Video: The real life events behind my mystery/thriller

February 12, 2017.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Did you know that the novel Jaws was based on a true story? Yeah. I didn’t want to know that either (goodbye swimming FOREVER). There is nothing to make a creepy story even creepier than knowing IT ACTUALLY happened. In honour of Mystery Thriller Week, I have put together this vid to share the real […]

The Life Group: Blog Tour and Giveaway

January 12, 2017.Reading time 2 minutes.

Title: The Life Group Author: Maura Jortner Publication Date: Jan. 9, 2017 Find: Amazon | Goodreads | B&N Summary ONE MISSING GIRL. NO SUSPECTS. Every day since her sister vanished, Rachel has visited the radical church where Leah was last seen. There are still no suspects or leads, but Rachel’s positive clues lie in that church somewhere. […]

Who’s That Girl? The Secret Identity of my Cover Girl

September 16, 2016.Reading time 1 minute.

A lot of people have asked me if the face on the cover of my book, The Tokyo Cover Girls belongs to me. I get it. With my youthful skin and sleek physique, I basically look like I’m still a teenager. Alas, I thought I should probably give credit to my cover model and introduce […]

The Tokyo Cover Girls Blog Tour: Coming this September

June 17, 2016.Reading time less than 1 minute.

The count down is on (and I mean the one that doesn’t involve a small human forcing its way through my nether regions)! In just a couple months my blog tour will officially commence. I’m not sure what to expect but am psyched to see that a) the sign ups are now open and b) […]

The Tokyo Cover Girls in Real Life

May 17, 2016.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Da da da da! After many many years (why put a number on it?) my indie published book is now a real thing. The Tokyo Cover Girls is a young adult novel about three teens modeling in Tokyo who are trapped in a competition where the only escape is to uncover the truth behind a […]

Review: Windrunner’s Daughter by Bryony Pearce

May 17, 2016.Reading time 5 minutes.

Rating: Four out of Five Stars I received a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review as part of a YA Bound Book Tour. Summary: Think Whale Rider meets Dune. Windrunner’s Daughter offers up a good old fashion girl power story with an unusual twist: hand gliding on Mars. Wren is young woman living […]

How’d she do that? A peak into the making of Ruta Sepetys’ new novel

February 26, 2013.Reading time less than 1 minute.

As much as I love reading books, what I love even more is the stuff that isn’t on the page: the journey that the author took to creating their finished work. In so many cases, this story can be just as dramatic as the works themselves–such as with this one, about how a pair of […]

Meg Tilly is coming to town!

February 21, 2013.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Yay! Meg Tilly has come out with another Young Adult novel, A Taste of Heaven, and though I haven’t read it yet, hello, it has rainbow sprinkles on the cover—what more can a person really ask for? Wait I know! How about getting to see her in person? That’s right, Tilly is coming to Vancouver’s […]

Something I learned about writing today: It takes a village

February 12, 2013.Reading time 1 minute.

I don’t know if anyone else besides the author and the people listed within them ever actually reads them, but I have soft spot for Acknowledgments pages. They are like a little peak behind the scenes, a tiny glimpse into how the book in my hand was created. And sometimes a much needed lull at […]

Things that inspire me to write #3: Eleanor Updale’s The Last Minute

January 26, 2013.Reading time 1 minute.

Like setting and conflict, time is one of those Important Novel Elements discussed in every writing class I have ever taken. When does one scene take place in relation to another? How is that conveyed? And whatever you do, don’t go overboard on the flashbacks. All good advice, of course, however, nothing makes me more […]