The Ups and Downs of Querying

I'm going to tell you a secret. I sent out my first queries for Devolutionaries back in January.I only sent two. I'd entered a logline contest and had 2 agents request to see a query and some pages. Blissfully unaware of how totally not-ready my manuscript was, I sent it off. I did...

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Sometimes, Life Wants you to Succeed

So this is the week of insane craziness/aka big work project/aka playing daycare. Meaning I don't have much for you today because my energy levels are hovering around the zero range.But I just had to say, sometimes, don't you just feel life wants you to succeed? Okay, maybe not always....

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Choosing the Right Words, and the Hilarious Embarrassment of Failing to do so

I think I've mentioned before that I'm short. Short enough that in elementary school I got called shrimp by the boys. Nothing ticked me off more than Cade and Shaun (yeah, I remember their names) calling me Shrimpy Shallee. So I'd chase them, determined to pound some sense into them....

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Book Reviews for Writers: Nexus Point by Jaleta Clegg

When I was in college, my roommate came home one day with a CD. She said her boss's wife was a writer, and had offered to let my roommate read an ecopy of the book she was working on. When I found out it was sci fi, I immediately wanted to read it too. I popped the CD in my computer...and...

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Writing the Query: Believe it or not, you already know how

It's coming, my friends. The next step: querying. That's right, I finished Devolutionaries last night! I sort of hate to say "finished," because I don't think it'll ever be really finished until it's in the hands of readers (fingers crossed). But at any rate, it's ready for that...

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How to Kindle your Imagination, or This One Time I Slapped a Guy

Thanks to everyone who gave help and advice on my which-story-to-write conundrum. I made my decision, but before I tell you which story I chose, let me share a little story. I promise, it relates.Freshman year of college, I was in a fabulous creative writing class. My friend Reece...

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Confessions of a Guilty Writer

So here's the thing. I'm a creature very often driven by guilt. I feel guilty when I write because I should be cleaning/cooking/working/spending time with family/etc. I feel guilty when I don't write because I love writing and want to be published so I know I need to work at it....

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The Tug of Two Stories

My writing progress for the last week or so has been sort of dismal. I'm crawling through edits on Devs right now at a much slower pace than I'd prefer due to a drated sinus infection (will the winter never end??). I think I'll still meet my end-of-April deadline, though, so I'm not too worried.Instead of working away at Devs these last few weeks, I've actually been thinking a...

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Finding Balance in the Writing Life a Day at a Time

We writers tend to share similar concerns-- that's one of the reasons I love blogging. I read someone else's post on something that worries me too, and think, "I'm not alone!" Recently, I've been thinking about something I've seen on several blogs that's a big concern for me too....

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Book Reviews for Writers: Matched by Ally Condie

This weekend, I got news that Ally Condie, author of Matched, was signing at a local bookstore. She lives nearby (ish), and had her launch party in my town, but I missed it because I was sick, so I was determined to go meet her and get a signed copy of Matched.The Kiddo came with...

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