May 3, 2008 – 10:19 pm
Okay, so I’ve been a little bit remiss in posting recently. I could come up with a lot of excuses including but not limited to two solid weeks on the road, balky Internet connections and the most wicked case of bronchitis ever, but what would be the point? Blogging is as blogging does. If you [...]
February 5, 2008 – 4:00 pm
Ever since my website relaunched back in December, I’ve become obsessed with Google Analytics. If you don’t know what that is, I’d tell you, only I don’t really know myself. Basically, Google Analytics is a service by Google that tracks visitors to your website. It tells you how they got there (via which search engines), [...]
January 29, 2008 – 1:04 am
A few weeks ago I received an email from a young fan. I’ll keep her identity a secret, but she wrote to tell me how much she loved my Spy Goddess novels. Her email went onto say that these books had encouraged her to start writing and illustrating her own series of short stories. Needless [...]
January 22, 2008 – 10:15 am
Every now and then, when I speak to students or teachers at a school or conference, I’m often asked about the daunting task of filling up the blank page. A big problem for a lot of writers just seems to be sitting down and getting started writing. In my own experience I never really have [...]
January 15, 2008 – 2:08 pm
1. For the eleventh time since I began writing professionally, I did not win the Newbery Medal. Of course, I didn’t have an eligible book this year, but I digress. Oh well, I guess it goes back on the list for next year in between “learn to speak French” and “organize garage.” 2. Is anyone [...]
December 31, 2007 – 9:26 am
Well, I don’t know about you, but I tend not to make New Year’s Resolutions. Frankly, New’s Year’s as a holiday has lost the appeal it once had as a holiday. Sure, when I was in college it was another excuse to have a party, but in reality when you’re in college, any given Tuesday [...]
December 18, 2007 – 2:04 pm
When did it happen that the holidays became the time for going to the movies? It used to be the only place you went at the holidays was to Grandma’s house and Christmas shopping. So when did the movies become a part of the holiday tradition? And are they a good part? I mean I [...]
December 11, 2007 – 9:00 am
Growing up, when it came to the holidays, our house was the place where Christmas Trees went to die. Not just because they were real, live, trees that had been cut down and were essentially dead already. No, when it came to picking Christmas trees, my family was evergreen challenged. Charlie Brown had nothing on [...]
December 4, 2007 – 4:13 pm
Seems like everyone is blogging these days. When I redesigned my website, everybody said ‘you have to have a blog!’ ‘Okay!’ I said. Followed by, ‘what’s a blog?’ I mean I know what a blog is. Theoretically. But I have to admit that I’m beginning to think that the world has gone a little blog [...]