Lately, every time I get going on my writing I kill the buzz by thinking about what I’m doing wrong. When I wrote my first novel I plowed ahead blindly, but now I have a serious case of knowing too…
Two of my favorite YA novels, The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp and the Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, are written by men about boys in trouble. I feel guilty admitting this given that I’m a woman…
With the scent of roses in the air and the taste of chocolate lingering on my tongue, my thoughts turn to Valentine’s Days of yore. I remember in third grade when everyone was exchanging valentines, I gave one to every…
I recently got laid off from an IT job I’d held for 35 years (I really did stay at an insurance company that long) and became a debut author. This has been, without a doubt, an exciting time. But new…
When I discover that one or both parents are dead in a YA novel, I don’t feel sad. I think, oh no, here we go again. As 10 Worn-out Cliches in YA states, “The death toll of parents in YA…
Although here in Boston winter took a long time coming, the temperature has finally plummeted and there’s actual snow on the ground. No more of that 40-degree pseudo-winter! Being a true New Englander, I always embraced winter with downhill skiing,…