“Love, you see, is the most important emotion”
Here are some things worth sharing this month. 1. Reading (YA NF): “Love, you see, is the most important emotion.” I just finished Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives it Changed, by Dashka Slater, and it...
How to do excellent work
This summer a collection of my sons banded together to start a lawn business. For some of them, it was a steep learning curve. On the first few jobs my husband served as the lawn inspector, to make sure they did good work. He had to call them back a few times; they...
We control what we can, and the rest? Well…read on
I like to be in control. It’s one of my things. Life is good at reminding me I can’t be in control of everything. Right after our twentieth wedding anniversary, my husband lost his job. A job that paid well. A job that provided us with good health insurance and all...
The very slow (but necessary) process of growth as a writer
This summer my kids have been trying to learn cool yoyo tricks. They watch YouTube videos, then try to do the tricks on their own—some more successful than others. Some are great at taking their time learning. They’ll laugh at their mistakes and keep trying, at least...
Mental health reads worth picking up
1. Reading (MG): I loved the book, Louder Than Hunger, by John Schu. It’s a novel in verse that follows Jake as he struggles with anorexia and treatment for it. It’s powerful, informative, and emotional—and because it’s a novel in verse, it flies by. Though you...
How to find and savor solitude
I’m the kind of person who thrives on solitude. Not all the time (that, I fear, would make me lonely). But sometimes. I recently had a few days to myself, and I hadn’t even realized how much I needed them because of all the activity that comes from releasing a new...
Writing about YOU: How to find YOUR stories
Some writers stay far away from personal experience when crafting stories. Me? I like to toe the line. Most of my stories contain very specific pieces of my life. My first traditionally published book, The Colors of the Rain, included grandparents and an uncle and a...
Rom-coms, documentaries, and sister stories
Here are five or so things worth sharing this month: 1. Reading (A): I just finished Emily Henry’s latest rom com, Funny Story, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Henry has a way with characters and romantic tension and is one of the master’s (in my opinion) in her genre. I...
Don’t be defeated by outside evaluations
I’d just recorded a video about how not everyone will like our books and we can’t possibly please everyone—and I got a trade review that rubbed all my insecure places. The reviewer clearly didn’t “get” the book and missed the whole point of it. She focused on strange...
Love what you do and know that it matters
Have I mentioned I love what I do? This is a frequent joke between my husband and me—because I mention it at least two times a week. I really, really love what I do. When people ask me if there’s a part of my writing process that I don’t like, I usually have a hard...
