Month: November 2011

  • Despite fireworks and festivities, the start of 2011 was bittersweet. Shortly after we rang in the New Year, Andy’s younger brother was deployed to Afghanistan with the Marines. Their family has a history of military service, but mine does not. This was my first experience worrying about a soldier overseas, and I quickly learned that…

  • Writerly Wednesday

    Great advice for NaNo-ers from Tahereh Mafi, author of one of the most anticipated YA debuts of the year (and former commenter on this very blog!): “Don’t be afraid to write a bad book.” take a risk. be open to writing a book that will undoubtedly embarrass you in a few years. go nuts with the adverbs…

  • A few people have asked me for updates on the “Great Pricing Adventure” that began when Amazon priced my ebook Twenty-Somewhere at the whopping sum of $0. (For the background story, see: “On ‘selling’ like hotcakes.”) During the 4 days my book was free, about 16,400 copies were downloaded. The title peaked at #9 on the…

  • NaNo? Nah, no(t for me)

    Ah, November. A great month, for many reasons. The 21st day in particular is a favorite of mine. ;) For many writers, November is synonymous with HOLY CRAP I HAVE TO WRITE A TON — aka National Novel Writing Month, NaNoWriMo, or NaNo. The challenge: to write 50,000 words in 30 days, never mind that…