ANTHONY, Joëlle. Restoring Harmony. 307p. CIP. Putnam. 2010. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-399-25281-5. LC 2009029501. Gr 6 Up–This dystopian tale features a resourceful, spirited, and immensely likable heroine. Molly McClure, 16, has lived her entire life on a small island...

I know you read the book, but if you haven't seen the movie, then my comments will definitely spoil it for you, so in order to make sure you really want to read this post, you must click here and know that I am warning you now, I give things away about the movie that...

It's official! I have a pub date for my book Restoring Harmony. It is May 13, 2010. Yay! I have also handed off the final edits to my editor. All that is left are the copy edits and then it is out of my hands. We've even done the catalogue copy. It's so exciting I can...

Miss Sophie knows that the blue velvet chair is off limits to her, but it's never stopped her before. I wonder if she was planning on reading this book I accidentally left there after her nap?

As you might know, I'm originally from Portland, Oregon. I know things are hard all over for indie bookstores, but this notice in Publishers Marketplace distressed me enough to bring it to your attention. Portland, OR-area bookseller Stephanie Griffin closed her store...

I am excited to say that I did a guest blog today over at Darcy Pattison's website. She teaches the best workshop on novel revision ever! And she now has a book out too. Anyway, read what I have to say about the road to publication here: http://bit.ly/hW83V

I realized that not only have I not posted in a while, but it's been ages since I did a Friday Five, so I thought why not now? And why not add pictures? 1. This is how I spent Canada Day. Oh, heck, who am I kidding...this is how I spent most of the week! 2. If you...

I was just doing my morning blog reads. I don't check out very many because my eyes do not like to read on the internet, but I do stop by Editorial Anonymous on occasion and there was a post there this morning from someone just getting started. From the post, I...

I just read a (nameless) ARC that has made me pause and think for almost two days! It has a stunning first chapter that got me hooked immediately. However, after about three or four chapters, I could've plotted the entire book on paper without any problem. I could've...

I want to say right off the bat, this post is strictly about using certain terms that are true to your characters, NOT about political correctness. I grew up in the seventies. They taught us in school (and probably at home) that the word negro was out, and we should...

I am reading a couple of great YAs which are part of a series. As I read, it got me thinking a bit about copy edits and regionalisms in language. I have one more round of line edits before Restoring Harmony goes into copy edits, but they're on my mind. My editor and I...

The perils of living in paradise are wonderful writing distractions like this: Click to see it larger. The husband wants me to state for the record that while he took this picture, it is a SNAPSHOT TAKEN WITHOUT THE PROPER LENSE AND DOES NOT REFLECT HIS PHOTOGRAPHY...

My husband has been known to say about me and my writing, "I'm so proud I'm gonna pop." Yeah...he's a Southerner so he says things a little differently than everyone else. As he claims, "We've got language, the rest of y'all just have words." Anyway... It's my turn to...