A big “thank you” to the Gunnison Country Times for their recent feature on me and Rise of the Sidenah. Gunnison, Colorado is the home of my old alma mater, Western State Colorado University. I lived four years of my life in this beautiful little town, and it still holdsContinue Reading
This post originally appeared on writer and director Lisa Kirazian’s blog. Please see her page for the original version. Think of the Twilight Zone, and words like “other worldly,” “spooky,” or “magical” may come to mind. Most likely you’ll imagine something with no rational explanation. And of course, there’sContinue Reading
I’m excited to have partnered with YA Books Central (YABC) to offer a special giveaway for the month of October. You could win one of three prizes: $25 Amazon Gift Card; 1 signed, paperback copy of the book; 1 bookmark $10 Barnes & Noble gift card; 1 signed, paperback copyContinue Reading
This blog was originally written as a guest post for a fellow writer, Cathleen Townsend. Please see the original at her website, “The Beauty of Words.“ There are a lot of things that are difficult about the writing life. Writers struggle with self-doubt, must wear many hats to succeed inContinue Reading
I’m excited to announce that Rise of the Sidenah officially releases today. I’ve been talking about pre-orders of the Kindle version for awhile, and the print version became available on Amazon last week, but according to my publisher (Jupiter Gardens Press), this is the official date of the release. Yay!Continue Reading
Great news! I have received notes from my editor at Dzanc Books for Loreena’s Gift, my literary novel. That means I’ll be working hard over the next six weeks or so to polish up the book in preparation for the galleys. I’m excited that things are moving forward on thisContinue Reading
I have fond memories of shopping for school clothes with my mom. Usually sometime in the month of August, she would help me go through my closet to see what clothes still fit, and we’d separate those from the ones I’d outgrown so we knew what I needed for theContinue Reading
My younger brother and I have a running joke between us. He’s a pilot in the Air Force. He’s got five more years to give back to the service before he can decide if he wants to stay in and retire or leave and work in the commercial sector. He’sContinue Reading
Can you learn things from the characters in your stories? I have. Take Adrienna Vedica, for example, the main character in Rise of the Sidenah, my young adult fantasy. Even as a child, Adrienna is drawn to sculpting things. She uses wood, as that’s the only raw material she canContinue Reading
I’ve attended several writing events this year. Conferences, awards dinners, signings, etc. At every one, without exception, I heard one thing: writers complaining. It’s an easy habit to fall into. This isn’t a cushy career, by any means. We have a number of challenges in front of us, from theContinue Reading