My eulogy for Josh, posted by special request from my family. Dammit, Josh It’s a phrase that everyone in this room has said at least once in the last 25 years. I yelled it quite frequently throughout the writing of this essay. And I cried every time. Joshua…
From the Burlington Free Press: JOSHUA GEORGE JARVIS – MORRISVILLE – Joshua Jarvis passed away unexpectedly in Tennessee on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2014. Josh’s life began on March 17, 1989. He was the youngest of three children to loving parents, William and Cherie Jarvis. Prankster Josh spent his childhood with a smile on his face and laughter in his…
I get it from my mother. You know, that thing we do as writers, where a word like “concinnity” gets stuck in your head, and when you’re reading through the manuscript six months later, the copy editor has wondered why anyone would use concinnity once, never mind thirteen times in one chapter. My first live, on-air TV interview was…
A few months ago, I got a very sad letter. It was from Candlewick Press, informing me that my very first picture book, AlphaOops: The Day Z Went First, would be going out of print in hardcover. My life has been pretty horrible since December, but I’ve managed to hold it together. This time, I totally lost it. I…
As mystified as I am by it storming here in Florida EVERY SINGLE AFTERNOON, I asked some of my friends on Facebook to help me come up with a playlist of songs about Rain. I had Patty Griffin’s “Rain” stuck in my head for three days (which prompted the question), and my ear worm has since moved on to…
This is still my favorite cover copy description: Once upon a time, a young girl walked into a world of wonder and delight. But that’s not where this story starts. The young woman she became published a nationally recognized children’s book and edited a star-filled collection of stories to benefit the tsunami relief effort. But that’s not where this…
Today would have been Jay Lake’s 50th birthday. He almost made it. Back in 2008, the discovery of Jay’s tumor rattled us all. I’d had my own tumor scare in 2005, so I knew that keeping a sense of humor about the situation was the most important thing. Jay had that in spades. Trouble was…this tumor was not benign….
As promised, here is the small speech I gave at the World Book Night Givers Reception last night at Gum Springs Library. xox ********************** “Words have power.” This phrase was said by Mama Woodcutter to her youngest daughter Sunday, in my novel Enchanted. Words have power. We all know this to be true…of course, in my book, I took…
My dearly beloved bosom companion Leanna Renee Hieber posted an incredibly fun and insightful interview last Monday about her writing process last week, and then asked if I wouldn’t mind answering the same questions in turn. But of course! And here they are: ************************************ What am I working on? Right now, I’m working on three things at once. I’m…
When I was young, I was often referred to as “The Little Girl With the Little Curl.” I had always thought of this as a Mother Goose nursery rhyme…until looking this up for National Poetry Month, I HAD NO IDEA it was penned by Longfellow. ***************************** There was a little girl By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow There was a little…
As we get ready for the THIEFTESS release on…
Dearest Squad, A new chapter is now live! Chapter…
I finished my novel on Wednesday. I had such…
