I was tagged by my dear friend Alma Katsu to participate in this infamous NEXT BIG THING meme that’s going around. I was asked to answer the following questions about the book I was working on at the time, and then tag more people at the end. Want to know a little more about Hero? Here are my answers:…
It’s that time of year again! And yes, before you ask, I completely support this contest and have no qualms about it having an entry fee. There needs to be a limited amount of entries, and all entrants will receive feedback on their manuscripts. If you look closely, you’ll see that YOURS TRULY is the celebrity prize critiquer for…
What better way to celebrate the world NOT ending that listening to a very fun interview with me, hosted by the Roundtable Podcast? (I certainly can’t think of anything.) Alethea Kontis – author of “Enchanted” (recently listed on Kirkus Reviews among the “Best Teen Books of 2012“), the award-winning “Alpha-Oops” series, and so much more – is a passionate…
(This blog is part of the SFWA Norton Award Blog Tour.) ************* I don’t really get nervous speaking in front of crowds anymore. Public speaking is one of those skills that can be exceptionally difficult to learn, but well worth braving that initial terror to get to the other side. The biggest benefit is that when someone in an…
Issue #43 of Apex Magazine is now live! Featuring: Fiction “Blood from Stone” by Alethea Kontis “Labyrinth” by Mari Ness “Relic” by Jeffrey Ford Nonfiction “Blood on Vellum: Notes from the Editor-in-Chief” by Lynne M. Thomas “You’re Not Supposed to Write That: Taboos in Speculative Fiction” by Vylar Kaftan “An Interview with Alethea Kontis” by Maggie Slater Click the…
I’m discussing the Killing of Darlings today over at the Waterworld Mermaid site. “So…I didn’t end up completing NaNoWriMo. Again. And let’s be honest–I didn’t really try. I finished my third pass of revisions by November 10th or so, but sometimes a body just gets SO EXHAUSTED that it’s like getting the flu. Everything shuts down, emotionally and physically,…
Happy Monday, everyone! This is a very special Monday, as it’s also the birthday of my beautiful older sister Cherie, the inspiration for Monday Woodcutter. People always ask authors if any of their characters are based on real people. As a general rule, the characters in books are always based on some facet of the author him/herself. But sometimes,…
I’ve been hanging on to this because I wanted to make sure I shared it with you guys — it’s the book trailer for my friend Amanda Brice‘s middle grade novel Codename: Dancer: A Dani Spevak Mystery. TELL me this doesn’t look supercute. Such a great video!!! I love the little icon people and Dani’s voice over. She’s got…
Google Alerts sent me to this really great review of The Wonderland Alphabet over at GEEKS OF DOOM. The review is gushing…which is ALWAYS nice…but the reviewer chooses J as her favorite poem. Which is funny, because when I first wrote the poetry for Janet’s art show, J was my favorite too. I do not fear the ticking…
During this frantic NaNoWriMo season, I wanted to share some wonderful writing tips from famous writers (from the Timesoak blog compilation): Roald Dahl: “And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” Agatha Christie:…
Dearest Squad, A new chapter is now live! Chapter…
I finished my novel on Wednesday. I had such…
Joan Wilder was always my hero. I was 8…
