Why wanting less can sometimes give you more. Have you ever wanted something so badly it felt like your life was on pause? In this post, I want to share a simple shift that helped me move forward when effort alone wasn’t enough. And, how letting go can actually bring you closer to what you want. At the risk of sounding hokey and new agey, I suggest this: set it free. If you've done everything humanly possible to achieve what it is you want, and I do mean everything, then rele

Firsts. We all have them. They're just a part of life. Even plants have firsts. The first time they sprouted. The first time they felt sun. The first time they were pruned. Recently, I started to think about some of my firsts. The obvious ones pushed to the front of the line and occupied some of my thinking. First kiss with a red headed boy in my driveway in 8th grade. First public vomit in Sister Katherine's 5th grade (first and last, thank god. It was Campbell's Chunky Sirl

A POST FROM MY OLD BLOG February 13, 2012 A Scary Book Since turning in my revisions back to my editor, I have started writing a new book. It doesn't have a title, but then again, none of my books had a title this early. It does have a sixteen-year-old girl with a little brother who sees and communicates with ghosts, and a creepy house from the late 1700s, and an adorably love interest and, and, and... I can only write this book in the day. When I'm "in it" even the phone rin

After a nine-year pause, I finally have a new YA novel coming out. It's called PORTAL. And I sold it myself.

I'm proud to share that Ultimatum was recently chosen to be included on Ezvid Wiki's Heart-Wrenching YA Books About Dealing With Loss...

I can’t believe it has been four years since I posted about lasts, but today marks the end of something treasured: goodbye morning hugs....

What a sad day. What a sad week. Loss is a heavy, heavy thing. It demands to sit on shoulders. There is no asking permission. I guess...

I’ve never played a sport. Never wanted to play. Growing up, I was more into dancing and reading and Empire Strikes Back. I’m one of four girls and only one of us was athletic (I’m looking at you, Nikole). People used to say to my dad, “Oh man, four girls! Four? Girls? Wow.” Being the shy guy he was, he’d usually give a little grin and nod. There was never an eye roll or a plea for commiseration. No, there was none of that. My dad was a quiet man. So quiet I found it difficul

Back then I was un-agented, with one finished manuscript under my belt and a fiery determination to be traditionally published.