I am dancing around because I can finally share the release date for my upcoming Young Adult novel, Speak No Evil. This novel has had a very special place in my heart from the moment it hit me like a lightning bolt several years ago. It has been my biggest writing challenge to date, and yet I enjoyed every minute … Read More
The Journal of Angela Ashby: Glimrick, the Gnome
As a writer, I am always being surprised by my characters. They never conform completely to any outline I put down. When I wrote The Journal of Angela Ashby I broke from my normal writing routine and didn’t use an outline, so when the gnome first showed up and went away again, I thought he was gone forever from the … Read More
Behold the Butterfly
On occasion, I help some of my author friends with their websites. Having had an author website for a number of years, it is clear to me what my site(s) need to do and how they represent me and my brand on the web. When social media ramped up several years ago, I noticed a lot of authors abandoning their … Read More
YWS: Embracing Failure
You’ve done it. You conceived of a story idea, sat down and wrote ALL the words and finally reached the point where you typed The End. You’re exhilirated. The world will gasp and hold its sides at how perfect your story is. It is, without a doubt, a work of art … sheer poetry in prose form. I’ll be honest … Read More
Don’t Mess with the Ness
A friend of mine, Elizabeth Isaacs, greets each New Year with a word of intention rather than making resolutions. I’m not, and never have been, a big fan of New Year’s resolutions. Because I don’t believe that I will suddenly make all these changes in my life just because we pull one calendar off the wall and put another one … Read More
Holiday Joy
I rejoice in the holiday season, not only because I love all the lights and decorations, but because with all the negativity in the world, I’m happy to celebrate anything. It seems like these days every time you turn around, there is another act of hatred being perpetrated somewhere, so for me it is especially significant to celebrate the time … Read More
Publishers Weekly Review for The Journal of Angela Ashby
The most amazing thing happened today and I cannot wait to share it, so here we go … I am absolutely thrilled to share this review in Publishers Weekly of The Journal of Angela Ashby. I am absolutely giddy they liked it so much. “… hilarious, startling, and sometimes unexpected … filled with achingly relatable tween moments and gentle lessons … Read More
Distractions and Silliness
I’m currently in the middle of working on the first book in the Homeless Myths series (The Star Warriors and the Secret of the Red Key), which means unless I am in the zone, I am more distracted than usual. Most writers I know when settling in to write become fascinated by everything under the sun, except what they are … Read More
The Journal of Angela Ashby: The Angel of Death
I couldn’t resist going with a something spooky for Halloween. The Angel of Death, Azrael, Abaddon, the Angel of Dark and Light, the Destroying Angel — there are many names for the winged and cloaked form representing death. If you see the hands or face of this figure, it is usually depicted as a skeleton, so bones and no flesh. … Read More
The Journal of Angela Ashby: The Crystal Ball
The Crystal Ball is a standard stock-in-trade for any fortune-teller, especially those of the carnival variety. It is both pervasive and mysterious and has a history of prevalent use back to the Druids. But what is it about crystal gazing that has hung on for so many centuries? In pre-industrial times crystal gazing was commonly practiced by the Pawnee, the … Read More
Weaving in a Cat
October is a month that evokes all things spooky … spiders and spider webs, witches, ghouls, ghosts, monsters, and there is always a black cat somewhere. Somehow, after being revered in ancient Egypt (3000 BC or thereabouts), the rise of witchcraft in Europe made the black cat suspect. During the fourteenth century, the Black Death was put down to black … Read More
In Memory of Dad
We interrupt this regularly scheduled blog post … oh … wait — I don’t blog on a regular basis, so that is wrong from the start. It just came to me as I try to wrap my head around something that is not only a sensitive issue, but something very emotional for me, because of dad. As I sit here … Read More