News

Hi! I have some good STAR CURSED news and some bad family news. Bad news first: My father-in-law has been ill all spring: kidney failure requiring a lengthy hospital stay, dialysis three times a week, then recently pneumonia. They discovered last week that he has an inoperable tumor, and he’s opted to discontinue treatments. He’s home now with hospice nurses and my mother-in-law. We don’t quite know yet whether he has days or weeks left with us. But The Playwright is an only child, and this is rough. I’m sharing this because – well, because it feels strange NOT to acknowledge it. And I usually try to respond promptly to blog comments and twitter @s, especially with a book coming out so soon, but I may be sporadic the next little while. I am SO grateful for all the excitement about STAR CURSED, though! And on to the good news.... Read More

Hi! Today we’re celebrating the release of Polly Holyoke’s THE NEPTUNE PROJECT, which came out last Tuesday! They say:   Nere has never understood why she feels so much more comfortable and confident in water than on land, but everything falls into place when Nere learns that she is one of a group of kids who-unbeknownst to them-have been genetically altered to survive in the ocean. These products of “The Neptune Project” will be able to build a better future under the sea, safe from the barren country’s famine, wars, and harsh laws.  But there are some very big problems: no one asked Nere if she wanted to be a science experiment, the other Neptune kids aren’t exactly the friendliest bunch, and in order to reach the safe haven of the Neptune colony, Nere and her fellow mutates must swim through hundreds of miles of dangerous waters, relying only on their wits, dolphins, and... Read More

What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk geared toward writers and readers, allowing us to touch base & let each other know what’s up in our lives! If you want to play along, you can find the link here! WHAT I’M READING Over the long weekend, I read two amazing manuscripts by friends: HOLD ME LIKE A BREATH by Tiffany Schmidt and ANOMALY by Caroline Richmond. I have such crazy-talented friends, you guys! Now I’m reading THE NEPTUNE PROJECT by Polly Holyoke, which is a fabulous MG under-the-sea adventure with trained dolphins! (more on this tomorrow, when I interview Polly!) WHAT I’M WRITING Lots of guest posts in honor of STAR CURSED’s upcoming release (June 18). I also got my first-round edit notes from Editor Ari. She left me a cramazing (crazy+amazing) voicemail on Fri night saying she LOVED Cahill Book 3. Phrases like “it’s... Read More

What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk, and you can find the link here!  WHAT I’M READING I’m midway through THIS SIDE OF JEALOUSY by Lili Peloquin, one of my Breathless Reads sisters! It’s the sequel to THE INNOCENTS and it’s sort of GOSSIP GIRL meets REVENGE with a haunting Gothic feel. Sisters Alice and Charlie move into their super-rich stepdad’s house in an exclusive beach community and start to uncover a lot of skeletons in the family closet. Alice in particular is haunted by their stepsister Camilla’s death last summer and starts to suspect it may not have been a suicide. In Book 2, the mystery continues and both girls become embroiled in love quadrangles. It’s good soapy fun!  WHAT I’M WRITING Nothing, at the moment! But after turning Cahill Book 3 in to my editor and then taking 2 weeks off, I’m... Read More

Hi! Wow, isn’t May so full of bookish deliciousness? Today we’re celebrating the release of Natalie Whipple’s TRANSPARENT, which comes out TODAY! I’ve been a longtime reader and lurker at Natalie’s awesome blog, so I’m excited to help her celebrate! They say:   Plenty of teenagers feel invisible. Fiona McClean actually is. An invisible girl is a priceless weapon. Fiona’s own father has been forcing her to do his dirty work for years—everything from spying on people to stealing cars to breaking into bank vaults. After sixteen years, Fiona’s had enough. She and her mother flee to a small town, and for the first time in her life, Fiona feels like a normal life is within reach. But Fiona’s father isn’t giving up that easily. Of course, he should know better than anyone: never underestimate an invisible girl. I say: I haven’t read it yet, but the hook of an invisible girl is... Read More