September is packed with some amazing books and authors! Keep an eye out for in-depth interviews with MAURA MILAN, GINGER JOHNSON, SARA RAASCH, BETH REVIS, AMANDA RAWSON HILL and ALEXA MARTIN. They'll be stopping by to talk about writing, their upcoming releases, and more! To learn more about specific titles, click on the links beneath the graphic and add them to your Goodreads list today! COME FOR THE CRAFT TIPS. Stay for the inspiration. Wednesday, September 5: Maura Milan and IGNITE THE STARS Friday, September 7: Ginger Johnson and THE SPLINTERED LIGHT Thursday, September 13: Sara Raasch and THESE REBEL WAVES Monday, September 17: Beth Revis and GIVE THE DARK MY LOVE Wednesday, September

Today I'm happy to be welcoming Katie Henry to the blog! Living and working in New York City, Katie received her BFA in dramatic writing from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and is a published playwright, specializing in theater for young audiences. Her debut novel, HERETICS ANONYMOUS, released on August 7th along with a starred review from ALA Booklist, which said, "Most impressive here is Henry’s multifaceted take on religion. Michael isn’t searching; he know how he feels. Yet his introduction to others who feel differently—in the case of Lucy, passionately differently—opens him up. Come for the arch first-person narrative and puppy love, stay for the examination into belief." And now, here

I'm so happy to be welcoming Annie Sullivan blog! Annie's work has been featured in Curly Red Stories and Punchnels, and her novel, Goldilocks, won the Luminis Books Award at the 2013 Midwest Writers Workshop. She loves fairytales, everything Jane Austen, and traveling and exploring new cultures. When she’s not off on her own adventures, she’s teaching classes at the Indiana Writers Center and working as the Copy Specialist at John Wiley and Sons, Inc. publishing company, having also worked there in Editorial and Publicity roles. Her debut novel A TOUCH OF GOLD is out now! And now, here's my chat with Annie! Hi, Annie! Welcome and congrats on the release of A Touch of Gold. Can you tell us a

I'm thrilled to welcome Betsy Cornwell to the blog today! Betsy is a New York Times bestselling author living in west Ireland. She is the story editor and a contributing writer at Parabola, and her short-form writing includes fiction, nonfiction, and literary translation and has appeared in Fairy Tale Review, Zahir Tales, Luna Luna, and elsewhere. And as if that weren't impresive enough, she holds an M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of Notre Dame and a B.A. from Smith College. And she's here to talk about her gender bent Robin Hood retelling, THE FOREST QUEEN, which released from Clarion Books on August 7th! And now, here's my chat with Betsy! Hi, Betsy! Welcome and congrats on

I'm so happy to be featuring Amelinda Bérubé on the blog! Her first novel, THE DARK BENEATH THE ICE (described as Black Swan meets Carrie!) is available now from Sourcebooks Fire, and her sophomore book, HERE THERE ARE MONSTERS is scheduled to hit shelves in 2019. And now, here's my chat with Amelinda! Hi, Amelinda! Welcome and congrats on the release of The Dark Beneath the Ice. Can you tell us a little about the story and what inspired you to write it? Thanks so much! The Dark Beneath the Ice combines ghosts and possession with a splash of ballet and awful fairy tales. It’s about a former dancer who starts to think she’s being stalked by something supernatural—either that or she’s losing h

IT'S PITCH WARS TIME and I’m all 'Kermit arms flailing' level excited to be here co-mentoring Young Adult with my CP and bestie, Kim Chance! Kim is my main rock and (funny story!) we actually met scrolling through the Pitch Wars hashtag in 2016, so believe it when people tell you community is the most important thing you can take away from Pitch Wars. Forging friendships with other writers is an essential part of the creative/publishing journey. Revising is a team sport and we all need to find the people who will be real with us, who will hold our hand when it needs holding, and who will push us when we need to be pushed. So please take advantage of all that Pitch Wars has to offer because i

The Pitch Wars mentor wishlists are set to go live one week from today on August 14! Are you ready? Wishlist time is exciting, but it can also be a bit intimidating when you know you only have 2 weeks to narrow down that huge list to pick the four mentors you're going to submit to. It's a lot at first glance, but as a 2016 mentee, I'm here to tell you that navigating the Pitch Wars Mentor wishlists doesn't have to be overwhelming. Actually, it's a lot like researching literary agents, and the end goal is to find the best matches for you and your work! Here are a few tips to help you make sense of the wishlists: The first thing I did in 2016 was to print out every wishlist that matched the ca

​​ I'm so happy to be hosting Saadia Faruqi on the blog today! Her brand new early reader series, Meet Yasmin! was released yesterday to starred reviews. Saadia is a Pakistani American author, essayist and interfaith activist. She trains various audiences including faith groups and law enforcement on topics pertaining to Islam, and was featured in Oprah Magazine in 2017 as a woman making a difference in her community. She is also editor-in-chief of Blue Minaret, a magazine for Muslim art, poetry and prose. STARRED REVIEW! Readers will be charmed by this one-of-a-kind character and won't tire of her small but significant dilemmas. Faruqi nails the child's perspective, and illustrator Aly give