I’ve decided not to blog today. I thought I’d announce this decision, so you’d know that you were being neglected, instead of just suspecting it. It’s a beautiful May morning, and I plan to enjoy it. But just so you know what you’re missing, I’ll fill you in on a few...
Author Jess Riley stopped by to share a little background on her new book Driving Sideways, which officially went on sale this morning. I’ve been a long-time reader of Jess’s blog, and am happy to say that every bit of her humor and warmth carry over into...
When I’m writing, I can spend the entire day trying to get those voices in my head to talk to me, tell me their stories. Whether or not it works, the moment I turn out my light and try to fall asleep, the characters inevitably come out to play. I’m never...
There are three things you should know about my day: 1) It’s Friday. 2) I got to go into work late. 3) While at work, I had to assemble a piece of furniture. The first is universal, the second is lucky, and the third is capable of canceling out the pleasure of...
Sometimes it seems as if everybody wants to be a novelist. I’m sitting in my local coffee shop, where I retreated in order to — what else? — work on my own novel. The place is not crowded, but I count three others hiding behind their laptop screens....
We have a guest today on The Book Lady. Young adult author Melissa Walker stopped by to discuss her newest book, Violet by Design, the sequel to Violet on the Runway, which came out last fall. Hi, Melissa. Thanks for coming to talk to us. Could you please tell us a...
Well, it’s official. Despite all my vows to the contrary, yesterday afternoon I was forced to send a Dear John letter to my current work in progress. With the flourish of my imaginary pen, the manuscript I had promised to see through until the end became my...
My dearest work in progress, I do not know how to tell you this, so I will be frank: This morning I cheated on you with another, older manuscript. I know that this is a shock, but let me explain. We spent an entire summer together several years ago, and although our...
Doesn’t get a lot more direct than that title, now, does it? So why are these things on my mind? Well, first of all, YA author Diana Peterfreund recently opined that blogs are not the ultimate marketing tool. Now, I’m going to have to agree with that....
It began innocently enough: a brand new copy of Goodnight Moon and parents patient enough to read it to me night after night after night. But Goodnight Moon was the gateway drug for many of my generation, and I soon turned to more hard-core reads, such as...
