »