Writing

Rainy days make me sad, but not the way they make other people sad.  I actually love rain.  But, lately, rain makes me wistful.  It makes me mourn all the better things I could be doing instead [...]

I once had a writing teacher who said, “Writers don’t so much finish books as give up on them in despair.”   At the time, I so desperately wanted a book deal that I thought [...]

…And takes me with it! I set up a new Twitter account strictly for Secret Side of Empty book news.  I have not historically been the world’s best tweeter, so I’m giving it [...]

Gearing up my little guy for a trip abroad with dad, we happened to walk past the deodorant aisle in a big retailer. “You need deodorant,” I said.  Vvvzzzp… I detoured the cart. [...]

Inspired by the Carlos Danger Name Generator, I figured I’d do a quick post about the most fun ways to waste time online.  Link to the Carlos Danger Name Generator also included. [...]

This week in New York, the only accepted greeting has been, “It’s disgusting out there.”  A statement of the obvious on a par with, “That sky sure is blue,” and [...]

Yesterday, I rewrote a chapter from my work in progress to give my protagonist and her love interest a bit more backstory. I sent it to a trusted and talented fellow writer and critique partner [...]

Observation: everyone who supports Donald Trump has beady little eyes. Or at least everyone who does so publicly, on television, does. Check it out. It’s a thing.

She got all dressed up for the occasion in a pink dress and the daintiest earrings I’d ever seen her wear.  She looked heartbreakingly grown up.  At 13, she could easily pass for 17 in that [...]

The commercial begins with a man asking another man, “Who do you think is healthier, you or your car?”  The askee,  tall, strapping, seemingly in great health says, “Probably my car.”  The answer [...]

I love the 4th of July.  Growing up as an undocumented immigrant, I had a conflicted relationship with it.  On the one hand, I loved everything about it – the flags, the red, white and blue on [...]

Okay, so this blog touring got away from me during this jam-packed weekend.  Here’s what’s been going on: Day 9, I had a Date with a Book (blog).  Click here for this blog tour stop. [...]

I am almost sure the mechanics of breath must have come naturally to me, at some point. It feels hard to believe, now, as I force myself to suck in a breath, and then feel the process rattle to a [...]

Maybe it was the zombies.  Or maybe it was the 10-page letter from my editor about how great my book is, now could I make these hundreds of changes.  Or maybe it was the sporadically recurring [...]

Holy smokes, this makes it feel SOOO real!  The Secret Side of Empty is available for pre-order on Amazon.com.  Click here to check it out. Funny story about how I found out.  I was Googling [...]

Today’s stops. YA Book Addicts:  book spotlight.  Click here Bestseller Bound Recomments:  book spotlight.  Click here  

Wrapping up the first week of my blog tour and enjoying the great new bloggers and new Facebook “Like-ers.”  Thanks for stopping by! Today, The Secret Side of Empty is spotlighted in [...]

Here’s an interview with me on Much-Loved Books.  Love that blog title – I hope one day that’s what people will call The Secret Side of Empty!  Click here to read the interview [...]

Today’s blog tour stop finds Hispanic little me reviewed at the Irish-est blog I’ve ever seen, Celtic Lady’s Reviews.  (The right hand column of the blog begins, “Because [...]

Today’s “stop” on the blog tour is at Confessions of an Inner Aspen.  I just love the concept of an “inner” self, a secret self which we don’t reveal to the [...]

I had a great birthday celebration.  It’s not quite over, since I have lunch with my fabulous agent tomorrow and a happy hour with some of my coolest peeps this coming Tuesday night.   [...]

Today, The Secret Side of Empty gets spotlighted in Click here to read on Reese’s Reviews. Also:  five things about Secret Side that might surprise you!  Read it here at Bex-n-Books. Come [...]

Here’s a guest post I did about one of my big influences (in life and in writing).  Click here to read it on Take Me Away – a book blog. Also, on today’s second stop, I write [...]

I wanted to start my blog tour today, on my birthday.  I am one of the few grown-ups I know who still takes delight in her birthday as if I’m turning 5 instead of my actual age.  Balloons [...]

Last week, a Cheerios ad with a biracial family made some waves due to the racist comments it elicited on YouTube.  It reminded us that race and different cultural backgrounds are still [...]

It seems that Hillary Clinton finally joined the Twittersphere.  Her bio is priceless.  My favorite part?  The TBD.  Click here to read it.

Yesterday The Washington Post broke the story that the U.S. and British governments are mining data on individuals on an unprecedented scale, with the cooperation of major U.S. internet companies [...]

I once heard that life is about being dissatisfied.  The thinking goes it’s not necessarily a bad thing.  Dissatisfaction is what drives progress.  Dissatisfaction with foraging led to [...]

Writing a book about something you’ve considered your biggest secret for most of your life has its challenges.  One is, well, telling the secret.  For the most part, telling has opened me [...]