Today, I embarked upon a new novel and I decided to blog about its life cycle — the ups, the downs, the woe-is-mes and the triumphs. Every novel goes through a similar journey, but we usually try to recapture those feelings after the fact. It is so much more real to capture them in the […]
Category Archives: ChitChat
Review of Ender’s Game: The Movie
I’ve known for months that Ender’s Game would come out on November 1st, 2013. Perfect timing, I though. I knew I’d be in St. Louis visiting my parents, and that I’d have free, built-in baby-sitting as a result. (Hey, this is a real problem for some of us!) But four weeks to the day after […]
Top 10 Favorite Fantasy Tropes
A couple of weeks ago I put up a list of the things I’m sick of reading about. Today, perhaps in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I decided to flip that around. I don’t care if they’re tired. I don’t care if they’re cliche. There are a few things I just plain like, and I’ll keep […]
On Reading a Series Out of Order
Series need to be read in order. Or at least, the best ones do. The ones that sweep you away because you’re so completely invested in the characters and what’s happening to them. Since the second book in my first series recently came out, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the issue of […]
What is Young Adult Fiction? (And Why Cassie Scot Isn’t)
For someone who doesn’t consider herself to be a young adult fiction writer, I have spent a lot of time in recent months thinking about what young adult means and how to define it as a genre. The reason is simple: Quite a few of my readers are calling Cassie Scot YA. Even my publisher […]
Top Ten Things I’m Sick of Reading About
Last week I compiled a list of things I’m stick of reading about. I asked around for inspiration, but I did not take a poll. These are my personal conclusions. Feel free to reply with some of your own! 🙂 1. Rich people. It often seems to me that 99% of the stories are about […]
…And Love Conquers All
The idea that love magically conquers all is quickly becoming my second least favorite ending. Deus ex machina does, of course, take the prize, but despite the fact that there is a genre expectation in romance that love can conquer all, I wonder if it is not a little “god machine” itself. It’s magic. Whether […]
A World of Talking Books
Most of you know that twenty years ago, I was diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease, a degenerative eye condition that results in loss of central vision. Or, to put it in more practical terms: My world is a blur, and should I ever pass you on the street you will be nothing more than a human-shaped […]
Tips for Wr…Everyone — Don’t Start With Boredom!
This was going to be another writing tips segment before I realized that the inspiration for posting it came from life. And that, in fact, this advice has far broader reach than the written word. If you want me to feel bored, the best thing you can do is to begin your (whatever — book, […]
Why The Doctor Needs to Lose His Screwdriver
I’m a bit behind on Doctor Who this season. It’s not because I don’t love the show, but because ever since they split the season into two parts I’ve had more trouble staying focused. This Spring I was in the middle of three other series and only recently decided it was past time to catch […]