Behind the Scenes: The Floating Teapot

Behind the Scenes: The Floating Teapot

Wow, would love to see a ‘behind the scenes’! An Instagram follower suggested a behind the scenes look at some of these photo manips I’ve been posting, and I’m happy to share! 🙂 Here’s a quick video of the floating teapot coming together in Photoshop. Hope you like it! P.S. Be sure to follow me …

Book Inspiration: Ancient Aztec Words

Book Inspiration: Ancient Aztec Words

With so many magical stories in North America alone, I knew my books had to have some Mexican myths thrown into the mix! While I was weaving the latest danger into Devil’s Den, I stumbled into some really cool Youtube videos where people are speaking Nahuatl (historically known as the Aztec language). In fact, over …

Book Ideas: How Do You Name Characters?

Book Ideas: How Do You Name Characters?

Finn was really cute and I love the name, too! —@lifeofpages_ Yes! I was so happy to see this comment in a reader’s review of Murmur. Good names are so important, don’t you agree? (Also, geez—I can only imagine what it’s like to name a real-life baby. So much brainstorming.) Here’s the low-down on how I …

Songs for the Winner’s Circle

Songs for the Winner’s Circle

Hello, bookish friends! I have to confess–winter is a tough time for me to stay motivated. I mean, the freezing cold alone makes me want to curl up in a blanket and hibernate until spring. And when the work stress and sniffling sick co-workers got to be too much this week, I knew I needed …

Crow Boys Drabble

Crow Boys Drabble

Hello, bookish friends! Here’s a rough draft excerpt from a Finn/Will story I’m working on..hope you enjoy! ****** Forbidden to shift at home, Finn turns to biker’s son Will Branson for help. Will takes Finn to Jack Corbin’s house. Making friends is hard. ****** It took two seconds for Finn to ruin everything. He hadn’t …

Wildheart Playlist, Part 1

Wildheart Playlist, Part 1

Hello, bookish friends! A reader asked whether I have certain music that I like to listen to while I write. I actually have a lot of trouble writing and listening to music at the same time (listening and painting at the same time seem to be OK, though). Does anyone else have this problem? At …

Snowy Sundays and Christmas Stars

Snowy Sundays and Christmas Stars

We got the first snow of the year here in Maryland. It wasn’t very much, and I’ll definitely have to go to work tomorrow, but it was just enough to make the treetops sparkle when I took Rally for his walk this morning. With the snow coming down outside, I figured it was a perfect …

Get to Know Me! Part 2

Get to Know Me! Part 2

Let’s keep it rolling! I published a few tidbits about myself here, and I thought I’d add some more to the list for you all 🙂 I have no tattoos. This isn’t because I don’t think tattoos are gorgeous or meaningful–I’ve designed a few tattoos for friends, and I have seen some incredible ink on …

“I’m not going to make it!”

“I’m not going to make it!”

Somehow — SOMEHOW — November is over. Thanksgiving was last week here in the States, and my mental calendar gears have clanked from “almost Thanksgiving” over to “almost Christmas”. This time of year always looks so good on blogs, too. All golden lights and hot drinks—it’s easy to get totally run over by the actual, …