When I write — whether for kids or adults — I seem to be drawn to characters who are going about their normal, everyday lives, when BLAMMO, something weird happens and forces them into a different trajectory. In my kids’ funny adventure series (no, don’t look for them, but I hope to update and publish … Continue reading →

I’m normally a very sunny person. No wild mood swings. Ridiculously optimistic. Annoyingly chipper very early in the morning. Able to see humor in everything, mostly myself. But like any sapling nibbled by beavers, sometimes I just have to yell, “Dam!” So, forget politics, genocide, racism, misogyny and all the rest. Let’s talk about important … Continue reading →

My husband and I just returned from an excellent Danube River cruise. (This is a picture of us when we saw our free minibar in Amsterdam, stocked with beer and wine, perhaps some other stuff, too.) We started out with a few days in Budapest, then sailed to Vienna, Durnstein, Passau, Regensburg, and Nuremberg, where … Continue reading →

I’m working on a new series proposal and I thought you might be interested in how I populate this world. First, I think of all the regular characters who will live and breathe there, noting everything I know about them on their character sheet: age, marital status, kids, where they live, how they dress, how … Continue reading →

If you were to ask 100 authors to name the hardest part of their job, 99 of them will tell you, “Marketing and promotion.” The other one is a liar. Personally, I don’t mind the marketing because I’m a walkin’ talkin’ rootin’ tootin’ Becky Show all day, every day. Yes, thank you for asking, it … Continue reading →