I’m going to be a cheating McCheater pants on this post. I know that it looks like I am going to blog about a favorite work of fiction that I read in the calendar year 2012. And I do actually have a few of these.If you are looking for some great reads, you can see what I loved in 2012. But I’m not going to talk about those books today. Instead, I’m going to say a few things about the most influential-on-me book I read in calendar year 2012. Basically, this blog post will probably be very boring if you are not a writer. Readers, my apologies! Just skip this stuff and look for the giveaway at the bottom of the post. (I love my non-writer readers!) Full disclosure: I read this book in 2011 before I read it in Read more…

Did you not love these as a kid? I know I did. Well, apparently adults can get them, too. A couple of months ago I was all excited when Kirkus (who have a TM on this: The World’s Toughest Book Critics) (I am not making that up) gave my book a Starred Review. I’m even more excited to report that they added my title to their annual list of 100 Indie titles to be named to Kirkus Reviews’ Best of 2012. As far as I can tell, twelve of those are children’s titles. And mine’s easy to find! So skedaddle on over there and read the review if you haven’t already. (I’ll wait.) And if you would like to read the book itself but you’re afraid you might not like it because it is Science Fiction (you know who you Read more…

I’ve been mulling over what to talk about at my upcoming Book Launch Party for my second book in The Saving Mars Series—DEFYING MARS. Now, I happen to know there will be a sizeable number of people there of whom it could be said, “Fans of Sci/Fi, they are not.” (Nor, I suspect, do their desks look like this.) So that got me to thinking about how, when I wrote the first book, I told myself, “I’ve got to work extra hard to make sure the characters are front and center—and unforgettable.” Okay, that might have been something my sister said to me (in the imperative form) now that I think about it… But in either case, I wrote with the idea firmly in my mind. I knew the book would have a title that SCREAMED Sci/Fi and was pretty Read more…

This post is crazy overdue. It’s like I totally forgot that I had a blog. (That is me, working at looking forgetful for you.) Which isn’t as bad as forgetting that you had a dog or cat or child, but still. It’s pretty bad. Too make up for it, I tried to tweet and visit my facebook page a few times, but that’s not the same. So I have some making up to do, wouldn’t you say, Internet? I propose a two part apology/make-up/love-fest. Part one: I reveal my NEW AND IMPROVED cover for SAVING MARS which includes a blurb from my Kirkus Reviews, uh, review. Part two: I reveal my BRAND NEW cover for the sequel to Saving Mars. Oh. Uh oh. I said I had a two part thingamabob and I’m going to have to make that into Read more…

It is an oft-repeated complaint: there’s no YA featuring guy heroes. It’s not true, of course, but it sure can feel like it. If you haven’t read Lisa Nowak’s books and you like guy main characters, you are in for a treat. She writes ’em funny, gutsy, and with lots of heart. I LOL quite a lot reading Lisa’s books. Today, I’ve got a character interview with the girl in her latest book DEAD HEAT just so that you know she writes great girl characters, too. But the book really is about a boy. Read it and find out! Seventeen-year-old Jade lives with her grandparents, is a scholarship student at an exclusive prep school, and finds herself inexplicably attracted to Alex, the hero of Dead Heat. Fortunately, he feels it, too. Even if he doesn’t want to admit it. Okay, Read more…

In the September/October issue of the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) Bulletin, there’s an article devoted to an issue faced by all writers choosing a path of self-publishing: What can these authors do to vet their books? The article mentioned two new-to-me paid reviewing services (grubstreetreads.com and blueinkreview.com) and suggested that the use of either service might benefit an author looking for that exterior stamp of approval. Depending upon where you sit in your self-publishing journey, the $99-575 which such services charge for reviewing can look like a lot of money. For myself, I thought of it as a cost on the order of what I might spend to attend a conference, something I budget for several times a year from my writer income. While I haven’t used either of those new services, I have used two Read more…

Yup. I got one. For those who don’t know, Kirkus Reviews has been around since the 1930’s and they have a reputation for serving up tough criticism. In the last couple of years, they added a program to review self-published novels on a fee-basis. (They don’t allow them in their regular program.) Basically, by adding a fee program, they are able to provide reviews for those who are not going to be placing ads which is what generates their revenue normally. (I am not Random House and I’m not going to be placing ads in their publications for the next hundred years.) They can either (1) review self-pubbed books at a huge loss or (2) not review them at all or (3) review them at a cost. I’m so glad they went with (3)! I’ll write up a post detailing Read more…

Barry Eisler recently posted thoughtfully (and thoroughly) upon the topic of sock-puppetry and other systems of paid and falsified reviewing in the book industry. (Actually, his article is more focused upon the recent rash of response to it, but includes thoughts of reviews as well.) I’ve been examining my own actions in this regard–something Eisler urged authors to do. His article was, for me, timely. I recently sent SAVING MARS to Kirkus Indie for a paid review. (This is Kirkus’s solution for books unattached to one of the publishers with whom they already work offering not-for-pay reviewing.) I’ve concluded, after consulting with writers whose integrity I trust, that Kirkus Indie provides a very different service from the kinds of services that have come under fire recently. In fact, in these discussions, that conclusion pretty much fell in the category of “self-evident.” Read more…

I’ve been rather Mars-focused of late, but I know that most of you reading this found your way here because of The Ripple Trilogy. And you’ve maybe read the bit of back matter in the more recent versions of the Ripple books that makes mention of a cookbook. Well, it is going to be released very, very soon. I am trying to figure out a way to give it to my New Release subscribers for free, so if you haven’t signed up yet to be notified when I publish something new, you should probably stop reading and sign up here. All done? Okay. So here is a list of what you can expect inside the Official Ripple Trilogy Cookbook: BREAKFASTS AROUND LAS ABS Will’s Killer Sourdough Waffles or Pancakes Sylvia’s Worth Getting Up For French Toast Sylvia’s Buttermilk Pancakes Bridget Li’s Stollen Without Those Nasty Read more…

I spent the first part of August in California goat-sitting for my sister. Well, honestly, my daughter did most of the goat-y work as well as taking care of the cats, dogs, and chickens. But caring for my sister’s farmyard meant that I was within an easy distance of NASA Ames for the landing of the Mars Science Laboratory CURIOSITY Rover.  Boy, am I glad my sister’s animals needed someone to be there for them. The visit to NASA Ames was one of those highlight-of-your-life adventures. We arrived some four hours ahead of Curiosity’s scheduled touchdown and got to enjoy food trucks and the company of other space geeks as well as an impressive array of exhibits pulled together by scientists at NASA Ames who contributed to Curiosity’s mission. My favorite moments? Watching my daughter and nieces converse with scientists Read more…