Month: January 2012

It’s a new year, which means a whole new set of unique-and-different observance choices. For those of us in the U.S.A., January is official: “Child-Centered Divorce Awareness Month” (This month only, it’s o.k. to blame it on the children.) Clean Up Your Computer Month (A warning to the wise…they don’t like baths.) California Dried Plum Digestive Month (I’m not sure I want to know what dried plums use as a digestive.) Polka Music Month (I wondered where all the bubbles were coming from.*) (*Extra points to the first person to explain that joke in the comments for the benefit of

Awesome job, McDonalds. Three words I thought I’d never say. (Not without irony, anyway.) My unexpected praise for the Golden Arches stems from McDonalds’ restaurants’ recent decision to give away children’s books in its most recent UK Happy Meal promotion. Instead of the usual plastic toys, Happy Meals in the UK will include one of several children’s books written by Michael Morpurgo (whose children’s novel WAR HORSE was the basis for the new Spielberg film of the same name). Some consider the decision a blatant (and unapologetic) attempt to cash in on the  Spielberg film, particularly since the campaign appears

Welcome the first Writing Wednesday post of 2012. This year, Writing Wednesday will examine writing and publishing contracts and discuss a number of contract pitfalls and other common issues in publishing deals. This year’s first topic: seeking professional help with your contracts. With the rising number of independent authors and the increasing number of small and medium-sized presses willing to work with unrepresented writers, it’s becoming common for writers to encounter their first publishing contract before obtaining either an agent or an attorney. The first critical error many new and newly-published authors make is signing a publishing contract without obtaining

My 2011 blog break might have gone on a little longer than intended, thanks to some big plans and extra hours spent finalizing my mystery manuscript, which my fantastic agent Sandra Bond sent out on submission this week. Since that cat is struggling free of its bag on the professional front, I thought I’d reveal a bit about the novel here too: When a samurai is murdered in a Kyoto teahouse, master ninja Hiro Hattori has three days to find the killer and save the life of the Jesuit priest that Hiro has pledged his own life to protect. Because