Finding the Right Title
It’s almost a rite of passage to have to change the title of your book when it sells to a publisher, and I fully expected that to happen to me. I figured it would be just one more step in…
Author Archives: Emily Ross
10 Ways to Paint a Portrait With Words
I often struggle with describing my characters. Right now, I’m banging my head against a wall trying to describe a teenage boy who has visions as more than a blond hunk. This is all the more frustrating because my mother…
How the Pied Piper of Tucson Led Me to My Story
Some writers keep returning to the story they have to tell until they get it right. When I started my YA novel Half in Love with Death (Merit Press – December 2015), I’d already abandoned two novels about a young…
The Twelve Books of Christmas
Based on a recent tortuous visit to the mall I’d have to say tis the season of babies bawling their eyes out on Santa’s lap. But tis also the season of lists — best of lists, worst of lists, lists…
Why Adults Should Read YA
I was sitting on a crowded beach the other day, when I overheard a 50-something guy say, “Did you know The Way Way Back was filmed in Onset?” The man on the towel next to him replied, “I liked that…
Voice Lessons for Writers
My daughter first sang in public when she was three years old. I can still see her in a dark-flowered dress, fearlessly belting out “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” in a husky voice that someone once referred to as a whiskey…