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  I spent seven years as a middle school Odyssey of the Mind Coach. For those not familiar with the program—the amazing competition, click here. But now as I write this, it has been four years since I relinquished my title. In some ways it feels like forever ago, like a piece of my history (and… Continue reading A Love Letter to Odyssey of the Mind

Creating characters can be tricky. They need to feel real to the reader or the reader will roll their eyes or shake their heads…and stop reading. I always tell writers to make a list of fifty facts about their characters to get started. This way they’ll have a list of facts to work with as… Continue reading Playing Favorites with your Characters

Happy Monday! I have to admit I struggled this week with what to blog about. I’ve spent so much time over the last several months posting about my book that I was really starting to feel like a used car salesman or something. Nothing against car salesmen. We all need a used car at some… Continue reading Books That Make your Mind Wander

Hey Guys, I hope you had a great weekend! As you know, I live a very glamorous life and so my weekend was filled with organizing paper type stuff.  Now I may be a writer and love paper and pens and such, but organizing mail and bills, etc., is not what I would call fun.… Continue reading Just Put One Word in Front of the Other

The Winter Olympics officially begin tonight! Gold is up for grabs all over the world…but not just gold medals. Today marks one month since Spin the Golden Light Bulb’s release and THE CRIMSON FIVE kids are competing for their own gold…Golden Light Bulbs! In honor of these golden days, I’ve teamed up with my local… Continue reading Going for the Gold…Virtual Book Signing!

While my first ever published middle grade book has been taking center stage, my second soon-to-be published book has been slowly coming to life-waiting in the wings. It’s been lurking in the shadows—happy to give Spin the Golden Light Bulb its time in the sun. And while I’m not planning to throw shade over my… Continue reading COVER REVEAL: Flip the Silver Switch

We’ve all experienced how slow the publishing industry moves sometimes. It seems like it chugs along. It takes forever to hear back from literary agents. It takes forever to hear back from publishers. It takes forever to get your contract, your edits, and your book cover. And it really feels like forever until you hold… Continue reading The Publishing Train

Hey Guys! Happy World Read Aloud Day! I love this day, a day where we encourage people of all ages to sit down with a great book and share it with someone else by reading it aloud. There are so many benefits kids and adults receive from to reading aloud like improved listening skills, improved… Continue reading World Read Aloud Day!

One day, you’ll be writing about your own launch day, or maybe you already have. If you haven’t though, I do have a takeaway to share—one thing I hope you’ll remember to do when it’s your turn. Just breathe. Because honestly, if your launch day is anything like mine was, that’s all you can do.… Continue reading Just Breathe on Launch Day

I’ve imagined writing this post for over four years—ever since I started this blog. At that time, I was revising my third middle grade manuscript, the one that would someday be called Spin the Golden Light Bulb. I was almost exactly two years away from signing with a literary agent, three years and four months… Continue reading The Missing Author Copies