Hey Reader, Thanks for dropping in to catch up! It's been a whirlwind year so far. CIRCUIT FAE: REKINDLED and CIRCUIT FAE 4: NEMESIS released, and we had a cover reveal for CIRCUIT FAE 5: EIDOLON, the epic conclusion, which releases on March 3, 2020. In other news, in July, I went out on submission for my enemies-to-lovers teen lesbian knights book. Right now, it's in the hands of a dozen or so people who will decide whether or not it gets published. Some days, I can barely w

It's that time again! Halloween approaches, and just around the corner is National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo! Whether you're planning on writing your entire novel or just using NaNo to create a habit of writing (always a great idea), I've got a round-up of posts that can help put you in a great starting position. Here, we have my Preptober series, a four-part hot-to prep your book and get yourself ready to meet those daily work counts! I cover everything from getting s

Dear Readers, If you're anything like me, you're all about the music. Whether you're writing, working out, getting work done, or just hanging out, the right soundtrack can make all the difference! With the launch of CIRCUIT FAE 4: NEMESIS on September 10, I'm gearing up to share some of my very best playlists for all my projects. The project I'm the most excited for is my new work-in-progress (WIP) for book one of the series to follow CIRCUIT FAE. It's so fresh and shiny new,

Dear Readers, After a week off for good behavior (I typically don't blog in 5th weeks of the month), I'm back with a cool outlining hack for writers. If you're anything like me, your outline is probably about one-third as long as your actual book. No, but really. *stares in plotter* I do a full chapter-by-chapter outline for each book, revising it in between drafts. I usually have everything from GMCs to worldbuilding notes to actual dialogue in my outline, so it can be chall

This past weekend, I returned to my MFA alma mater, Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA, for the In Your Write Mind 2019 writers' conference. I got to reconnect with old friends like guest of honor, Mark Oshiro, as well as attend a Mystery Dinner written by our very own Victoria Thompson. Seton Hill is more than just the place I got my MFA. It was the first place where other writers told me my work had promise. For the first time ever, I got feedback on my writing, and pe

Dear Readers, I know many of you are also writers, so I thought I'd share one of my smaller, more subtle pieces of advice for surviving the day-to-day of the writing biz. Receiving. As always, there's a story. Back in 2011, right before I graduated from a grueling but amazing MFA program at Seton Hill University, I was deep in the daily word trenches. At the time, I was working in the medical field, 40+ hours a week at a long-term care facility. It was hard. It was depressing

DIVERSITY AND REPRESENTATION – ONE READER’S PERSPECTIVE It’s no secret that diversity is gaining ground in popular media. Our world is amazingly diverse, and marginalized people are rightfully demanding movies about protagonists like them. As part of the LGBTQ+ community and an own voices author (meaning, my protagonists and I share a marginalized lesbian identity), I can attest that we’re so ready for diverse books. So! Ready! We’re hungry for these books and to see ourselve

I know what it's like. You start out with a great idea, you've got all this momentum, you get halfway through your book, and wham! The words just stop flowing. No matter what you do, you can't recapture the shiny newness of that initial creative burst. I’ve written six books so far in THE CIRCUIT FAE series. Further, I’ve been an editor for a number of small presses, helping authors make their publishing dreams a reality. Today, I'd like to let you in on my secret of why I'm

It's been an exciting April, readers and fellow sleeper-princesses! It was my first RavenCon in Williamsburg, VA, and I loved meeting and reconnecting with friends and industry colleagues and discussing all topics writing and publishing! Thank you to the RavenCon staff, support, and volunteers as well as to my fellow panelists and all my readers and congoers-in-arms! As usual with my con recaps, today I want to tackle a question I'm often asked: Why don't you sell your books

Dear Readers, I'm thrilled to be a guest at RavenCon 14 on April 5-7 in Williamsburg, VA! It's my first time at this con, and I'm looking forward to all the exciting panels and discussions we're going to have. Here's my schedule: Saturday 10 am (Panel) Focus on Dialogue / Room 8 11 am (Panel) Crutch Words and Verbing Adverbly / Room F 12:25 pm - 12:50 pm (Reading) Room 4 6 pm (Panel) Small Presses: How They Work... / Room L Midnight (Panel) Smut, Gore, and More: 18+ / Room 8

Hello, my pretties! I've been absent this past week, catching up after a wonderful Arisia 2019 convention. I was privileged to be a guest author and panelist and speak with a variety of amazingly smart, funny, insightful, and diverse people. My heartfelt thank-you to the Arisia staff, volunteers, vendors, performers, and my fellow panelists, and a special super thank-you to those who came to my reading and panels! I met some lovely people who told me how much they loved CIRCU

Dear Readers, January's here, and that means con season's begun for yours truly. This year's first con is Arisia 2019, January 18-21 at the Boston Park Plaza. I'll be reading from INIMICAL as well as speaking about writing, YA, online culture, fromance, writing fight scenes, and diversity in books among other topics. Come say hi at my reading or stop by one of my panels. I'll also have copies of MORIBUND and OUROBOROS with me to sign. SATURDAY 10 am: YA reading - Holmes 4pm:

Happy 2019, Dear Readers! 2018 was an amazing year--thank you again SO MUCH for all your love and support! I read, appreciate, and consider every review, every comment, and I'm grateful for every "Like" and "share." I can't say thank you enough! I'm thrilled that Syl and Rouen's story resonates with so many people, from folks in the LGBTQIA+ community and beyond. I'm gearing up for a great 2019, and I hope you're as excited as I am. ;) Here's what's on tap: CONS & CONFERENCES

Happy New Year, Dear Readers! I hope 2018 was everything you hoped for and more. For me, 2018 was a super busy year, filled with things good and bad, successes and heartbreaks. Your support was the key to all the good things, so I'm calling it a success! Here's the recap: RELEASES Circuit Fae 1.5: DERAILED - 1/1 Circuit Fae 2: OUROBOROS - 3/27 Circuit Fae 2.5: DETHRONED - 6/19 Circuit Fae 3: INIMICAL - 9/18 CONS & CONFERENCES Arisia - Boston, Ma. January ConBust - Northampton

This is the week of my birthday, and it's a tradition of mine to try to give a little on my personal new year. So, Dear Readers, I'd like to give you a piece of writing advice I find invaluable. Okay, now, you might be hoping this is the secret to writing a bestselling novel. I. Wish. Seriously, though, this piece of advice has helped me through some tough times: Enjoy the journey. Okay, I know it sounds like one of those affirmations that belongs in a calendar or on a gym wa

It's December, and you know what that means - NaNoWriMo 2018 is officially ended! Congratulations! Whether you "won" NaNo or just dipped your pinkie toe in, developing a writing habit is hard, and you should seriously be proud of ANY steps you took in that direction. But, now what do you do with your 50,000-ish word work-in-progress? A lot of people think that they need to rush out and hire an editor. You could, but ask any published author, and she'll tell you that after one

Hello, my pretties, and welcome back to NaNoWriMo: Preptober planning! If you missed an earlier post, have no fear! Here are some helpful links: Week 1: Preplanning Week 2: The Who, What & Where of Your Novel Week 3: Outlining Your Novel And now, for Week 4! We're in the home stretch, so this post will focus on the practicality of writing, creating a habit that will get you in the chair every day for thirty days. Because remember: butt + chair = productivity. 1. Break it Down

Welcome back, my pretties, to Preptober: Week 3! Last week, we discussed the who, what, and where of your story--your main character (MC), their Goals, Motivations, and Conflicts, and how to detail your setting. This week, we'll go a little deeper into the what. Namely, what happens in your book, the plot. But first, it's good to know that there are two basic different types of writers: plotters and pantsers. Like it sounds, plotters plot out their "what happens," while pants

Hello, my pretties, and welcome back to Preptober: Week 2! Last week, we went over a few things to prepare you for diving into NaNoWriMo on November 1st. This week, I'll talk about my own process for outlining and developing a novel. And now the obligatory credentials post: I'm a senior editor for a romance e-publisher, and I've helped hundreds of authors design, develop, and outline their novels. I find it's helpful to start basic: with the who, what, and where of your novel

Hello my pretties and all you dark Fae and fair Fae out there! This weekend, March 23-March 25, I'll be appearing at ConBust 2018 in Northampton, MA, along with other authors and industry professionals like Tamora Pierce, Jane Yolen, Sharyn November, and Annette Curtis Clause. Here's my schedule. FRIDAY MARCH 23 5p - Fandom & Criticism - Seelye Hall, Room 101 7p - Villain/Antagonist - Seelye Hall, Room 101 SATURDAY MARCH 24 12p - Editing as a Writer - Seelye Hall, Room 101 2p