September Update: It’s Been a Whirlwind

Me: I should probably blog because I haven't blogged since release day! Me: *checks blog* Me: I...did not blog on release day... Me: WHOOPS. So let's catch up! Below you'll find an update on how debuting has gone, what I'm working on, where I've been, and I answer some questions from readers! Debuting! I have …

Peeking Behind the Curtains of Book Research

I get asked a lot about my research process which is a whole other series of posts, probably. But I do a lot of googling as I write, and I wanted to share a list of things I've googled the last two writing sessions as I work on Book 2 of the Balloonmakers. These are all …

My Favorite Covers of 99 Luftballons (99 Red Balloons)

ONE WEEK until The Girl with the Red Balloon releases! So today I'm bringing you SEVEN COVERS of 99 Red Balloons in celebration of SEVEN DAYS until release! It won't surprise anyone that I have a lot of covers of 99 Red Balloons, the song that inspired The Girl with the Red Balloon. Which one …

WIP Wednesdays (And It’s Actually Wednesday This Time!)

Oh my gosh, I'm getting this up on the right day. Wait. It *is* Wednesday, right? I have the days of my week right? Does that tell you how my WIP is going? Or my life? I'm just about 8 days out from release (and Amazon seems to be shipping early) so my brain's a …

WIP Wednesdays #2 (Except Today is Thursday. Again.)

I love the alliteration of WIP Wednesdays, but for the second week, this is going up on Thursday...oops. Let's jump into a WIP check in! What am I working on?  Same as last week! A middle grade novel! It’s about a girl who is the youngest in her family and she doesn’t feel like she …

Alien Feelings, Love Lost, and Other People’s Words

The most frustrating thing about being a writer, I think, isn't publishing, or ideas, or first drafts. The most frustrating thing about being a writer is that when I'm my most vulnerable, most open, most honest, most raw, most needy, most wanting, I am not a writer. I am a reader. The only words I …

WIP Wednesdays (Except Today is Thursday)

Hello! I'm going to start sharing insights (and all of the honest ups and downs) of a book from the beginning of a draft through...hopefully submission! In theory, I'll post every Wednesday and it'll be categorized and tagged as WIP Wednesdays. For those who don't know, WIP stands for Work-in-Progress and it's how many authors …

Five Great Books to Read While You Wait for The Girl with the Red Balloon

The Girl with the Red Balloon is out in 36 days (!!!) so if you haven't preordered, please consider doing so now! Preorders make a huge difference for authors. Or if you're waiting for one of my events, that's great too! I'm excited to meet a lot of you this fall! But if you've anxiously …

A Few Thoughts on Responsibility and Intent in Approaching History in Historical YA

Last week I wrote a review, essay, analysis, whatever you’d like to call it about a historical YA that played loose and fast with history, with disastrous, antisemitic and problematic results. And I don’t think that’s particularly uncommon, unfortunately, in historical fiction or books that use history as a base for exploring something else, like …

Plotting a YA Novel – Beat Sheet Download

HI! Today I did a presentation at C.F. Patton Middle School (*waves at all the students* You all were such fantastic sports as I ran through a slightly disorganized presentation this morning!). For the presentation, I put together a quick beat sheet that I use for plotting my books. I obviously flesh out beyond this …