Time for a blog tour!

YA Bound Book Tours is hosting a SCHOOL OF DEATHS blog tour, in celebration of the PRINT RELEASE at the end of this month, and the release of SWORD OF DEATHS a month later.

For the full blog tour schedule visit:

Two Meetings

The following story is true.

1. From the point-of-view of Bandit, a precocious Shih Tzu, newly adopted.

People!
People people people!
People looking at me, oh boy!
People people people people!
The nice people put me in their shiny car.
Woooh!
What's this place? Where am I? Where am I?
People? Where am I, people?
Hello? Hello?
Who's that over there?
Is that a stuffed toy for me?
Is that a stuffed toy?
Hungry.
Food. Food. Food.
Stuffed toy thing got up.
Wait, not a toy.
People?
It's a cat.
Hi cat! Hi! Hi! Hi!
Wanna be friends?
Friends? Friends? Friends?
Hi! Hi! Hi!
Why're you looking at me like that?
People?
Help?
Cat's hissing.
Hey! Hey! Hey!
Dumb cat.
Want to play?
Want to play?
Hey! Hey! Hey!

2. From the point-of-view of Faith, our cat

The subjects again neglected to administer the proper amount of royal pets to my backside. The peasants. We shall have to have words when they return. As usual, my meal this morning was too dry, and my requests for mountain fresh water have been ignored. Again.
Sigh.
Today is a busy day. After a bath behind the royal couch, I plan to sunbathe for two hours. I have considered taking a nap, but might instead take a stroll to the eastern window, where the sun is warmer. The plants will need tending, of course, I haven't bitten them in days.
Yawn.
Where are the subjects? I grow weary of their absence. I certainly did not grant permission for this extended leave from my presence. How dare they ignore me this long? I shall be sure to pay them back during their repose tonight.
Sigh.
Ah, finally. My subjects have returned, no doubt with some tokens of their affection with which they shall shower me. I shall receive them in the western chamber. But, oh, what is that hideous noise they make? It pierces the ears, shattering the calm.
What?
What is that thing?
I do not grant is presence, remove it at once.
Hiss.
You dare approach me? Peasant! Back, before I release my full fury on your tiny carcass. Subjects, I am most displeased. You think this thing will amuse the likes of me.
I think not.

Aladdin and the Jinn

Lately I have had a lot of posts about writing. But what happens when thirty teenagers are asked to write an original play? The most challenging thing I've attempted at my job as a high school theatre teacher was to try just this feat.

I came to school in August, and told the kids I wanted them to put on an ensemble show. They'd work together to create an original script, and would all perform in it. The students voted to adopt the story of Aladdin, using an aesthetic of Israel and Palestine.

The show was a struggle to mount. Students had conflicting opinions on the direction of the story, the types of characters, or the overall plot. As an author, it's solely up to me to decide what my characters do and how the plots unfold. To have thirty teens arguing over this was no easy task.

I gave the kids projects, including writing short scenes, monologues, music (non-verbal) scene work, and slam poetry. Many of these elements ended up becoming part of the final process. We worked with a professional choreographer from a local theatre to develop new movement techniques, and with a professor from George Washington University to research the political issues.

Then the hurdles hit... ten missed rehearsals for snow/weather. Eleven students deciding two weeks before the show that they'd rather fail the class than be in the performance, and seven kids kicked out of Tech (backstage theatre) for pot (out of ten kids total in Tech).  Plus, we got a new space- a huge abandoned tech room which is the new drama room, and we're converting into a blackbox theatre. It's exciting, but we moved into the space exactly one week before the show opened!

Despite the hurdles, the show was an overall success.  Audiences enjoyed seeing the student's dark take on an otherwise light fairy tale, and were very impressed by how the show worked as a cohesive piece. Two alumns of Roosevelt drama each said it was one of the more ambitious and impressive shows they'd seen at the school.

And now it's spring break, and I am relieved to be writing alone- not thirty voices arguing, but just my own voice going to the page...

RIP Terry Pratchett

"Death isn't cruel, merely terribly, terribly good at his job." 

- Terry Pratchett

On March 12th, Terry Pratchett passed away, finally succumbing to a long fight with illness.  I had never met Pratchett personally. The one time I tried to, at the National Book Festival in Washington DC, I stood in a long line for over an hour to meet him and get his autograph, only to have my section of the line turned away, because he had another commitment, and the festival was ending.  I never got the chance to shake his hand, or tell him how much he inspired me. If the gods are good, Pratchett's chasing adventures somewhere on an enormous disc, hurtling through space on top of four elephants, who in turn ride an enormous turtle.

When I was six years old, my parents bought me a set of five hardback novels, which happened to be the first five Discworld novels. I think they bought them because I enjoyed superhero cartoons, and perhaps I'd like to try reading fantasy books. The covers showed fanciful images of space turtles, bumbling wizards, clever witches, and amazing magic. The Colour of Magic was the first fantasy novel I'd ever read. While I'd spent hours dreaming of far-off adventures, these books opened my eyes to a world of imagination I'd never contemplated. I devoured those novels, and later other Pratchett books. The Unseen University introduced me to a school where wizards learn magic, fifteen years before Rowling published her first novel set in Hogwarts. Pratchett introduced me to English wit, instilling a love for British humor, one I carry to this day. And the novel Mort, which I read as a kid, featured Death training an apprentice. The idea of someone training to reap souls is an idea that never left my mind.

I think Pratchett influenced me most in that he truly brought books to life, and helped me develop a lifelong love of reading. I devoured the first few Discworld books, and moved on to other books, novels, and eventually even began writing books.  My first taste of fantasy novels eventually led to my creation of my own fantasy worlds. He and I even share a birthday, April 28th. 

Pratchett's unique voice and inspiring worlds will be with us always, even as his many fans now mourn his loss.

Win a 20 Dollar Gift Card!

To promote my upcoming release of SWORD OF DEATHS, I am launching a fun new contest.  The items below, which occur in the novel, are in the WRONG order.  Can you guess the correct order?  If you do, you could win a 20 dollar gift card! Click the image for details or to enter:

Shadow of the Scythe

FREE READ

Find out how the Scythe Wielder's Secret begins!

If you haven't yet read Shadow of the Scythe now's the perfect opportunity.  Find out why fans love this Young Adult fantasy series. Shadow of the Scythe tells the story of a young French boy brought to the World of Deaths against his will.  Will he survive?  Click the image to find out....

Rough Winter

This winter hasn't been the worst in DC for snowfall or ice, but has been rough on our new house.  Four frozen pipes, three burst pipes, two roof leaks, one completely flooded basement (under a foot of water), and a busted sump pump, furnace, and water heater (all destroyed when the sump pump died and the basement flooded)....  we've had no heat for a week,and have been living in a hotel, with our cat.  Is winter over yet?