My Blog
A hobbit-themed holiday in Tennessee
My mom and I are big fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, and we’re particularly fond of the petite, hardy, and ever-hungry hobbit folk (probably because we see ourselves in them). When I stumbled upon Mountain Shire, a clutch of hobbit-inspired…
How I got my agent, part 2: The mystical potato
In my first “how I got my agent” post, I mostly covered what happened after I got my first offer of representation. But what about before that? How did I meet my agent—cold querying, at a conference, through an online pitch event? I did plenty of those things. If my…
How I got my agent, part 1: The end of the curse
If you follow me on social media, you’ve probably already heard me shouting this from the metaphorical rooftops. Well, sorry, because I’m going to shout some more: I HAVE AN AGENT!!! Signing with a literary agent is a huge deal for writers (at least those of us who…
The Power of Fear in Writing
In the spirit of spooky season, this blog is going to be about fear. I don’t mean fear of failure, rejection, bad Goodreads reviews, or any of the other fears that haunt our nervous little writerly hearts. Instead, we’re going to talk about incorporating fear into…
What to do After a Writing Retreat
A writing retreat is a gift that keeps on giving. It provides a chunk of time to devote to your project, and a creative boost after you return home. It may not be easy to go back to your day job, chores, and other responsibilities, but with a little extra effort you…
My DIY Rocky Mountain Writing Retreat
In this post I wrote about my first DIY writing retreat, back in 2017. That one was short, economical, and focused entirely on the writing part (rather than the retreat part). This year, I wanted to do something a bit more relaxing—but just as productive. I thought…