Writing

I didn’t write as much as I would have liked to in 2022. 2021 and the early part of this year were scary, financially, so I leaned into getting work to compensate. Lots of work. All the [...]

In anticipation of my book coming out next year, I’ve been wondering what makes a great book pre-order campaign. The reporting on the first week a book is out compiles sales data from ALL [...]

Oblong Books is hosting a National Endowment for the Arts Big Read event, put together by the Hudson Valley YA Society and I get to be on the panel! I’m super excited about this one, as it [...]

Meet Alda P. Dobbs! I feel lucky to have some pretty cool writing friends, and Alda P. Dobbs is chief among them. Learn about the awesome way we met, what inspired her to write her break-out hit [...]

Protecting your writing time means making small, incremental choices that add up to big results in going for your writing goals. I am what could be described as a “binge” writer. When [...]

Did you know that 1 in 10 righties are unknowingly lefties?  That’s me. I’m a part of that statistic. If you met my older sister, Julia, you would understand why. She would make my parents [...]

As the new year begins, let’s strive to make 2022 stimulating and productive. The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on public motivation and well-being, so this year it is important to regain [...]

My sweet little book went out into the world in paperback on Tuesday, February 1st, 2022! I’m so excited to share it with an even broader readership. If you’ve been holding out on [...]

When my book was about to be released, a woman reached out to me via my website inviting me to be on a panel. Usually panel invitations come from people you already know, so I was intrigued. [...]

Getting past your doubts as a writer means going for big goals even if you’re not sure that’s a reasonable thing to do. Here’s how. I have done a lot of work throughout my life [...]

Feeling stressed? Write about it! If the holidays have you stressed, journaling can help you identify those specific stressors and help you avoid/overcome them in the future.  Journaling has [...]

As you may know, the main character in Love in English is Ana, a girl who is new to the U.S. and is in the process of learning English. Luckily, I’ve got an inside line to Ana, so I asked [...]

TikTok is known to be a popular modern platform for witty humor, life hacks, and original choreographed dances. But who knew it could prompt a wave of female empowerment? Recently, a “sound” that [...]

It has an unprepossessing cover and I’d never heard the author’s name before. I have no memory of what made me pick up Station Eleven in 2014. It’s lost in the mists of the [...]

“Adopt” an Endangered Animal The World Wildlife Fund is allowing the public to symbolically adopt an animal of an endangered species in an overall effort to save vulnerable species [...]

Dawn Dorland, an author and writing teacher, is distinguished for her empathy and kind-heartedness. But there’s a reason why this is known. Promoting her altruism on Facebook, Dorland [...]

It started thanks to Seth Meyers. He made a joke about a song I’d long forgotten, “Candy Everybody Wants” by 10,000 Maniacs. It came out when I was in my early twenties and [...]

You make me want to put it down. The weight of this defense is tremendous, Wrought of the need to survive. To not let you see how breakable I am How broken I’ve been By your words and your [...]

I’m so excited to be appearing at the Maplewood Book Festival 2021 on Sunday, September 26, 2021 between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. I’ll be there with tons of my author friends signing [...]

This week, I thought I might have Covid. (Not to fear: after a PCR test, I found out I did not). I am vaccinated, and while I’m venturing out to restaurants and into the city cautiously, I [...]

MY publisher has just put together the sweetest video with an effect highlighting my use of #### to represent when the main character doesn’t understand the words people are using. I love [...]

I’m so excited to be on this panel with these awesome writers, talking about something that’s so important to me. Amplifying Voices and Visions: Border and Immigrant Perspectives in [...]

I had such a great time on this panel! And although the date has come and gone, the wonders of remote events means that it now lives on YouTube… and you can watch at your leisure! Click [...]

There are a lot of fun moments in bringing a book out into the world. One of the best in promoting LOVE IN ENGLISH was being invited on to Hank Garner’s show, Author Stories. Hank knows [...]

Just announced: Epic Reads Contemporary Meetup! So much fun coming up and I’m excited to share it all with you. In March I’ll be chatting with the awesome Elise Bryant (HAPPILY EVER [...]

Tonight was such a blast! My virtual book launch happened at Books of Wonder via Crowdcast, and I had the best time. I was joined by Gilly Segal and Kimberly Jones, New York Times bestselling [...]

When LOVE IN ENGLISH comes out on Tuesday, it will be seven years since my first book came out. Here’s a bit about what it took to get here. I started life as “the precocious [...]

Epic Reads just posted an excerpt of LOVE IN ENGLISH. Check it out! Click here.                  

Fall in love with these romantic reads! I’m so excited to announce I’ll be on a panel entitled “Crazy. Stupid. Love” at the North Texas Teen Book Festival. Date: Saturday, [...]