Japan · Memoir · Writing

Japan Memoir Part 5: The Comfort of a Known Noise

When I was a child, I knew when something fancy was happening because my mother would dress up. She would put on her earrings, curl her bangs higher than usual. Wear a dress, and high-heeled shoes that clicked when she walked. That sound was the sound of grown-ups. At age five, I knew that some… Continue reading Japan Memoir Part 5: The Comfort of a Known Noise

Comedy · Holiday

Ed Balls Day: Letting Our Immaturity Hang Out Fancy-Free

Today is Ed Balls day! Are you excited? You should be! Today we wear our Ed Balls hats and eat our Ed Balls foods and celebrate the fact that there is actually a politician, quite high the UK Labor Party, named Ed Balls. So high up that one day Britain may have a Prime Minister… Continue reading Ed Balls Day: Letting Our Immaturity Hang Out Fancy-Free

Publishing · Writing

Dear People I Submit My Work To: A Love Letter From the Discard Pile

  Dear People I Submit My Work To; You don’t know me, but you’ve read my handiwork, or at least the part where I make an honest attempt to spell your name correctly. That’s a lot of your job: to read my writing, judge it, and finally click a button that either sends my dreams… Continue reading Dear People I Submit My Work To: A Love Letter From the Discard Pile

Saint Flaherty Series · What Boys Are Made Of

You’re Invited to My reddit Author Spotlight Saturday

Mark your calendars, set your alarms! This badass author is having an author spotlight over on reddit’s Book board on Saturday, April 23rd.

What is it? It’s basically an ask-me-anything over on Reddit. You can drop by and just say hey, you can ask a question, you can add to the discussion–any or all!

When? It’s April 23rd, from 11am to 6pm EST. That doesn’t mean you need to be there the whole time, it means come by any time! And, to be honest, after; I’ll still be keeping an eye on it. (Though actually I forgot I have a couple things scheduled that day, so I will be in and out. Oops! Guess I’ll just have to make do.)

Where? It’s happening on reddit’s Book board here. On Saturday, I’ll make a thread and the mods will pin it to the top so anyone can drop by. Don’t worry, I’ll be posting links everywhere as well!

And, uh, what is reddit? Reddit’s an anonymous(ish) chat forum that has a billion sub-forums, called sub-reddits. For this spotlight, we’ll be, quite appropriately, on Books!

In order to post there, you will need an account, but they take half a second to make and you don’t even have to give them your email address. It’s easier than accidentally making eye-contact with a vendor at a mall kiosk, but with much better payoff.

If you want to make sure you’ll remember, click that you’re attending on the event page on Facebook–and don’t forget to invite your friends as well!

Want to ask a question about my books? The blog? Tell the world that you’re desperately shipping two characters? Demand if that thing I implied on page 253 was deliberate and, if so, will it be explored in later books? This is the time!

Thanks everyone, and see you there!

 

Japan · Memoir · Writing

Japan Memoir Part 4: What Can Be Bought

To me, going food shopping in another country is the best part of travel. I love novelty foods, and any given trip to my local grocery store will find me pulling down new flavors of chips and going “ooh, what’s this?” Away from home, I’m prone to exiting with my arms full of new foods, grinning as… Continue reading Japan Memoir Part 4: What Can Be Bought

Novels · Publishing · Saint Flaherty Series · Technology

What Makes People Buy Books?

Ah, marketing. Can you believe that before my book came out last month, I was actually excited to give it a try? Marketing is, it turns out, a jerk. You wouldn’t think it’d be hard to sell eight hours of entertainment for literally less than the price of a cup of coffee, but alas, publishing… Continue reading What Makes People Buy Books?

Comedy · Technology · Writing

Smartphones Are For Idiots Like Us

I am not a technology person, so of course I married the sort of man who thinks a month-old phone is “a bit dated.” In some ways, this is perfect. I hate all things that require more set-up than plugging them in and pushing an “on” button, he positively revels in finding little bowls to… Continue reading Smartphones Are For Idiots Like Us

Interview · Writing

Pushing to the Forefront: Background Characters With RR Willica

Everything—from movies to novels to video games—has its NPCs, the people who weave in and out of the story for one purpose and one purpose only: to usher it along. Yet this doesn’t mean background characters are unimportant. In part 1 of this two-part series, I’ve teamed up with R.R. Willica, author of the Darkness… Continue reading Pushing to the Forefront: Background Characters With RR Willica