Annotated
Whenever I start writing a book, I make myself a syllabus. The syllabus morphs as the story takes shape, but by the time the book is done, I usually have a big list of authors to whom I feel a debt of gratitude. I compiled my list of books that were particularly...
Climactic
When I was wee, I was told that this was a story: You struggle toward a goal, and it's hard, but then you make it. And boy, it's exciting! Then you lounge peacefully in the realm of Happily Ever After. I absorbed this shape. And not just because I write. I think most...
American Field Guide to Australian Animals
It has come to my attention that I was, during the formative years of childhood, grotesquely misinformed about the size and danger of Australian wildlife. I’ve been in Victoria for a few months now, and I have not once, not once, been accosted by any sort of giant,...
The penguins gave me a cover
According to Google Analytics, most people who visit my website are either college classmates or YA readers. If you've been on this website before, you will probably be surprised that I know this information. An outside observer would probably look at my posts and...
What’s it like to travel during the pandemic?
The word “travel,” for those of you who know a Romance language, might remind you of travailler, trabajar or trabalhar. In French, Spanish, and Portuguese, respectively—“to work.” This is because, while modern travel is fabulous and non-worky, historically, it looked...
Day 9 in Hotel Quarantine
For the past nine days, I've been in a hotel room with windows that don't open. I can't leave. I don't even have a room key. Three times a day, someone knocks on my door with a paper bag of food. It's weird. But I'm very glad to be here. Hotel Quarantine...
The Void
Welcome. To the Void.
Valentines to Confuse and Disarm Your Loved Ones (Part Two)
Part One (equally useful) here.
Valentines to Confuse and Disarm Your Loved Ones (Part One)
Let me title your YA book using love and zodiac science. Click the image to see it full size. I hope you're all Cancers who really love your local Capricorns. Part Two here.
This Is What My Book Is About
Of my various skills (loud tongue clicks, beating my brother at Dominion, exercising while drinking carbonated water), none shines more brightly than my ability to dodge the question, "What's your book about?" I talk about my book a lot in the abstract and rarely...