I’m neck deep in revisions for KISS ME, KILL ME — due in four days — so my creative energies are focused solely on rewriting the climax scenes. (And no, I’m not talking about sex!) Last time I was here, I posted a story my daughter wrote for a school project on ENDER’S GAME. It was amazing. Well, I just read her latest school writing project–a 1200 word short story. She wrote a ghost story that is amazing. But what is really hilarious, is that it’s not due for two weeks. What WAS due was a basic outline–character, conflict, theme,… Read More

I’m the keynote speaker for the upcoming Moonlight & Magnolia conference in Atlanta the first weekend in October. I like writing speeches about as much as I like plotting—which is to say, I’d rather walk over hot coals in bare feet being chased by a pack of hungry, man-eating arachnids. Rocki, of course, thought I was insane two years ago when I told her I wasn’t going to write a speech for the Emerald City conference. For those of you who have had the privilege of hearing Rocki speak, you know she’s an amazing public speaker. She’s poised, polished, professional,… Read More

I’m in New York and was gone all day, so this is a short blog, but should be fun! I usually don’t like doing those meme things, but while I was waiting for my flight @popculturenerd on Twitter posted this link and challenged us to come up with answers. Using 2009 books read is not cheating, I’ve been told, and because I’m having a hard time answering these with the books I’ve read in the last 18 months (I swear, I used to read 4 books A WEEK; I’m lucky to read 2 books a month now) it can be… Read More

In December of 2005, I received my box of author copies of THE PREY, my first book. There is nothing as exciting–except maybe holding your child after birth–than holding your first book. Months, sometimes years, of work to create a story that someone loved enough to published . . . and there it is, right in your hand. A story that started with an intangible idea, a spark of an idea, now a real book. Long ago, a multi-published author–I can’t remember who–told me to savor each moment of publication, not just for the first book or the second, but… Read More

Catholics aren’t supposed to be superstitious. (I can hear a lot of you laughing out there, because the Irish are mostly Catholic and the Irish are very superstitious!) I suppose it doesn’t help that I’m Irish Catholic. :/ Writers also tend to be a bit neurotic. Some of us never read our books after they are published. Some of us have little rituals in the morning to help lure the muse out of hiding. Some of us simply write off our entire career as rubbing the right lucky shamrock at the right time when all the moons are aligned. I… Read More

At present, Young Adult titles are hot. Hot, hot, hot. Have you been in a bookstore lately? (Yes, dumb question for this group!) The YA section is bigger than the Romance section and the Mystery/Thriller section at my Borders, and wonderfully laid out. Bigger in floor space, but not titles . . . but close. And you want to spend time in the YA section because it’s a bit roomier, has more freestanding displays, and the books are more artfully arranged. I’ve been trying to get my #2 daughter, Kelly, to blog for me. But when I thought of it… Read More