Hey, book friends! Did you spend November hunched over a keyboard working on your NaNoWriMo piece? Or was your hunching due to studying with fiction breaks? Either way, yoga for writers (and readers) to the rescue! Our neck and shoulders can get really stiff and uncomfortable, and it feels so good to stretch them out! …
Tag: novels
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?
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 …
Book Inspiration: Where Do Your Ideas Come From?
Where did you get the inspiration for the Murmur books? A reader sent in the question above, and I think it’s an especially awesome question for fantasy fiction books. Where do all of these pieces come from? For me, I think the ideas for the Wildheart books draw from a couple of wells of inspiration: …
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 …
My 2017 in Review—and Goals for 2018
Hello, bookish friends! Boy, I don’t know about you, but 2017 was jam-packed for me. There were some days when it all felt overwhelming: the days when the sad news headlines just kept coming, or when family issues got so tangled up it was clear that we were going to have to Sit Down and …
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
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
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 …
Bookish Treats: London Fog (Earl Grey Tea Latte)
Hello, bookish friends! It is officially hot drink season. I love drinking tea year round, but I had never had a London Fog until a few years ago when I went to visit my friend in Seattle. A London Fog is essentially an Earl Grey Tea latte–picture a mug of tea that’s fragrant, creamy, and has …