Though I’ve only made passing mentions of it up until now, like most writers I have a day job. A full-time day job that mostly involves sitting at a desk and not doing anything writer-ly. Some writers teach creative writing or freelance. This job is not that.
I love the YA community on the interwebs. Truly, I do. Twitter, Goodreads, and the blogosphere are great places to read the thoughts and opinions of many smart, fascinating, righteous folks (writers, librarians, book bloggers, teachers, etc.) who deserve your attention. They are diligently trying to make the world better which is, really, what we […]
It’s been a while since I wrote a post about writing/publishing, and that’s the whole reason I started this blog, so here we go. Back in July, I somehow conned a gen-yoo-wine literary agent into offering me representation. I, of course, accepted before she could discover I was a talentless sham and snatch her offer […]
Anyone who’s read my FAQ page already knows that I’m a huge fan of The Magicians trilogy by Lev Grossman. Seriously, they are the shit. A whole mess of spoilers are about to follow so if you haven’t read the books, stop reading this post and go directly to a library, bookstore or Kindle and […]
Back in September, NPR did a piece about the premiere of Nina’s World, the first original show for children’s TV network Sprout. Before we go too far, I need to say that I’ve never watched even a single episode of the show. All I know about it is what Mandalit Del Barco told me on […]
’Tis the season and I’m going to keep this post short because I’d like to take the time I normally spend slaving over my blog and spend it with my family instead of with my laptop. If you’re luckily enough to have a family (biological or otherwise), I suggest you get off your phone or […]
Because I have an infant and rarely see movies in the theater anymore, I didn’t see Nightcrawler until a few months after it was released on Netflix. In case you haven’t seen it, the film follows the highly-motivated, thirty-something Louis Bloom as he tries to make a career for himself as a videographer who sells […]
A few months ago, my dear friend Troy H. Gardner asked me to contribute a short story to a horror anthology to be released by Night Terrors. Though horror isn’t my forte, I happily accepted the challenge and penned 6,500 words about an amnesiac and a lake that used to be a granite quarry. The […]
Earlier this month, Nielsen’s #KidsBookSummit caused quite an uproar on Twitter. Among other faux pas, the summit included a panel of adult YA readers who claimed they wanted to see less dystopian, more realism, and a possible name change to the genre (YAH, or young-at-heart, was suggested). Obviously I wasn’t there, I just read the […]
A week ago, as I was scrolling through VOD options for a movie, I stumbled upon a blip of pop culture I’d all but forgotten about—the 2004 teen comedy about Christian and non-Christian teenagers, Saved! Though neither groundbreaking nor as whip-smart as Mean Girls, Saved! is nonetheless entertaining and offers a positive message of tolerance […]
