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I had a great time last night at the Somewhat Virtual Book Club, a group that meets both in person at various schools and on a Google Hangout, making the conversation span the whole country. We [...]

I’m so grateful you’re here! Looking for something? Here are a few of the most popular areas on the site: Looking for information about my novel, THE SECRET SIDE OF EMPTY? Do you need [...]

THE SECRET SIDE OF EMPTY,  a young adult novel about an undocumented teenager, has been called “Must-read YA” (Bookish), “What’s hot in YA,” (School Library [...]

What do you get when you put together something like 50 YA authors and thousands of YA readers in one cool space? The Texas Teen Book Festival! Here I am back at home after a whirlwind 35 hours [...]

Have you ever just wanted to hug a room full of people all at once?  That’s how I felt at the NYC Teen Author Night last night at the Jefferson Market branch of the New York Public Library. [...]

2014 National Indie Excellence® Award winner. 2015 International Latino Book Award Finalist 2015 CLASP Américas Award Commended Title A School Library Journal Top 10 Latino Books of 2014 pick. A [...]

I hope to meet you this fall at one of these upcoming events! Texas Teen Book Festival Austin, Texas September 26th, 2015 Click here for more information Bar Harbor Book Festival Bar Harbor, [...]

The New York City Teen Author Festival was non-stop fun and The Big Thinks – ideas, conversation, questions.  It was a lot to take in.  I found a wonderful blog wrap-up of the Saturday [...]

A little over a month ago I appeared on a panel at the Brooklyn Public Library on the subject of immigration and how we talk about it via art.  BPL has put the entire panel up on their YouTube [...]

School Library Journal, one of the biggest reviewers of books for teens, says this about THE SECRET SIDE OF EMPTY, M. T.’s narration is candid and at times heartbreaking. Told over the [...]

Booklist just posted their review of THE SECRET SIDE OF EMPTY and it’s good!  Written with insight and compassion by reviewer Jeanne Fredriksen, it gives a good overview of the [...]

In the “wow, this is really happening,” category of this whole experience, The Secret Side of Empty has been reviewed by Publishers Weekly! I was shopping for bedding in preparation [...]

There are snapshots your mind takes that you hold on to forever.  One, for me, was the night my daughter was born.  The hubbub of her birth was over, her father had gone home, and finally it was [...]

Writing is a predominantly solitary activity.  You sit in front of your screen, spinning words and thoughts, and wonder if they touch anyone but you.  The publishing world is not great for [...]

Waiting for reviews of your book to come in is like sending your baby off to kindergarten and then waiting all day to find out if she cried and was miserable or made friends and had fun. [...]

Color me happy!  I just got word that The Secret Side of Empty was chosen as a Junior Library Guild book, which is a big honor.  Junior Library Guild gets books into libraries and has an amazing [...]

  M.T. – M.T., or Monserrat Thalia (her “real” name she wants everyone to forget) is smart, popular and something else nobody knows… undocumented.  Learn more about [...]

1.  I have a cat named Hermione and another one named Katniss.  Katniss = my all-time favorite name for a cat. 2.  I was once on my high school modeling club, although I am only five foot six [...]

In the “wow, this is really going to be a book” category of news, The Secret Side of Empty is now available for pre-order on Amazon.  So absolutely awesome!  Early reviews are coming [...]

Reasons to add The Secret Side of Empty to your Goodreads shelf: 1.  Goodreads is awesome. 2. It’s always fun to read what other people think of a book. 3.  All the cool kids are doing it! [...]

Here is some ridiculous video of me running into a wall, all in the spirit of avoiding my dreaded final edit. Okay, okay, and also enjoying my son’s birthday party.  Check me out sporting a [...]

I’ve always been ambivalent about Mother’s Day, but I’ve never been able to put my finger on why that is. Then I read this essay by Anne Lamott and I think I figured it out. As [...]

The day I signed my book deal, I returned to my desk to find an email letting me know that my dating blog, 51 First Dates After Divorce, has been named one of the Top 10 Best Dating After Divorce [...]

Oh, come on, you know I can’t just blurt it out. As you may know, the working title for my YA novel was Illegal.  It was its title before it was even a YA novel.  Then, when I got the notes [...]

Answering reader questions.  

“This is never going to work.”

The first time I saw Barack Obama speak, in 2004, I knew one day he would be president.  He just had to be.  On a business trip to Chicago, I read Dreams From My Father and the feeling [...]

A few years ago, I broke up with a woman I really loved and whom I’d hoped would be in my life forever. No, it wasn’t like THAT. (I only led you on to get your attention). But I did love her, and [...]

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originally posted May 17, 2010. There she was, my baby, decked out in blue mesh vest over her soccer uniform, goalie gloves on, with a wide leg stance watching the other team’s limber [...]