September Feature!

I’m thrilled to be Featured Follower for the month of September on author C. Lee McKenzie’s blog, TheWriteGame! Lee, whom I met through Uncommon YA, is a widely-published author of young adult and middle grade novels. She’s also a wonderfully gracious supporter of fellow authors. Visit her site this month to learn more about me […]

The Great Divide

First appeared on Uncommon YA on October 17, 2014 Think of the last book that grabbed you, kept you up all night, vowing to quit after just one more chapter. Remember finishing that chapter and, despite your best efforts, being unable to close the cover? That’s the feeling I strive to create in readers, that […]

Lions, Tigers, and Bears?

NOPE! More like bullies, giraffes and cats. Oh my! Post first appeared on Uncommon YA, Friday, 4/11/14. A neighborhood stray dies in the street near our house. A giraffe graces the blacktop of our local mall. John R * * * * * * * repeatedly punches my arm in Mr. Whealon’s 11th grade history […]

Oh, to have known…

First appeared 2/20/14 on Uncommon YA Sensitive is not a dirty word. Artistic is not an insult. Creative should be considered a compliment. And just because someone doesn’t spend his every waking hour “working,” that doesn’t mean he’s lazy. So yeah, clearly, I’m still chipping away at the old adolescent angst all these years later, […]

Some Thoughts on My Year in Print

Post first appeared on Uncommon YA, 1/15/14. Hollywood has not come calling. I have not been mobbed on the street by eager readers. I have yet to churn out—in the words of Publishers Weekly—my next “solidly woven … well-executed plot.” Hopefully, this doesn’t mean I’m no longer a “name to watch” (Thanks, PW!); just that […]

Uncommon YA Writer Wednesday Guest Blog

YA Writer Wednesday I had the pleasure of doing an interview with Uncommon YA founder, author Beth Fehlbaum, on her YA Writer Wednesday feature. Check it out! What’s your book about? The Namesake is about a lot of things: faith, friendship, betrayal, forgiveness. The story centers on Evan Galloway, a fifteen-year-old grappling in the aftermath […]

Self Reflection

It’s autumn, a time when my mood generally takes an inward turn. Okay, if I’m being honest, I tend to brood year-round, though most people wouldn’t realize it. I’m a ponderer, a ruminator, perhaps most of all, a second-guesser. But I’m usually pretty successful at keeping it to myself. I mean, I’m not an obsessively […]

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