I spotted this sunflower the other day when I was walking our dog, this single bloom growing out of a rock. Lots of parallels jumped into my head, of course, of blossoming despite adversity and beauty surviving even in the rockiest times (a la our current world order). But then one word rose out of…
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We have a really amazing kidlit community in Austin, and there’s no better example of that than today. This is the birthday of a picture book, middle grade and young adult book from Austin authors. And while the books are all great, the authors themselves are even more so. So I couldn’t be more excited…
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The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of ballrooms, panels and keynotes. I attended the Writers League of Texas 2017 Agents & Editors Conference in Austin on June 30 to July 2, then flew to Los Angeles for the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators 2017 Summer Conference on July 7-9. Now I’m filled…
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An amazing thing happened last week, then another amazing thing happened this week. After months of silently working on my book, the news of its publication was announced. First, Publishers Marketplace posted this: I was on deadline for a revision, so I didn’t even notice until my wonderful friends started posting the news on Facebook…
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As you can see from the dates on these blog posts, it’s been a while since I’ve written. When I started my blog, sharing my experiences as a lowly writer in the trenches, I loved it. I felt energized by the comments and community, and loved the idea of getting out of my head for…
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“Writing is such a diverse field with so many options and possibilities, it’s easy to choose the route with the immediate payoff, or the one that best strokes your ego, but if they don’t get you closer to what you want most, then it’s not worth your time.” — author Jennifer Nielsen I love this quote…
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There are loads of wonderful writing classes around, but if you’re strapped for cash, I’ve found two free multi-week writing courses from universities. How Writers Write Fiction from the University of Iowa started yesterday, so sign up quickly. It’s a 6-week course, running through Nov. 21, with video lessons, online discussion and writing assignments. It’s part of…
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I love book bloggers. They have the most interesting stuff. And one of my favorites, I Am a Reader, is giving away a Kindle Fire HDX! Even better, if you already have a Kindle — lucky you — you can enter to win a $229 Amazon gift card or $229 in Paypal cash. But the…
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I’ve said on this blog numerous times that I’m a HUGE fan of writing conferences. When I took on the Regional Advisor job for the Austin chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, I wanted to honor the organizers of all the wonderful conferences I’ve been to over the years and put…
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The changing publishing industry is offering new opportunities to writers, but is self-publishing for you? My friend and great writer Dotti Enderle (aka Dax Varley) has been published traditionally and self-published. Her most recent release, SEVERED (A TALE OF SLEEPY HOLLOW), is a young adult novel that’s gives its own version of the Icabod/Katrina story.…
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