holy bucketfuls of AWESOMENESS. i received an overwhelmingggggggggggg amount of enthusiasm when i asked if you would be interested in a newsletter, and i'm so pleased to announce that you can now sign up for one! if there's something you'd love to know about writing, or publishing (or anything in general!), please feel free to… Continue reading Newsletter sign-ups are here!
Category: Writing Life
Second drafts, behind-the-scenes, and how to know which facts to keep or cut
i turned this beauty in yesterday!! revisions are my favorite part of the process; they’re where i go in and fine-tune details, check historical accuracy, and decide what to keep or cut away in order to streamline the concept. (in this case, the murder mystery!) one question i’m often asked by aspiring writers at book… Continue reading Second drafts, behind-the-scenes, and how to know which facts to keep or cut
ESCAPING FROM HOUDINI is now available everywhere!
dear readers, for someone who works with words on a daily basis, i'm finding it EXTREMELY difficult to express how excited i am that ESCAPING FROM HOUDINI is in stores TODAY!!! this whole publishing journey has felt like a wonderful dream, and it's totally surreal that my THIRD book is now in the world. i… Continue reading ESCAPING FROM HOUDINI is now available everywhere!
Teaser Tuesday – Stalking Jack the Ripper; Ides of March Style
When we first read Shakespeare's Julius Caesar in high school, one of the minor characters I was IMMEDIATELY taken with was the soothsayer. He utters the cryptic line, "Beware the Ides of March," and to this day I can't help saying it in an overly dramatic/ominous tone. It was such a small, but significant detail. And the creepy… Continue reading Teaser Tuesday – Stalking Jack the Ripper; Ides of March Style
Query Letter Critique (YA Contemporary)
Original Query: Almost fainting onstage should be a foolproof way to lose a battle of the bands. But seventeen-year-old singer Charlie’s sabotage backfires, and her all-girl band the Wretched Gretchens takes first place anyway. Cue the sappy “Hallelujah” music. It’s not that Charlie wants her band to break up—she’s just sick of her stage persona… Continue reading Query Letter Critique (YA Contemporary)
Query Critique (Non-fiction)
The Original Query: Address Address Address To Whom This May Concern, GO BLOG YOURSELF! What better way to showcase concrete research on blogging as a legit form of writing for students then to place it next to blog entries from the researcher, and teacher, herself? My book, GO BLOG YOURSELF, would include entries from two of… Continue reading Query Critique (Non-fiction)
Query Critique
Original Query: Dear (Agent), Small-time thief, big-time troublemaker, Tristan Storey has been accused of a murder he didn’t commit. And is going to hang for it. With a rope squeezed tightly around his neck, Tristan knows it’s the end, but just as his consciousness flickers, lightning tears down from the sky. It smashes the gallows, freeing the thief.… Continue reading Query Critique
The Girl with the Green Pen
I know I said I’d post a query critique each Wednesday, but this week I’m bumping it out to Friday (sorry!) to share some news with you. One of my dear friends (and the person I often refer to as “Critique Goddess”) is launching a new website for writers, and I cannot say enough about… Continue reading The Girl with the Green Pen
Query Critique
The Original Query: THE LOST STORY, completed at 80,000 words, is the tragic and triumphant story of Danielle (Dani) Caldwell, an American girl who meets a Cuban boy and falls in love, only to find their world-views divided over the Cuban Revolution. The story opens in 1980. Dani's walking through the streets of Manhattan when… Continue reading Query Critique
Query Letter OR First Page Critiques…
Hey blog friends! LONG time no speak - color me embarrassed. Did I mention you look super cute today? AND CAN YOU BELIEVE IT’S November?! (HAPPY NaNoWriMo!) As you know I was working on SECRET project, then I was editing SECRET project, then I started critiquing and beta’ing for a few of my friends/agent sisters,… Continue reading Query Letter OR First Page Critiques…
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