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I'm so excited to finally announce my awesome big news. The YA Sci-Fi novel that I've been working on will be released by Albert Whitman (AW Teen) in Fall 2018!
Here's the link to the announcement for IGNITE THE STARS
I am so thrilled to bring Ia Cōcha's story to the world. She is wicked and rude and clever. But loyal and just in her own unique way. She's kinda my hero! And I hope you all like her as much as I do.
Stay tuned for more book news forever and ever!
For those of you are interested in dating or marrying writer, a word of caution. Writers can't turn their brains off.
For every road trip, airplane ride, dinner date, us writers will always be thinking about writing. And good luck having conversations with us, we'll nod and shake our heads to whatever you're saying, but what we're really thinking about it is how to get our main characters from Point A to Point B, how to kill off side characters, and how our blasted stories are going to end.
Here's a survival guide for anyone who has to deal with writers in their lives.
Matcha lattes are my personal favorite. But here's a few others to choose from: milk tea with boba, thai iced tea, soy lattes, raw smoothies with kale and dates, mocha frappucinos, champagne. The list goes on for eternity.
Writing is a very solitary act. And it can get lonely. So it's nice when someone asks us about our characters, our stories, our fictional boy crushes (yes, I've fallen for a few of my characters). Sometimes we need a "That's awesome!" from someone who will listen just to keep us sane.
Like I said before, writing is a very solitary act. Our stories and characters are very precious to us, even if it doesn't make sense to anyone else.
Don't give us writing advice unless we ask for it. Just a few words can knock us into the depths of despair.
Writers hate the sunshine. Even though we know that Vitamin D is very necessary to our health, we'd rather be nesting in a dark room, staring at a computer. And that's not because we're vampires or nightlurkers, it's mostly because we're writing, or trying to write while we stare at the blinking line of sadness/infinite possibilities on our Microsoft Word or Scrivener app. Even if we aren't clackity-clacking on our keyboards, we are still thinking. And to us, that is very important work before the work. We absolutely need this time!
So if you invite us somewhere, and we say no, please don't take offense!
Writing is filled with rejection. Most writers try to keep a stoic face, but eventually we all crack. Sentences like "The story didn't speak to me," "The writing isn't quite there yet," "I'm going to have to pass," will make us wither up like a dying bouquet of flowers.
But don't panic! After a good cry, we'll eventually feel better about ourselves.
'Nuff said.
This past Saturday was my second time at YALLWest. Books, food trucks, and all my favorite authors = awesome!
As always, it was great seeing young readers gathering together and geeking out over books. And I felt a pang of jealousy because I never really had bookish friends to discuss my favorite stories with.
When I was in Middle School, I remember going to the town library after school. I rarely saw anyone from my class there. So, I had no idea who was reading what, and if they were reading anything at all. And it made me think that reading wasn't "cool." I became very secretive about my reading addiction because I didn't want anyone in school to judge me. At school, I kept my library books in my backpack but never took them out for fear that people would see the dragon on the cover and then laugh in my face. But being at YALLWest, I realized that much has changed since then. And it made me think that these kids are really lucky to have found a community where they can be honest about how much they love reading.
When my boyfriend joined us later on in the day, he told me the first thing he saw was a young boy hugging an armful of books and exclaiming, "I'm so overwhelmed!" It was the most adorable story I ever heard. I wish I was there to give that kid a high-five, but also to tell him that the struggle will never, ever go away...
It's a dilemma only us readers will ever know.
