Writing

I always love getting a Twitter notification that a new reader has found my book and tweeted about it, but this one in particular delighted me. There’s a new review of TSSoE at Unleashing [...]

Even before my book came out, I heard from a blogger who highlights the issues of social justice in young adult literature. I was delighted to learn there was such a blog in the world, and was [...]

I belong to several “secret” online groups of writers, and we connect via email and on Facebook. It’s fun having a place to celebrate and commiserate with other people who have [...]

Is your family awesome? Or a little nutty? Do you look forward to the holidays with them, or do you inwardly groan at the thought of Uncle Tim starting in again with the politics? I’ve been [...]

December 14, 2166 – University of Edinburgh My junior year midterm thesis assignment: compare the fall of two of history’s empires Which ones I chose: the Roman Empire (509 BCE to 476 [...]

I can kind of sort of understand the overwhelm of some older (read: conservative) people in the face of a changing world. There was a time when complimenting a woman was a nice thing. Now it can [...]

The night before last, I had a weird and rambling dream, which is a pretty common occurrence for me. It involved getting in a rickety plane, and having something of a near-death experience while [...]

Read an insightful and provocative piece in the LA Times which quotes many well-known young adult authors (and me!) about what it’s like to write YA in the age of Trump. It’s written [...]

Do you remember how much fun it was to get a pretty sticker on a paper when you were in the second grade? Well, yeah, stickers still feel good as grown-ups, too, which is why we like a [...]

Almost everyone I talk to says they don’t fear death. I don’t fully understand how this is possible. We, collectively, as a species, exhibit a kind of existential dread, doing things [...]

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 [...]

Last weekend, I was in Soho touring art galleries and was lucky enough to come upon one specializing in animation which had a beautiful collection of original Dr. Seuss drawings. There was [...]

As with most things feminized, cats are underrated. Too long the presumed purview of lonely, crazy cat ladies, cats are seen as the pet of the isolated and maladjusted, of the kooky and the [...]

I don’t have a cohesive post in mind, but I feel like saying hi, so here I am. First, I am so “on” in my writing life, and I’m so delighted about it. Today I reached [...]

I have been wanting to do it for years, but I’ve been too afraid. But, on Friday, I did it: I got rid of cable. I find that reactions to that statement fall into two camps: [...]

The text read, “Wanna try my hip hop class tonight? Lots of fun, great workout. $20.” I almost quipped back, “Sure, and how about some root canal afterwards?” But I am in [...]

There is an old saying that God only gives you what you can handle. If that’s the case, she must think I can handle virtually nothing in the parenting department, because my parenting [...]

So, when you turn on your relatively new TV and there’s an explosion in the back, complete with fiery flash… that’s bad, right? But then how about if it works normally after [...]

I pride myself on reexamining everything, and not just accepting things because they’re commonly-held wisdom. So when people say that dark days make them sad, and they like sunny days [...]

Every year, my ex and I alternate who gets the kids on Thanksgiving. The one that doesn’t have them just celebrates Thanksgiving on Friday. This year, it was my turn to do Friday [...]

One thousand four hundred and thirty four days left to survive until the next presidential election. They are days we must not let go by idly. Sure, it’s easy to relax, focus on decorating [...]

Our president-elect (heaven help me, it still hurts to write that) tweeted yesterday that he won the popular vote but for the “millions of people who voted illegally.” Ummm… no. [...]

A few weeks ago, I was in New Orleans, and it started pouring. I’m talking buckets, like it rains in tropical places, warm and relentless. We had a long walk to where the car was parked, [...]

The Brady Bunch ran from September 26, 1969, a year before I was born, to March 8, 1974, when I was three, almost four. It went into reruns after that, a constant in my childhood. Living in a [...]

It’s raining So today I prayed for the faraway stars to send their stardust And everything that comes with it. Peace and dreams and happiness.             [...]

Yale historian and Holocaust expert Timothy Snyder wrote on Facebook: “Americans are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism, or communism. Our one advantage [...]

I am hungry… no, aching… for frivolity. So thank you in advance for letting me indulge. I’ll go back to spewing fire soon, probably after the holiday. I’m just as [...]

I have watched my friends and the media grapple with the question of why white voters flocked to Trump. People who want to believe the best in people (including most Republicans) seem to prefer [...]

Since the election, I’ve been dreading Thanksgiving. I’m one of the lucky ones, and everyone that comes to the dinner I host is on the same page politically, so I don’t have [...]

No matter that he’s a stuffed moose – look at this kiss he’s planting on me. This is one of my favorite pictures of me from Alaska, because I look happy, rosy from the frigid [...]