As if we needed more of a reason to love Dolly Parton… Have you heard? Dolly has a little program called Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. This organization sends out free books to children — monthly!! I’m serious. No fees involved. They will mail a book to your house every month. And, get this, it doesn’t …
Writing
There’s been so much news over the passing of Matthew Perry this week, we almost forgot that Britney Spears released her bombshell memoir last week. Have you read it yet? Britney drops some juicy gossip about the early days of her career — including the time she spent with Justin Timberlake and the 13 years …
The bible is the #1 selling book of all times, but Colleen Hoover sold more books than the bible last year! I really have no doubt. She is my absolute favorite author, and if you haven’t yet dipped your toes in the Colleen Hoover collection, what are you waiting for? Now, you have to be …
We are getting an origin Stranger Things spinoff story, and it is going to feature our newest favorite Hawkins teen. Eddie Munson was definitely the breakout star from Stranger Things Season 4. He was the idiosyncratic metalhead student from Hawkins High School, and the leader of the controversial Hellfire Club. And, you kinda couldn’t help …
What in the actual heck is this, and why is it even a thing?!? Puffin Books has decided to scrub certain words from the works of Roald Dahl, and people are outraged. Okay, I get that there are offensive words. And, who am I to judge what those words are? But, I’m not okay with …
Can I just tell you how awesome Stephen King is for a minute? The dude can write! Short stories, novels, screenplays, memoirs — basically he can do it all. All those things are great, but that’s not what makes Stephen King hella cool. If you’ve ever been a budding filmmaker — I have a minor …
I love reading Dear Prudence letters. You know what those are, right? It’s when someone takes to a columnist to ask for advice on a tough subject that they need — well — advice on. Hence the name “advice columnist.” While Slate, the online magazine, is home to Prudence, there have been others before Dear …
*Trigger Warning. This post is going to talk about murder, ghosts, and straight-up creepy things.* “It happened in there.” One of the neighborhood kids is pointing straight at the window to my brother’s room, which happens to be kitty-corner to my room. “You’re lying,” I say as I try to blow-off the fact that he …
When I was a teeny tot, there was one book that I LOVED more than any other. It sat on my shelf, bright and new, and I still own it today, tattered and a bit worse for the wear. I am, of course, talking about the “The Monster at the End of This Book.” My …
Here is your yearly PSA and friendly reminder: Please use proper punctuation when filling out your Christmas cards this Holiday season. It’s that time of year. You put out the word, maybe on social media, that you need everyone’s addresses, so you can send them Christmas Cards. You go to the store, or maybe shop …
People are saying that if you use the font Comic Sans, you can cure writer’s block, writing more and writing faster. So, so many people just cringed and turned red from disdain over, perhaps, the most hated font in existence. Especially those in the literary world. They just raged a little bit. Ha! There are …
Have y’all heard of Bailey Sarian? She is an awesome makeup artist who also has a talent for telling true crime stories. She combines the two into one spectacular YouTube show, and I just simply can’t stop watching. I know — it sounds bizarre. But, trust me. It. Is. So. Good!!! You HAVE to give …
Those silly little Hobbitses. They have a story like no other. My FAVORITE character from the Lord of the Rings saga is Sméagol, or Gollum, if you prefer. I mean, if you don’t like the little holder of the ring, you are dead inside. The actor that portrayed Gollum in the movies, Andy Serkis, is …
That sound you just heard was the *SQUEE* my daughter let out when she found out Daniel Radcliffe was helping to read the FIRST Harry Potter Book — Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. And that SECOND sound you just heard was the *SQUEE* I let out when I found out it is TOTALLY FREE …
Good things still happen. Even during a pandemic, there are still awesome people in this world. This story will melt your heart. For real. Check it out! The other day, Michelle Hulen logged on to Instacart, and ordered her groceries to be delivered — as so many of us are doing these days. Her Instacart …
LeVar Burton, from Reading Rainbow fame, is going to be livestreaming family-friendly LeVar Burton Reads programs, and you can bet my family will be tuning in. I LOVED Reading Rainbow when I was young. LeVar Burton was like a calming force; a constant when life could be scary, crazy, or even happy. That is exactly …
Oh, Snap! My son is going to FREAK OUT over this! Dav Pilkey, who is the writer and illustrator of the Captain Underpants and the Dogman series, is going to be hosting a FREE WEEKLY online program through The Library of Congress. Seriously, elementary students everywhere just let out a giant cheer, and did a …
Well, that’s it. You’ve been sent home from work to wait this thing out, but what do you do now? You still have to make money and pay your bills! I understand! We are all right there with you now, my friend. But, don’t worry, we have some great money making ideas that you can …
You guys!! Audible just made hundreds of their audiobooks FREE for a limited time! This makes me WAY giddy! I’m a huge book nerd — and this gives me an even BETTER reason to be nerdy. I have about exhausted all my music playlists since being stuck inside due to this self-isolation mess. Now I …
Alright, all you book snobs — which used to be me years ago. A study shows that listening to audiobooks stimulates the same part of your brain as physically reading a book. All audiobook fans just did a collective, HAHA! UC Berkeley just finished a neuroscience study on reading. They scanned the brains of people …
This is THE BEST news I have heard all day. Joe Goldberg’s story is not over. A source — *ahem* the author — has dropped an EXCELLENT announcement via her Twitter bio. Caroline Kenes, the author of the books that the hit series, YOU, is based off, has CONFIRMED there will be a third and …
Writing saved me. That might seem overly dramatic to you (especially if you know me), but it’s true. If it weren’t for writing, and blogging, specifically, I would not be here today. If It Weren’t For Writing, I Would Not Be Here Today About 7 months ago I went through a pretty life-changing event. An illness …
I’ve got so much stuff to do. I should be working on my manuscript, working on my pitch for said manuscript for an upcoming writer’s conference, tackle various freelance design jobs, organize a class I’m teaching at a said writer’s conference, keeping my house at human occupation levels, and oh yeah, I’ve got an 8-5 …
So, I was at a conference (sort of) recently and seated for dinner with other writer/reader types—who are also good friends I get to see not often enough—when the conversation turned, as it does, to Hogwarts’ houses. Look, don’t even pretend you haven’t had the “what house would you be in” conversation, or secretly sorted …
Okay, so, I know you’re probably thinking “What the crap?” (ha!) but I’m going to break it down for you so you can get the straight poop. I’m sure to disgust pretty much everyone who reads this, but you know what? Since I was a little kid, I always made up very…. odd analogies to …
The other night on I was telling a story on Facebook Live about the time a grasshopper tried to kill me. It sounds over-exaggerated, I know, but I’m going to tell you the story, and I’m pretty sure that by the end of it you will see why I have developed an irrational fear of grasshoppers. …
If you’d known me when I was thirteen, you would’ve known three things: First, I wanted to be the first female to play in the NBA. Second, I wanted to be the first female President of the United States. Life experience acting as the killer of idealism, I abandoned my presidential dreams, but who knows, …
I use Grammarly to check grammar online because it’s better than having my grandma proofread my erotic novels for me. I kid, I kid! I love having my grandma proofread those. 🙂 A couple of weeks ago, I was approached by Grammarly. They asked me to try out their service and write a review. So, …
It’s banned books week, and that makes both happy and sad. It makes me happy to know that we as a society care enough about reading and free speech to devote a whole week to the books others are trying to ban, but it makes me sad to know those people trying to ban books …
Okay, when it comes to books– literature and such, I feel like I have an okay grasp of what’s good and what isn’t. I mean, I went to school to learn just that, I’m an avid reader (and have been for a long time). Basically, I know my stuff. So, when Fifty Shades of Grey …
Oh. My. Heck. You know you’re dying. You can’t take in the awesome fast enough. You’re color-coding your calendar for this live event, and that live chat, and that amazing vlog. It would be easier to clear all three days right now. *wink* Without further adieu, we’re proud to present the schedule of events for …
You read that right… Watch THIS: Okay, do we have your attention? Good. WriteOnCon has teamed up with TheReadingRoom.com to bring you a VERY special contest to kick off the August, 2011 WriteOnCon Conference. What? A first 500 MG/YA words contest. Grand Prize is $1000 AND an author profile page on TheReadingRoom.com. In addition, your work …
I forgot to post the awesomeness… LOL what’s funny is, that’s kind of what this here video is about.
The first WriteOnCon girls to have their book published. I couldn’t be more excited for them if it was my own story. If you want to win a copy, then head over to WriteOnCon RIGHT NOW and win signed copies, hair dye, fancy jewelry, and so much more! Way to go LiLa! *Seriously, we’re …
Today I’m bringing you a special Bookanista review, because it’s not just a review of any ‘ol book… It’s a review of LiLa’s book! For those of you not in the know, Lisa and Lila Roecker are two of the amazing women behind WriteOnCon, which means I talk to them at least once twenty times …
One of my FAVORITE writing friends used the Storysaurus in her classroom!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the post-it notes! I am totally stealing that! Tiffany’s so smart. 🙂
Our next WriteOnCon live event has been scheduled! Go ahead and get those calendars out… Monday, October 25that 9 PM EST Featuring:Sara Megibow of Nelson Literary Agency, LLC Sara has worked at the Nelson Literary Agency since 2006. For three years, her main responsibility was to be the first reader for all queries, sample pages and full …
Okay, today is the day of Elana Johnson’s great blogging experiment. Don’t know who Elana is? Shame on you. Get over to her blog and find out, because she’s like nineteen different kinds of awesome–AND she’s a WriteOnCon girl. What more could you want than that? And so, today we’re all blogging on the same …
Books are a big deal. But, being able to choose what books you (or your children) read is an even bigger deal, and when some extremist tries to take that away– well, I shouldn’t even have to explain how wrong that is. Unfortunately, it happens all the time, and it’s happening right now to a …
The term constructive criticism brings up all sorts of confusing thoughts for me. Even the name is both positive and negative. Making it so that I don’t know feel about it, and instead just leaving my brain all squishy. The thing is, I have always wanted to be one of those people who could handle …
I’ve talked about the fantastic that is Wordle before. Basically, you can cut and paste any text into the little box, and it will make a word cloud for you of the most used words in that text. I love this for books because it always catches my tendency to overuse just. And like, apparently… …
Okay, for starters… run over to the writeoncon site and sign up for all the crazy giveaways! It’s a big ‘ol pile of awesome today! We’re talking critiques, ARCS, autographed books, and more! A new post goes up every hour–so sign up for each one!! (We’re doing a bit of a fundraiser so we can …
Mary Kole is one of the first people who donated her time to WriteOnCon. When the conference was just a thought, we went to her with questions and ideas–she answered each and every one of them, and then made suggestions of her own. On September 23rd, she’s teaching a webinar about writing for children with …
I hate when people get embarrassed. Seriously, I can’t handle it. I I’m not sure exactly why–but if I see someone in a particularly uncomfortable situation, my whole body hurts for them. I dislike it so very much that I have trouble spelling the word. It’s pretty much the only thing I have to look up …
What’s a Bookanista? Read more about it here. I’ve been waiting to read Kiersten White’s Paranormalcy since I saw her book deal announced. Now, usually when I build something up in my mind like that, it never lives up to the hype and I am all sorts of disappointed. Not this time, baby. This book …
For those of you who didn’t know… a few friends and I hosted a little writer’s conference this week. Three months ago, I got an email asking me if I wanted to help build a free online conference for kidlit writers. I figured–Why the heck not? It sounds like fun. Elana Johnson, Casey McCormick, Lisa …
I know some of you are still having trouble logging in. I am so sorry for that! Here’s tonight Live Panel. I hope this helps! Enterprise Blogs
I know some of you can’t get there, so here’s the chat with Suzie Townsend Live Chat with Literary Agent Suzie Townsend
HOLY CANNOLI!!! Today is the first day of the first WriteOnCon. Instead of giving you more to read over the next three days, I’m simply going to post the schedule for WriteOnCon. Each one is linked for your viewing pleasure. Be aware that only the events that have already happened will appear, all others will …
It’s Thursday! You know what that means… Bookanista time! And today, I’m falling in love. I’m falling in love with the awesomeness of this book cover: How freakin’ cute is that? It’s like their hands are maybe going to brush against each other, and then there will be insta-love. Then there’s the pink! I love …
Okay, for starters–it’s my fabulous agent of amazing, Mary Kole’s birthday. So I teamed up* with a couple of her other clients, Jenny Martin and Karsten Knight, and we made this little video for her. Happy Birthday MK! Today is also Barry Lyga Rocks day, and he does- indeed -rock. But, I have a big …
Tomorrow is registration for WriteOnCon, so what better way to get all geared up than a video?? Also, I just realized that I never picked a winner from my Josh Berk Book Contest! And so…. I random.org’d it and came up with comment #29! It’s Writing Leigh! Congratulations!!
So, I’ve been thinking a lot about Ebooks. Let me just say for the record that I LOVE Ebooks. I think they will play a huge part in the future of publishing, and I am very happy about that. I downloaded one of my favorite author’s latest, and I immediately started reading. I couldn’t get …
My friend Heather teaches us how to use the Sone Touch eReader for AWESOME editing. I love seeing people using technology like this! I am such a geek. 🙂 Revisions with the Sony Touch from Claena on Vimeo.
A fabulous friend of mine, Leigh sent me her take on the storysaurus. And, I love him so much I had to share him! Adorable, right?
I consider myself a pretty social person. That is to say, I’m not awkward in a group setting, and most of the time, I’m downright fun. Until I get around big time authors. Then I’m something of an idiot. The first time I met my now-good-friend Rosemary Clement-Moore I was such a moron. I didn’t …
When I first started on my little publication journey, I was totally lost. Then I met Elana Johnson. I was a little intimidated by her, she was like the super-hot-indie-rocker-lead-singer-girl to my pimple-faced-screaming-in-the-crowd-band-groupie. She didn’t have to spend time chatting with me or teaching me how to write a query, but she did–because she’s a …
That’s right, I just used a twitter hashtag in the title of my post. Let’s just move past that, shall we? I am going to spend the rest of the week getting my book into shape so I can send it off to beta readers. But, I need two things from you… (What, you thought …
I’m sort of pre-occupied with editing right now, so amazingly inspiring blog posts of awesome aren’t really coming to me this week. But, here are a few things I’ve been up to: Storysaurus was hard at work this weekend for Cheryl’s manuscript. I’m not going to lie though… I’m a little scared that her storysaurus …
Okay, so all week I’ve been talking about your online author platform and how to make it not suck with some easy steps…. but I am about to burst your bubble. So, prepare yourself. Are you prepared? No… I’ll give you a second. Okay, I’ve said it before and I’m saying it again. Heck every …
All this week here at Totally The Bomb and Co. we’re talking about your online platform. You guys should have fancy avatars that represent you all over the internet by now, but the question you’re probably asking is– What sites are THE sites you should be a part of? Okay, let me say something first. …
This week at the Totally the Bomb headquarters (aka my couch), we’re talking online platform. The plan is, by Friday, you’ll all be savvy internet marketers kickin’ butt and taking names. Okay, so maybe you’ll like be kickin’ booty and taking drink orders, but still… you should learn something. Yesterday we picked out our avatars. …
A lot of authors, agents, editors, etc. have gone into some serious detail about the importance of an online platform. For those of you not in the know, that’s basically what sorts of social network sites, blogs, etc. you have on the internet. Think of the platform as a place for your little writing career …
Last week I did an interview over at Elana Johnson’s blog, and one of her questions was how often have I wanted to give up. I was pretty honest and admitted that there have been more than one or two times along y little writerly journey that I’ve really just wanted to say screw it …
**If you’re visiting from the lovely Elana Johnson’s Blog today. Well, Howdy! Thanks for Stopping by. But, if you don’t know what the heck I’m talking about then click here to read her interview with me. Thanks Elana!** Okay, so you all know how perplexed I am about the love triangle. (For those of you …
I was talking to a friend about writing stories the other day. You see, I’m working on something right now and it just didn’t feel like it had enough oomph. I knew there was something missing, I just couldn’t put my finger on it–then we got to talking about the layers of a story. Well, …
**This is a repost from a year or so ago. My daughter is having some dental work today, please think good thoughts for her!** I’ve been getting really into facebook lately, and I recently friended someone from high school that was on the drumline with me. That’s right, I was a bona-fide band geek. I …
Today, I’m going to do something special*… I’m going to let you in on how I put together a blog post. This isn’t the way I always do it, but this is what usually works for me. This is what gets comments and retweets on twitter. And, if we’re being completely honest, isn’t that what …
I read a lot of books, but I read a WHOLE lot of young adult books, and I’ve noticed a few repeats here and there. Here’s the thing… there are a lot of words in books, and there are a lot of different emotions, actions, looks, and such. So, I am cool with the repeats. …
Well, Well… I told you guys that you could ask me anything, and you did not disappoint! Now I have piles and miles (See, I couldn’t decide if I wanted to say miles and miles or piles and piles so I just decided to do a combo thing–did it work? Yeah, I don’t really think …
Okay, so a big part of a lot of novels I read (and write) is the classic love triangle. It’s so fun because there’s automatic conflict and someone ends up having to make a big important choice. You have three major players in the triangle. Now, I am not saying it’s always the same, but …
Let me just say first that I love books. I love character development, and I love watching characters grow over the course of a story into something they didn’t know they could be. It’s exciting, entertaining, and pretty much the only reason I read a story. I want the girls in my stories to be …
This weekend my husband and I took our daughter to the Casa Manana children’s theater. We have season tickets that my mother-in-law gets us every year. All in all they are awesome. I was wowed by their production of Treasure Island, I cried when Charlotte climbed up to her web for that last time, when …
All this talk about grammar rules yesterday really got me to thinking… When I was younger, I was one of those kids who would make up a game for everyone to play, and then change the rules right in the middle of it just because I didn’t think it was working the way I wanted …
Okay, first off–Holy Crap February was short. How am I sitting here writing my monthly wrap up post? So, let’s start with the writing. I’m still hard at work on my gamer girl book, but it’s not finished. So, writing is well, but nothing exciting to announce or anything. Daughter is loving the new preschool. …
When I think about characters, they start out perfect. My gamer geek is actually a hot as hell bimbo blonde who kicks butt, my teachers are wonderful caring people that want to nurture and such… and of course there’s the guys. The first drafts of my guys are super model-quins who love unconditionally and overlook …
So much so that I made an informative graphic: Now that I’ve just come out there and admitted it, I feel much better. I hate socks, and I hate shoes more. If I could just wear flip flops year round I would, but it’s been like snowing in Texas so that’s not really an option …
When I was in second grade, Ms. George taught us how to write a story. She used the storysaurus. He was a dinosaur with spikes on his back. Each spike represented a chapter, and his whole body represented the story’s main plot. I fell instantly in love with storysaurus, and I still use him to …
The thing about writers is, until we figure out that we’re actually supposed to spend our lives living in make believe lands and telling pretend stories–we are a little lost. So, we work some pretty interesting jobs. What’s so great about those experiences, though is that they give us a chance to see and learn …
So, I blame a lot of stuff I do every day on the fact that I write for teens. I figure it’s time to come clean. Truthfully, I love all this stuff. 🙂 Online Gaming – I love playing games with friends. So much so, that my new character has a bit of an online …
Because it’s Tuesday and because you rock, I thought we should do another author signed book giveaway. So, hooray for signed books. They make me so happy! This week, we’re giving away Courage in Patience by Beth Fehlbaum. (This is is an older YA book, so keep that in mind.) You can also check out …
I’ve been thinking a lot about super powers lately. Yeah, I know that most of you probably don’t spend a lot of your spare time sitting around thinking about what you’d do if you had special powers. (Or maybe you do, and that’s why you’re here. In that case, wanna go for coffee? I’m buying.) …
Looks like I’m Over the Top! And, now since it’s Wednesday and that really is the best reason to write about yourself I will play with my blogalicious reward from Rhonda over at Snarktastic Ramblings. As always, there are rules but these are easy and probably somewhat fun!! Rules: Answer the following questions with single …
If you’re like me, you love books, but you love books signed by the author EVEN more. (Seriously, it’s like my guilty pleasure to go and look at my signed books on the shelves in the family room, it makes me so happy to see someone write their name on that inside page!) So, in …
Okay, so here’s the thing. I’m from Texas. You know, the Lone Star State. Now, it’s important that you know there are some cowboys here, we do have a lot of trucks, and there is the occasional hoedown. But Texas is more than that. Dallas is a freakin’ technological mecca, we have some really great …
So, I’m sitting around at iHop last night, (yeah, I like to pretend it’s an apple product, makes me feel all cool) and we started talking Young Adult Literature. (That’s YA for those of you in the biz.) The thing about YA is you want to keep it young and fresh without sounding like an …
And when she knew enough about me to write this, I didn’t cry… but I wanted to.
Now that I am on the other side of getting an agent I’ve been thinking a lot about it. First, I remember obsessing about all the details. Is my book in the right font, did I spell everything right, did I ask the right questions and compare my books to books they’d actually read. If …
So, I’ve been working a little on the ‘ol Work in Progress book and it’s way fun. One of my favorite things I did was to make character collages of my three main characters. I totally ganked the idea from Tera Lynn Childs, and I love the way it’s helped me to tell the story. …
So, I’m doing this thing where I blog every day in January, and there’s definitely been a challenge or two coming up with interesting blog fodder. (Aside: I love the word fodder and plan to use it in a sentence at least three times today.) Since I’ve been having difficulty with topics, it has me …
Write what you know. How many times have you heard that? I am guessing if you’ve been at this any amount of time… quite a few. What’s that? You write fantasy and you’ve invented a whole new world entirely in your head so how could you possibly write what you know? I am here to …
Persistance. Persistence. Although I apparently don’t know how to spell it, this word means something to me. Without persistence, I wouldn’t have a completed manuscript, I wouldn’t have a group of writing friends that I’ve come to count on, I wouldn’t have an agent, I would never get to submit my book to publishers, and …
This is greatness, and I plan to listen… or at least TRY to… I kinda suck at the listening.
I’m not so great with the resolutions. I am the kind of person who just sort of shuts down and does nothing when overwhelmed. Note to self: An awesome resolution would be to try and work on that whole shutting down when you’re overwhelmed thing. Note to self that just wrote that note to self: …
One thing I love about the writing biz is the karma. Seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever seen kama in its pure form the way I do in this industry. You help a friend out with a query letter, and yours gets exponentially better. You show someone how to format their manuscript and you get …
Okay, I am in need of some serious good karma in 2010 because well, a certain book will probably be headed out on submission then, and I need to pay it forward just to make sure I’m swimming in the good juju and vibes and junk. Yeah, I’m done being all witch doctor. Now I …
Okay, for all you non-writerly types–there’s this little thing called NaNoWriMo. It’s a huge deal for a lot of writers. Basically they spend the month of November writing an entire book. It’s supposed to be pretty fun and crazy stressful, but in the end you get a tangible book that you can revise and turn …
Okay, so I have to admit that I’m mostly making this post so I can find an awesome turkey cartoon to stick out to the side. I don’t know why, but I love a good comical turkey. But, I think it’s important to stop and think about how freakin’ awesome my life is. I should …