Writing
After a very long wait, I can finally say the words: my YA debut, Game of Secrets, is finally out!
Here’s a bit about the book:
Felicity Cole sells flowers in the streets of Victorian London to feed herself and her young brother. But she has a close-guarded secret―her brother is a Tainted, born with special abilities that society fears and a shadowy organization called the Hunstsman scours the country to eliminate.…
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This weekend I was a presenter at my favorite writing conference EVER…the
Surrey International Writers’ Conference. It was a magical weekend, as it always is. I’ve been going to SiWC for well over a decade now.
One of the workshops I gave was on the topic of finding the time to write. It seems to be a pretty universal concern for writers, and the people in the room with me this weekend were clamoring for any pieces of advice I could give them on this problem.…
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Lately I’ve been asked: why the switch to YA?
Which is a great question! While my first published books were in the adult category (my
Agency of Burglary & Theft series), my YA debut is coming out in Feb 2018. Truth is, there are many reasons for the switch to YA. I’ll probably talk more about the process of writing YA in future posts but for this post I want to dive into the concept that, for me, reading YA happened well before writing YA ever did.…
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So this happened:
That’s right, I have a new book deal!
This book will be my YA debut, and the hardcover will be hitting shelves in Fall 2017.
Here’s how this story happened:
While I was on contract with Kensington and busily writing my three AB&T books, a germ of an idea occurred to me. First, you have to understand that I’m a big lover of all things Great Britain.…
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So it’s been three weeks since my third book was released and I’m finally getting around to writing this post. It’s been a busy few weeks, clearly.
Here are some of the things I’ve been working on:
We’re running a
giveaway on Goodreads right now–5 paperback copies of A BRILLIANT DECEPTION are available to be won!
for a little visual insight into the book, check out my
Pinterest page of images that inspired me while I was writing.…
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Last year, I curated a list of my favorite
books set in Paris. This year, I’m turning my attention to Italy. For one thing,
my latest book (which comes out on June 23rd) is set in Venice. But also, because my family and I have just returned from a trip to Italy! It was so wonderful; I am already trying to figure out when we can go again.…
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It’s one of the most commonly cited pieces of advice for writers: show, don’t tell. But…what the heck does it mean? And how do you go about accomplishing it?
Today, I’m going to dig into “show, don’t tell” and see if I can offer some clarity.
Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.…
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Voice: so important for writers, yet so damn difficult to define. Agents and editors frequently say things like “I’m looking for a distinctive voice”, but they tend not to elaborate on what they mean, exactly. If you’re a novice writer, how do you begin to work on such an elusive quality if you don’t even know what it is?
Some industry insiders have tried to define voice.…
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Just in time for
NaNoWriMo I thought I’d do a post about how to write a first draft. Because let’s face it, first drafts are hard.
It’s no secret, it’s not my favorite part of the process. I love the outlining/dreaming/planning stages, and I love the revising/shaping/polishing stages. The first draft stage? Not so much.
But it’s okay. It has to get done.…
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When you’re creating a character from scratch it’s a good idea to know her name, her hair color, and how she takes her coffee…but those elements are just the start.
If you want to create truly compelling characters—the kind that leap off the page, the kind that really get into your readers’ bones—you’ll need to go beyond the superficial stuff and dig deep into your character’s internal landscape.…
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