Today I'd like to talk about the "G" word. Grammar. Grrrrrammar (emphasis on the "grrrrr"). When I was in elementary school diagramming sentences was all the rage. The lines had to be perfectly drawn with a ruler. And then said lines had to be filled with precise grammar terms: proper noun, linking verb or dangling participle. What the heck is a dangling participle anyway? Back to "grrrrrammar." Now some people have brains wired for grammar. The exactness of it. The absoluten

LASSBERRY REMONADE is a heartfelt and sharply funny contemporary middle grade told in alternating points of view, one a grief-stricken girl desperate to hold on to the home she’s lost, and the basketball-obsessed newcomer who moves in. Their unlikely bond begins at the edge of a pond they both believe belongs to them. Sold to Jaynie Royal at Regal House Publishing. Publication planned for summer 2028. LASSBERRY REMONADE will be my first middle grade novel released into the wo

Here are five things I wish I'd known before sending my first query letter: 1. I wish I knew about the query critique on Evil Editor. Let me warn you: NOT for the faint of heart. But, if all you want to hear is how great your query is, then you may not be ready to query. I didn't find out about this site until well into my query journey. And my ass was handed to me each time I posted - but my query got stronger and stronger and stronger. I often wonder how much shorter my que

I wrote my first picture book manuscript back in 1993. It remains unpublished. Luckily, I’ve learned a few important things along my publishing journey, and in an effort to pay it forward, I'd like to share. My TOP 5 THINGS I WISH I’D KNOWN BACK IN 1993: 5. Read a lot, especially what you like to write, like obscene amounts. Read so much that your television gets dusty. Why this is so important: It keeps your writing fresh and relevant and on point, genre wise. It's like a fr

Possibilities excite me. They always have. I’d even call myself a full devotee to “will it happen?” energy. The Land of Unknown is where my goals/dreams push past the doubt monster, leave his tortuous skepticism behind, and materialize from the fog. It’s where they solidify and take up residence in my brain. My dreams motivate me. My lofty goals are what makes me do the work. I don’t need convincing to roll up my sleeves. The work is simply part of my process because dreams d

Any writer, regardless of where they are on their journey towards publication, gets asked this question: how do you get your ideas for writing? It matters not what the writer writes. It matters not if they are school-aged or adult. The question is universal. For me, my ideas come from life. For example, back in 2011 I spent a considerable amount of time in a hospice just before my father-in-law passed. As I sat there in the quiet, watching him breathe, a new story began to ta

As we all know by now, I'm a writer. Lucky for anyone reading this today, my 8th grade diary is alive and well and a personal treasure. Sometimes I read it to see if I can feel a wisp of that innocence. Other times I pick it up to time warp back to when my parents were alive and death felt like something that only happened to characters in a book. But mostly I read it for laughs. Behold. December 21, 1980 Dear Diary, Oh boy! Our "group" went out Christmas caroling tonight and

Since revising is my favorite part of my writing process I have thoughts on it. But rather than me telling you about my countless word-related epiphanies how about this? I'll show you. The excerpts I'm about to share come from book two in my unpublished MG sci-fi trilogy. This book was the second novel I’d ever written. Pre-agents, pre-book deals time frame. I’m talking 2009. The first draft was a bloated mess. 71,000 words. After my first round of revisions, I went in and ad

I'm 58. Fifty! Eight! My birthday was back in November, so don't go wishing me happy birthday. But my husband and I just spent three weeks in Italy celebrating his 60 th and that got me to thinking. Thinking about getting older. It's a weird, weird thing. Kinda like Cheetos. They taste so good, with their bright orange cheese-a-liscious powder, crunchy puffs of...well, I'm not exactly sure what those crunchy puffs are. A pure, American junk food complete with residual orange

It's hard for me to be around mean people. It drains my energy down to zero point zero trying to navigate the interaction. I'm usually trying to figure them out, the why of their meanness. Or my even more exhausting habit: trying to change their attitude. My mom taught me to lead by example, to always try and open hearts and minds. Especially the meanies. Ha. After years of working with my brilliant therapist, I learned another important lesson. Boundaries. With years of prac