I had a great time at the Garden State Cat Show over the weekend.

I made some new friends, sold some books, and found the perfect cat (or at least, the perfect breed of cat) to play the role of Bianca in the third Snowy book.


( Read more... )

The rough first draft of Abraham Lincoln Stole my Homework came in at around 61,000 words, much too long for a typical middle grade novel. Yesterday, I finished the first run through. ALSmH now stands at around 46K. Still a smidge on the long side, but much closer to the mark.

I’ll start the second round of revisions in a couple of weeks. In ( Read more... )

Here I am, sitting in my hotel room in Gettysburg. Beside me, I have pages of handwritten notes taken during my afternoon visit to the museum, and my subsequent solo trip to Little Round Top. I must have taken a hundred photos, many of which warrant close inspection when I get home.

( Read more... )

Dialogue tells us a lot more about characters than just what they’re saying and the kind of mood they're in.

The words we put in a character’s mouth give our readers an insight into his/her personality. They help us get to know and understand that person better. If readers like what’s said (and the way it’s said), they’ll feel more connected and ( Read more... )