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Reading goal for 2013: 100. Actual books read: 54. (Down 25 from last year. BOO.) Genre: 3 MG ( 2 of them graphic novels by Raina Telgemeier), 2 Regency romances by Julia Quinn, I new adult (The Heiresses by Allison Rushby), 3 plays (2 by my husband + The Crucible), 6 other nonfiction, and 39 YA (72%) Genre breakdown within YA: contemporary – 14; fantasy – 7 (4 of these were historical fantasies); sci-fi/dystopian – 6 (1 was historical dystopian); straight up historical fiction – 5; horror/thriller/mystery – 3; paranormal – 2. (More witch books, pls.) Nonfiction: 7 (13%) 1 writing craft book (The Forest for the Trees) and 6 memoir-ish things — 2 David Sedaris books & Bossypants on audio, Wild by Cheryl Strayed, Hyperbole & a Half by Allie Brosh, and Smile by Raina Telgemeier. Audiobooks: 3 (2 David Sedaris & Bossypants) Books read on Kindle: 34 (63%,... Read More

2013 has been a Learning Year. I saw Rachel Hawkins tweet earlier today about how 2012 was a Learning Year for her, but 2013 has been awesome, and I decided to adopt the term. It sounds better than saying that even though some good stuff happened and some really hard stuff happened to me and The Playwright in 2013, in my heart of hearts, this year feels like it sucked and I can’t wait for it to be over. But then I thought – if I’m calling it a Learning Year, what exactly did I learn? What am I taking away from this? For the last three years I have been able to write for a living, to support my family with my words. That’s not what I set out to do. When BORN WICKED went out on submission, after my first manuscript had to be shelved, I just wanted... Read More

Merry Christmas, everyone! Mine will include cookies, board games, giant Christmas trees, cats, books, a cozy fire, White Christmas, and seeing some of my favorite people. I hope yours is merry + bright, and full of good books and good cheer! I’ll be back next week with a bunch of blog posts: some reviews of my favorite books of 2013, my dorky reading stats for the year, my New Year’s resolutions and intentions, and the books I’m most looking forward to in 2014!

Congratulations to Angie at Pinkindle, who won my first SISTERS’ FATE giveaway. Thank you to everyone who reviewed STAR CURSED in order to enter. I’ll be doing more giveaways this spring! The book’s dedication is, in part: To my sisters, Amber & Shannon, without whom I couldn’t have written all the love & bickering between the Cahill girls. When they were both home for Thanksgiving, my sisters took a picture in front of my parents’ Christmas tree with the ARC! See? How cute are they?   I covet both of their sweaters. In other news: You can read a fun interview with Finn over at Fiction Fare, where he answers questions like: What drew you to Cate? What did you think when she left the church at the end of BORN WICKED? How did you feel when you first saw her in Richmond Square in STAR CURSED? And what do you really... Read More

Tomorrow, for Small Business Saturday, loads of authors are taking to their local independent bookstores for Indies First. We’ll be volunteering as guest booksellers and recommending our favorite books! I’ll be at Hooray for Books in Alexandria, VA from 1-4pm. Why am I participating? This is what I wrote for their newsletter: As a reader, I love independent bookstores. I can browse to my heart’s content, ask for recommendations from booksellers familiar with my tastes, and attend fabulous author events. As an author, I love them even more. They support local authors far more than faceless, impersonal internet companies. They know our names, host our launch parties, hand-sell our books, and celebrate our successes. At Hooray for Books! one of the booksellers is also an actress who starred in my husband’s new play when it premiered in DC.  These booksellers are part of our communities. And – perhaps now more than ever – our communities are... Read More