The Blackthorn Key, by Kevin Sands The Blackthorn Key hits all the right notes for me. I've always had a strong affinity for anything involving alchemy. Fullmetal Alchemist is a guilty pleasure I can always indulge in. The first books I wrote all had an alchemy aspect lingering not-so-far beneath the surface. So when I found out Kevin Sands' debut middle grade featured alchemy front and center in a pseudo-historical setting, I started salivating almost immediately. And the bo

Rarely Asked Questions: Lots of authors have a FAQ on their website, talking about their road to publishing and all that boring stuff that everybody asks (it's not called a "Frequently Asked Questions" for nothing). I figured I'd head off in a different direction instead. A "Rarely Asked Questions," if you will. Or factoids? Who knows; who cares? So without any more written rambling, here's 14 things you never cared about: I've been a writer since third grade, when I wrote a

Click'd, by Tamara Ireland Stone Click'd is a book for the wannabe coder in every kid. Let's face it, this generation lives and breathes tech. It is inseparable from everyday life. It's with us in the morning to wake us up, and it puts us safely to bed at night. But there are dangers to that tech, too. We give it unfettered access to our lives, our deepest secrets, and trust that everything's going to be okay. This is the world of Click'd. Our world. A world where everyone wa

I abide by a strict "If you can't say nuthin' nice" policy. Quite frankly, I don't have time or patience for negativity in my life. Other people are much better at negative thoughts and criticism than I am, and I'm happy to leave them to it. My time on this earth is much too short to spend it talking about things I don't like, and there are so many things to like in this world that I'd much rather spend my time there, in my happy place, where there's an endless supply of corn

A few of my favorite quotes I've posted recently on my Instagram.

This time around, I wanted to introduce you guys to Lizzie. Lizzie's the daughter of a friend of mine, and the inspiration behind one of the characters in Hotel Between. In fact, she inspired both my main character, Cameron, and his sister, Cass. Lizzie's an amazing little girl. She talks and talks. Whenever I'm at my friend's house, she wants to show me EVERYTHING. She makes silly jokes, giggles constantly, and loves her guinea pig. And she loves people more than almost anyo

What you invest in is where your heart will be. My wife and I just bought a gym membership. Yup. Anyone who knows me well knows I have about zero love for physical fitness. As I write this email I'm sitting in front of my computer eating Skittles. From a bowl. My daily work uniform is pajama pants and a graphic T. I hiss like a vampire when I step outside and see the sun. I've always said my heart just isn't in all that fitness stuff. I don't care about it. It doesn't matt

So I've realized lately that it is far too easy to get so lost in my imaginary worlds that I forget that there are real people out there who deserve my attention, and who I really want to spend more time with. That's a big danger in working with fiction--at least for me. On any given day I get so immersed in the characters and locations I've created in my head that before I know it the entire day has gone by and I haven't had a conversation with a real human being at all.