I'm an emphatic person by nature so when a tragedy or a natural disaster strikes, it touches me very deeply. I start thinking about what's important and what I need to be doing to make a difference. Of course the latest tragedy that has been heavy on my heart is the Haiti Earthquake. I feel like money is not enough in this type of desperate situation and it also makes me wonder why I should bother to revise my novel when people are suffering. Then I remembered a 2003 interview* with Kate … [Read more...]
Dream Big or Go Home
January 13, 2010 Read Comments
Lisa Schroeder has an awesome series all this month on her blog, Dream Big 2010. The series highlights 26 authors for kids and teens who write about the topic of dreaming in a BIG way. So far, the authors have been great with their advice. Here are just a few of my favorite quotes from the series: "I continued to be open to the idea that ANYTHING is possible, and many things in life have happened only because someone dreamt the idea first." - Lisa Schroeder "If the thought of … [Read more...]
Writing Mentors
January 11, 2010 Read Comments
I was really bummed out because the icy weather here in Atlanta canceled my first meeting with my critique group. It's been a minute since I've met up with them. Almost a year I think. I was going to blog about critique groups but will save it for next week when we meet again (weather permitting, I hope). So I thought I would talk about writer mentors. I believe aspiring writers benefit from having a writer mentor. Someone who they can learn from and who they can go to with questions … [Read more...]
Flashback Friday (1)
January 8, 2010 Read Comments
This is a first of a periodic series that I'll be featuring on the blog this year. Since I write primarily young-adult fiction, I thought it might be fun to revisit my own life during this time period. I've kept a journal since I was five years old (seriously) and I've uncovered some interesting artifacts from high school during the recent holiday visit to my parent's house. It's funny because there are some things that never change for teens. Case in point, the "getting to know you" … [Read more...]
