First appeared on UncommonYA on August 20, 2014 Plot’s self-explanatory; setting and even symbolism can be straightforward too. An element that typically stumps my literature students—and many authors—is point of view. I stress to my students that P-O-V involves who’s telling the story. We go over different types, notably first-person, and the variations of third-person, […]
Dream Big Visit
August 17, 2014 by
I had the pleasure of guesting on fellow Uncommon YA author, Melissa Wray’s blog on Tuesday, August 12, 2014. Here’s the interview. And thanks for having me, Melissa! AUTHOR INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Tell us a little about your writing journey. Though I always loved reading and suspected I’d write one day, I didn’t get serious until […]
Well, I’m hopping! Yes, indeed!
March 31, 2014 by
How lucky am I? Lucky enough to have known author Kim Stokely since college. I was studying graphic design; Kim was a theater major, and we bonded as members of a guerilla production of the musical, Godspell. Who’d have predicted we’d still be pals—and published authors—all these years later? Well, the friend part was a […]
Oh, to have known…
February 22, 2014 by
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
January 16, 2014 by
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 […]
Tough Love
August 26, 2013 by
At a recent bookstore event, I experienced a cringe-worthy moment. Oddly, my distress involved a pair of shoppers interested in buying my novel, THE NAMESAKE. It’s not that these patrons were creepy or threatening. In fact, they were friendly, talkative. Heck, they looked like they’d walked straight out of a breakfast cereal commercial. The thing […]
