Today is my wonderful friend Eileen Cook's birthday. You should celebrate and buy yourself a present. How about one of her fabulous books? Happy Birthday, Sweet Pea!

Speaking of other people doing publicity for me...the fabulous and fun blogger, James over at Book Chic is hosting a double giveaway. Enter to win by leaving a comment and you could win one of two advance readers copies of The Right & the Real! Isn't he a star?...

I've had a headache all week. This has made writing my new novel challenging, but I was sick with a cold four of my five writing days last week, so I have made myself carry on in spite of the headache. Since drugs don't usually work for me, I don't bother taking them...

I'm pretty excited to share with you all my first review for The Right & the Real! From Publisher's Weekly: Fast pacing and a strong first-person narrative voice combine to make this coming-of-age story a harrowing page-turner....

The following video includes some exciting stuff (at least for me), but I forgot to include one really, really cool thing. Went to the Poetry Festival all day yesterday. They have these little cabins without electricity surrounding the lodge where it was held and for...

I'm very excited to be participating in the Poetry Gabriola Festival next weekend. I'll be performing on Thursday, February 16th. Here's the blurby thing that explains it. If you're in the area, I hope you come. And not just to my event. The entire festival is ALWAYS...

http://youtu.be/uP61zlerel8

There is much talk about supporting indie bookstores for the simple fact that they need our dollars to keep the lights on. Without them, writers and readers will be cheated out of choice as big chains choose what we read by making available their choices, not ours. ...

I realized today that I've been writing soooooo much that I haven't updated the blog in forever! But did you see the part of that sentence that said "I've been writing soooooo much"? That's the good news! Anyway, not much to say today, so I thought I'd share this...

To help celebrate the launch of her new book, Holly Cupala put together this excellent video called Words Have Power. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=u8oqs9n7Ao4 I was lucky enough to be asked to be in it. Enjoy!

I am only 84 pages into this, but I seriously think it is a must read for all Middle Grade and Young Adult writers. It's kind of sad, really, but fascinating too. The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth by Alexandra Robbins When school lunchroom doors open, hungry students...

This just cracks me up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BrhA0sEkuaM Thanks to my friend Bad Steve, for sending it to me.

For the first time in over a year, I've updated and added things to the Events Page. Check it out. And I hope to see you there!  

To celebrate the release of her new book, Unraveling Isobel, author Eileen Cook is giving away books. And today, she's giving away an ARC of my book, The Right and the Real. Pop on over to enter to win!

That's right! Today is the release of the fabulous writer Eileen Cook's new book, Unraveling Isobel. You know you want it. So go get it! I read an early draft of this fun ghost story. You're going to love it. And what an excellent cover! It would look stunning on any...

Time again for the list of my favourite books that I've read this year! As usual, it's a real mix. Some are fluffy and light murder mysteries or chick lit, most are young adult, some are more literary, some are just plain useful or amusing nonfiction. I've chosen from...

Quite a while ago, I read a theory on ideas and I honestly can't remember where I read it, but if I had to guess, I'd say it was probably in Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way. Essentially, the theory stated that ideas (story, businesses, painting, food, any creative...