She acts, used to dance, and has published a growing list of highly acclaimed Young Adult novels. Meg Tilly is one of those people that have the annoying tendency to excel in whatever art they take hold of. And as a writer whose painted mountainscapes look like something out of Dr Seuss book (and not […]
Anything two feet ahead of me no longer exists and the sky is a constant slate of white. The fog has settled on my part of the world and doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon–and I’m starting to think that may not be such a bad thing. In the acknowledgements section of Before I […]
Whoot! whoot! for Joan…mostly. I ran into a woman I used to be in a writing group with this afternoon and found out one of the manuscripts she was working on, New Girl during our sessions was released as an e-book last October by Musa Publishing. And despite the initial twinge of envy I admit […]
The year in photos, the top 40 songs, the 100 most influential people…that’s right, the ‘BEST of’ season has officially arrived. With New Years Eve quickly approaching, every magazine, newspaper and website in the world suddenly appears to be focused on that one all important question: what the hell did we do with the last 365 […]
There is no place like home. Unless you happen to live in New York or London reading a novel that is set in your home town is a special and rare treat, something that I am currently experiencing with Kelley Armstrong’s The Gathering. This paranormal YA novel takes place in my home province of BC, […]
Because, she thinks leaning over the keyboard with a crowbar spine, I never believed, I could get pulled into a novel, Written in verse. Or that it was even possible. So thank you Ellen Hopkins, for disrupting–and expanding–my concept of what a novel can be, you inspire me.
There is nothing like a novel’s first line. Setting, character, tone, some delicately hinted at conflict—it’s always intriguing to see how authors blend all of these elements together and hook a reader into their story with little more than a handful of words–and of course, totally impressive. And no opener has ever wowed me more, […]
It takes a lot of work and time to produce a novel manuscript. At least for me. My very first attempt took almost five years. Granted, the subsequent works have not been quite so painfully long to create, but only marginally so–which is why I am always completely blown away when I see Meg […]
It started with a short story and a night of open mic. Pretty soon I was coming to writing workshops, volunteering with kids’ zine-making groups and even worked as a program assistant at one point, helping to build floating poetry lanterns and then heading down to the ocean to set them free. Being involved, just […]
Reading about Stephanie Meyer earlier this week, I was struck by her comment that she initially wrote Twilight purely for her own enjoyment. I think she may have been on to something there. I have recently been working on a manuscript for a yet untitled paranormal romance and keep finding myself thinking back to myself […]