September 2006

Do writers ever find their novel rhythm? How many books does it take? I feel like that owl on that old Tootsie Pop commercial. How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?? I’m starting on my 3rd book and with each book I feel like something is slightly dif

Two quick things: 1) My critique partner and YA author, Tina Ferraro, has joined the blogging ranks! She’s blogging with an entertaining group of YA authors over at Books, Boys, Buzz. The other contributing authors include MARLEY GIBSON, HEATHER DAVIS KOENIG, STEPH HALE, SIMONE

I have been asked to participate in my first written interview. Hmm. This is actually pretty neat. Someone cares to interview me because I’m going to be published. Cool deal. The questions about my book, about the progression of it, are pretty thought-provoking . *gulp* The litt

Amazing what a picture can do. It can evoke a memory, which can evoke an emotion, which can cause such impact. Yesterday I brought out a box of photos. I have so many colored and black and white photos of the kids when they were infants as well as some when I was young that my aunt ga

So I sat down to write yesterday and by the time I got up I’d dished out six pages. It’s a lot easier to start a new story than it is to finish it, that’s I’ll got to say. =) But a good start is a good thing. Let’s talk TV for a bit… Last night I wa

Well, it’s been a week since I’ve been away from my YA novel and I’m glad. I do believe in time away from a project so that I can go back with a fresher perspective. I’ve debated whether I should work on it again before I hear from my editor and I’ve deci

Let’s say you’re at a retailer near you and happen to pick a book off the shelf by an author you’ve never read. You’ve heard this author recommended somewhere. Skim the cover, notice it’s not the type of story you usually read, but you’re willing to

Publisher Panel from The East of Eden Conference… Sorry, folks, since sending off my book, my mind is still recuperating. I haven’t felt the urge to blog too much. Hopefully after this weekend, I shall be refreshed! So I’m going to finish up the conference notes with

There have been some really cool promo ideas floating around the ‘net on how to use your myspace page to your full advantage, such as posting videos for visitors, vidlits, podcasts, and book readings. Obviously I’m in to finding ways to create visual promo without a high c

Publicizing You and Your BookWorkshop by Edie Matthews Should you think about hiring a publicist, you may have to pay anywhere from 2k – 10k. Not everyone has that kind of money, and sometimes you’ll have to be your own publicist especially if you’re just starting ou