And the Winner Is...

I almost forgot this was June 1st. Time to pull a name of of the hat to win the third (of four) advance reader’s copies of my Fall young adult novel Jumpstart the World.

The name is...drumroll, please...Abel. My wonderful devoted reader in Barcelona.

I’m going to wait until a little bit closer to Fall to give away the last copy. Please stay tuned.

For Writers

You know, I almost called this blog “For Struggling Writers.” Then it hit me. Is there any other kind?

Anne Allen posted a great blog today about critique groups. If you’re a writer, and are not familiar with Anne Allen’s blog for writers, today is a good day to jump on board. Here’s a link:

ANNE ALLEN’S BLOG

Learning to understand and make use of criticism is a crucial subject for writers at every stage of...Read more

Trying Even Harder to Give Stuff Away For Free...

...and really, when you think about it, it shouldn’t be hard.

I think what’s happening is this: people comment to win something, in this case an advance reader’s copy of Jumpstart the World. If they don’t win, they feel as though they shouldn’t jump in a second or third time. Because they already entered once. But, you know what? Don’t feel that way. You didn’t win, so try again. Really.

As promised, I chose a winner today, May 1st, for the second of four advance reader’s copies of my fa...Read more

A Blog About Truth

Sound familiar? Probably because last year I wrote a blog with a very similar title. But, in that case, I was going a slightly different direction. That blog was more about speaking up. Not so much about what truth really is, how to find it, or how to know it when you see it, but more about saying what you really feel, popular or (far more likely) not.

This is a blog about truth itself.

So...the inevitable question...what is truth? I really don’t claim to know. That is, I would never presume that I could understand an...Read more

Video Excerpt of When I Found You

For my British readers, here’s my latest video excerpt. It’s a brief reading from When I Found You (Transworld UK, 2009), my most recent UK release.

And for my US readers, I used to feel guilty, but then I discovered The Book Depository, with its free international shipping. If you’re not familiar with them, just go to the book page for:

WHEN I FOUND YOU

You’ll find a handy link.

It...Read more

The Winner of This Contest, and...

...while we’re at it, let’s get started on the next.

On March 10th, I offered the first of four advance reader’s copies of Jumpstart the World (my brand new YA novel due out in October of this year) to the person who left my favorite comment.

Ah, Catherine. Will you never learn?

It always turns out the same. They’re all my favorites. And then I always feel terrible that I don’t have one for everyone.

So, as I often do, I drew a name out of a hat. The name I drew is Paul Ellsworth.

Road Trips, and the Photos and Videos They Bring

I just arrived home from a hiking/camping/RV-type vacation. And of course I’m so obsessive that the very first thing I have to do is get all my photos and videos up on line. So there are some recent changes to the “Hiking/Travel videos” page, and I have all new photo albums displayed on “My Photo Albums.”

If, like me, you’re a fan of the National Parks (and the outdoors in general) I hope you’ll take a look.

I started the trip at Zion (I know, I know, third trip, but I just can’t get enough o...Read more

How’s This For an Offer?

I’ve given away a lot of books on this blog. But I’m hoping this giveaway will take the prize.

At the end of this month, I’m clearing out a paid storage space which is 75% full of brand-new-in-the-carton rare first edition hardcovers of my first two books, Funerals for Horses and Earthquake Weather. It just doesn’t make sense to keep paying to store them.

Now. Here’s the only problem. There are more than I can fit in my garage. Some may go to fulfillment sellers, and that’s all well and good. But what about my l...Read more

Advance Reader’s Copy Giveaway

In case you’re wondering what I’ll do to mix it up after all those book giveaway blogs, here’s your answer. I’m giving away books before they even become books.

I just received four advance reader’s copies (what’s also called bound galleys) of my brand new YA novel Jumpstart the World (there’s more information about Jumpstart on my book pages). The book is not even due out until October of this year. But you can get a copy much sooner than that.

I’m giving the first of the four away in this blog (other three ...Read more