Inventing the Novel Writing Process Again
Each time I write a novel, it feels like I’ve never written one before. It’s a bewildering, nerve-wracking situation. I’m supposed to create a 300+ page manuscript that’s interesting and fun to read when I have difficulty writing one clear sentence. I’ve recently finished writing The Rule of Mirrors, so I’m working on Vault 3 now, and the only thing that truly makes sense about it so far is this feeling that I have tentacles reaching into my brain. They’re slick, slimy tentacles with little sucker feet on them,… Continue reading
Linus’s House
Linus’s House in Rule of Mirrors
To design a map for The Rule of Mirrors, I first sketched a view of Linus’s house as seen from the Lookout Tower at the Forge School. His house is the second one behind the water tower, so I imagine it looks roughly like this, with Molly’s doghouse in the back yard. This way, from Linus’s upstairs bedroom, his windows look back on the Forge School.
Star Wars, Cecil, and Princess Leia
You may have noticed the latest new craze for all things Star Wars which launched with Force Friday last week. Here’s a fun fact. My friend Cecil Castellucci was tapped to co-write (with Jason Fry) the Princess Leia book Moving Target because Cecil is both a great YA science fiction writer and a huge Star Wars fan.
It’s true: I have an R2-D2 Lego piece.
I’ve been delighted to see Cecil in the spotlight. Aside from Moving Target, Cecil has published a recent space-faring… Continue reading
Books Are Art
The Storylines Exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum, 2015
Books are literally art in one piece at the Guggenheim. The best novels change us and the way we see the world, like the best art does. I’ve been thinking about Doerr’s All The Light We Cannot See, which is art in many ways, from Doerr’s descriptions and rich characters, to the lovely
way the white space occupies the pages and sets off the chapters, giving me a chance to take a fresh breath before I plunge on.… Continue reading
Summer Homework Comes Due
We understand the principle of the math packet. Kids do a bit of algebra over the summer so they keep their math brains engaged and start up Algebra II with all gears running. It’s a nice idea, in principle. In reality, it’s something else, and my heart goes out to families facing the end-of-summer homework crunch.
The first problem is that some kids, (like upcoming tenth graders, who last had Algebra I a year ago, in eighth grade, before an intervening year of geometry), aren’t refreshing; they have to re-learn… Continue reading
Why Do We Stay Up Late Reading?
To sleep or read, that is the question.
The other night, I was reading Andy Weir’s The Martian, and once I hit midnight, I deliberately quit checking my watch because I didn’t want to stop reading. When I finally stumbled to bed around 2 a.m., with half the book still to go, I was exhausted but gleeful. Stealing time from my sleep is frankly irresponsible, but that doesn’t stop me. In a way, it adds to my pleasure because it’s a minor rebellion.
Loving a book enough… Continue reading
Ari & Milo, my serial novel, is now up on Wattpad! I drew illustrations to go with each chapter, and best of all, it’s free! Because of problematic themes, this novel is for mature readers age 17+.
Book Trailer for Promised