I've never been big on New Year's resolutions. As a writer, I already have enough rules and quotas in my life: words counts to reach, chapters to complete, deadlines to meet. And as a dance and Pilates instructor, I don't feel the need for any new exercise regimens or dietary restrictions. But I do think the beginning of a new calendar year is a ( Read more... )

Okay, "trauma" might be a little strong, but I do love my alliteration. It is strange, though, to be the author of a book without a title. As you probably know, my original title was BROKEN WINGS, but the publishing house decided I needed something stronger. Besides, there were already books with the same title out there, most currently this one, ( Read more... )

 And they're off! The first of the Elevensies launched this week. Shawn Goodman's gritty contemporary  YA novel SOMETHING LIKE HOPE is now on bookstore shelves.


( Read more... )

 I wanted to wait to post until it was official, but I finally have a launch date. Mark your calendars for:

(drumroll)

DECEMBER 19, 2011!

(cymbals crash)

That's the date my YA novel (title TBA soon) will hit the bookstore shelves. I think it's a good date, don't you? Just before Christmas.

Now that I have a definite date, I can start planning my ( Read more... )

 I'm not exaggerating when I say I owe any writing success I've had to my critique group. OK, maybe a bit of stick-to-it-iveness on my part came into play, and perhaps a smidge of natural talent. But they are the ones that have supported and encouraged me through thick and thin. They're the ones I count on for honest but not decimating feedback. ( Read more... )

 I've been thinking about what it means to be nice. Why? Because fellow Elevensie Victoria Schwab is doing a giveaway on her blog. In order to enter, you have to do something nice for someone.

What makes an action "nice?" Does it need to be out of the ordinary? Unexpected? Does it have to be completely altruistic, with nothing expected in return? ( ( Read more... )

 'Tis the season for giving, and around this time of year, kids (and grownups) everywhere start putting together their holiday wish lists. I've never made an actual list of stuff I want, so this year I decided to sit down and give it a try ( Read more... )

 I just got an email from my editor telling me that the publishing house wants me to come up with a new title for my book. The marketing department thinks  BROKEN WINGS is a little too "expected."

My first reaction, of course, was sheer panic. From the moment I first came up with the idea for my novel, i've thought of it as BROKEN WINGS. Asking me ( Read more... )

 Before I became a writer, I was an actress. I had roles in all the high school plays, and I won a scholarship to the Theatre Department at San Diego State University, where I acted in everything I possibly could, from one-act plays such as "Birdbath" by Leonard Melfi to a main stage production of  Shakespeare's "As You Like It." I also did some ( Read more... )

 I know I haven't written in here in a week. That's because last weekend, I had my first official debut-novelist meltdown. Things were humming along, and I thought I was finished with the copyedits for BROKEN WINGS when the email from my editor came. "I just have a few more changes I'd like you to make," she said. "Can you get them back to me by ( Read more... )