I peruse blogs through Bloglines as a mental palate cleanser between jobs (i.e. fritter time away before getting back to work). Often I think, “I should blog about that.” But I usually don’t. This blog post, on Crowe’s Nest, fully expresses how I feel about writing and rejection. I’ve had to look hard at all [...]
I am hooked on listening to TED talks when I work (not writing fiction, but all the other things I do on my computer that help earn me money). This talk is very worth listening to when you have a free moment for inspiration. I’ll return to my discussion of a writer’s business plan tomorrow [...]
I am remiss. BenBella Books has reissued an updated version of Secrets of The Dragon Riders, which contains fabulous essays by YA authors on the series by Christopher Paolini (Eragon). We all updated our essays after Brsinger was released. Mine, entitled “My Dragon, Myself” was fun to write and fun to update — I want [...]
I am not said writer. Said writer, Tim of This Machine Kills Purists wrote a rebuttal set of Top Ten Rules for Writers (the real “rules” posted most recently by the Guardian, but blogged and Twittered everywhere).
My favorite of them all is:
Never open a book with the weather. Use your fingers instead.
Brilliant. And true. And [...]
I am experimenting with adding things to my webpage. The publisher of my YA is offering a Widget that displays my books on the sidebar, with a click-through to whatever on-line vendor might please the reader. Cool beans (what does that mean? I live in New England and beans are not cool…whatever).
Something I did (or [...]
Okay, I said I would stop being so serious, but I needed some help, so I’m turning to Kay Cassidy, who is very good at making the serious seem fun. First, she runs The Great Scavenger Hunt Contest on her website, which is a way to connect teens to libraries and YA books. If you’re [...]
My favorite thing about winter is that I can keep a pot of water hot on the woodstove and make tea whenever I want to.
Not long ago, I was in the Maine Mall and got sucked into a tea tasting event that the Teavana store was having. The teas were all terrific, but pricey. The [...]
Has anyone else stumbled over the series called Legend of the Seeker, based on the work of Terry Goodkind? I’m hooked — well against the odds. First, I barely watch TV, and very little on a regular basis (this isn’t snobbery at work, just too much work, not enough time, which I plan to address [...]
The Broken Teaglass, by Emily Arsenault, spoke to me for some reason, even before I read it. Something about the title attracted me. And then I found out it was about a lexicographer (who works at a dictionary publisher, my dream job…though I didn’t know it until I read this book).
If you’re looking for fast-paced, [...]
I heart Suzanne Collins (despite the fact that her name is similar to my state’s not-so-heartish junior Senator). When I heard the plot of Hunger Games, I had to read it. I loved it. But then I heard that Catching Fire had a cliffhanger ending, so I wasn’t going to read it. Until it jumped [...]
