Talking Story
Powerless
I was piddling around in bed playing Candy Crush level 147 and losing for the fifteenth time that morning when the lights flickered, once, twice, and went out. Holding my breath and staring at the light fixture, I waited. Dang, I thought. Late last night I...
Cover Reveal: Dependent by Brenda Corey Dunne
Another stunning cover from Jolly Fish Press is Dependent by Brenda Corey Dunne. It's the story of 45 year old Ellen Michaels who loses her husband in a tragic military accident and has to rebuild her life. Can you imagine having everything you count on disappearing?...
Cover Reveal: Acquisitions by Christine Haggerty
Coming from Fox Hollow Publications December 2013 is Christine Haggerty's debut novel Acquisitions, the first in the Plague Legacy series. I had the privilege to read an early version of the manuscript and can't wait to read the final. It's an amazing YA dystopian...
Charbroiled Characters
As the author of a series, I’m often asked by other writers about character development—specifically, how should characters change from one book to the next. I always say it all depends on whether your series is more like a fast-food burger or a chef’s table dining...
Cover Reveal: Fires of Man by Dan Levinson
Yet another great title coming from Jolly Fish Press Spring/Summer 2014 is Dan Levinson's Fires of Man. Isn't the cover intriguing?
Cover Reveal: Confessions of the Very First Zombie Slayer (That I Know Of) by F.J.R. Titchenell
F.J.R. Titchenell's newest book, Confessions of the Very First Zombie Slayer (That I Know Of) will be available in Spring 2014. It's a Young Adult horror/comedy novel structured like a diary that sounds fascinating.
Cover Reveal: New Sight by Jo Ann Schneider
Continuing the week of Jolly Fish Press's book cover reveals for their 2014 Spring/Summer catalog is New Sight by Jo Ann Schneider. It's a terrifying tale of drug addiction and treatment that's not what it seems. For the older YA reader, New Sight is speculative...
Cover Reveal: Citadels of Fire by L.K. Hill
Here's the amazing cover for Citadels of Fire by L.K. Hill available Spring 2013. Set in medieval Russia, it's the story of Inga, a maid in the imperial Russian palace who must break the oppressive chains that have bound her since birth. Congratulations, Liesel!
Cover Reveal: Eleanor by Johnny Worthen
I'm really excited about Eleanor by Johnny Worthen, available Spring 2014. Johnny says, "Eleanor is a modest girl, unremarkable but extraordinary, young but old, malleable but fixed. She is scared and confused. She is a liar and a thief. Eleanor is not what she...
Author Interview with Amie & Bethanie Borst
Mother and daughter writing duo Amie and Bethanie Borst just published their first book in a fractured fairy tale series called Cinderskella. They stopped by the blog to answer a few of my niele questions. What inspired Cinderskella? Amie: I would say Bethanie...
#5: Going to Hawaii is like stepping back to a simpler time
Rounding out my five biggest myth-conceptions about Hawaii is #5: Going to Hawaii is like stepping back to a simpler time. Because vacationers dream of Hawaii as an idyllic backwater paradise, it knocks people’s socks off to learn that by the mid-1800s Hawaii had the...
#4: Laid-back means you’re lazy.
Once at a fancy restaurant I watched the wait staff run the entire time I was sipping my guava juice and nibbling French toast. The maître d’ was orchestrating it all with a glance, a raised eyebrow, a slight head tilt, and the staff was hopping! I was so impressed...
#3: You need a passport to visit Hawaii.
I can't count the number of times I've been asked how I like living in the states. People, I grew up in the states. Which brings me to my next point-- #3: You need a passport to visit Hawaii. But only if you’re not a US citizen since Hawaii is the 50th State. That...
#2: If you live in Hawaii, you’re Hawaiian.
Locals say, lucky you live Hawaii, and they're right. Everyone is welcome in Hawaii's melting pot. But don't make the mistake of calling yourself Hawaiian just because you live in the islands. Myth-understanding #2: If you live in Hawaii, you’re Hawaiian. Unlike New...
Myth-understanding #1: If you put pineapple on it, it’s Hawaiian
Ah, Hawaii. Everybody surfs. Beautiful girls in grass skirts smile as you pass by. Coconuts fall off trees and tumble into coolers where they sprout little paper umbrellas... Paradise? You bet. There’s a reason locals say lucky you live Hawaii. However, most people...
Losing the GPS, Part 3:
The Things We Do For Love
Click here to read Part 1: Famous Last Words Click here to read Part 2: It’s a Date Horse eating rocks, water crossings, and trees that reach out and snatch you are all perils of mountain trail riding. It always spooks me when the horses’ heads and ears twitch and...
Losing the GPS, Part 2:
It’s a Date
Click here to read Part 1: Famous Last Words Sunday afternoon, drugged out on ibuprofen and hobbling, Kevin came into the house. “Wanna go on a ride with me? I checked the packs. My GPS must’ve fallen out when Brownie tipped over.” “You’re kidding me. You lost your...
Losing the GPS, Part 1:
Famous Last Words
“I lost the GPS. Come find it with me.” The whole situation dripped with irony. My husband Kevin, a former scout master of twenty years and born horseman, had been asked to help wrangle 12 and 13 year old scouts on an overnight camping trip in the mountains...
Beware Smurf Foot!
In Utah, I run around barefoot or in slippahs waaaay too frequently. It's not unusual to see me scampering to the mailbox, quick stepping through the snow because until that moment when the sub-zero cold hit my tender tootsies I forgot that normal people wear thick...
Mountain Lions
“There’s a mountain lion near the haystack. It’s a big one.” Kevin and I had just left the house and were headed to a late night movie when the cell phone rang. Kevin joked, “I bet the kids want us to bring them ice cream.” “I bet they’re arguing over who has...