Top 10 Books of 2018

When I posted my Top 10 Children’s Books before last Christmas, one of my friends asked if I had a Top 10 Books of 2018 list in the works. Of COURSE I did! Well, not at that very moment—but I thought it would be fun to develop one after the new year. Then I got […]

Protagonist Pet Peeves: The “Pretty” Protagonist

“I am too skinny.” “My hair is a curly mess.” “My hair is too straight. It hangs limply on my shoulders, no body to speak of.” “I hate my freckles.” “My feet are too big.” “Too pale.” “Too dark.” “I hate my knees.” “I wish my hair were blonde/shiny/naturally curled like [insert minor character here].” […]

How to Create a Bad Protagonist: My First Mistake

My first shelved novel had some issues (hence: shelved). It was complete, it had been through seven (eight, maybe?) drafts, sentences had been lovingly crafted and tweaked. My beta readers all agreed that “once you got into it,” it was a good read. I wrote about how to know you have the wrong protagonist in […]

The Best YA Hero

“Do you want Wendy’s or Arby’s?” he asked me. I pursed my lips, thinking. “Arby’s it is,” he said, turning the car. That’s right: he apparently knew that I wanted a beef and cheddar sandwich from the way my lips were scrunched. It’s interactions like these that make my husband Cap feel like a mind-reader. […]

What I Learned from Cutting 70,000 Words

The second draft of my first YA novel was 165,000 words long. I swore up and down that not one word could be removed without damaging the entire story. *snort* Then I began researching publication. The more I read from YA publishers and writing blogs, the more I became convinced that my query had to […]