Potter Predictions

Since everyone is eagerly awaiting the next Potter installment, I thought I’d test out my psychic powers and make some predictions. First of all, like everybody else, I think that Snape will prove himself to be a good guy after…

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My New BFFs

The BYU Symposium for Young Readers was incredible! Every single speaker was amazing: Ann Cannon, Stephen T. Johnson, Suzanne Fisher Staples, and Gary Paulsen (And of course me. I frequently amaze myself.) The conference planners had been trying for 20…

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Technology, My Old Nemesis

As usual, Janette is having technical difficulties. For some reason I don’t even try to figure out, my last blog posted twice. I thought I could delete the post, but no, I couldn’t find that button on New Blogger. I…

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Fashion No-Man Land

I’m speaking at BYU’s Symposium For Young Readers on July 12 & 13. It’s going to be a great conference with impressive people like Gary Paulsen (who has so many Newbery medals that he probably uses them to decorate the…

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Hey Mikey, he likes it!

I just heard from my editor and he actually likes my new story! In fact, he liked it so much he wants me to write nothing but sad stories from now on. I have to keep telling him I can’t…

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Another Vegetarian is Born

I have a scene in my latest manuscript that I’ve worried about. In it, a five-year-old boy realizes that the turkey they’ve eaten at Thanksgiving comes from an actual turkey. This may sound strange to you, but I still remember…

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Job Satisfaction

I didn’t use to watch TV at all. Now I watch TV while I do the exercises my physical therapist suggested for my back. (One ruptured disk, one herniated disk, one big hassle.) For any of you out there that…

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Kitchen update/Mystery caller

Since writing the last blog I’ve spent a lot of days scrubbing down my kitchen and the surrounding walls in an effort to remove the smoke smell. This wouldn’t be so bad (at any given point in the year my…

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I sent my manuscript off!

I just finished my latest manuscript (right now it’s called: Last Wish) and sent it to my publisher. It’s been an interesting book to write. When I started it, Tim the mighty bow-tied one, called and told me he wanted…

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Pirates 3–Don’t waste your money

I just got back from Pirates of the Caribean. It definitely fell into the: I-can’t-believe-I-paid-to-watch-this category. I really liked the first two Pirates movies, and I’m a huge Orlando Bloom and Depp fan. (I can’t say as much for Kiera…

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Writing the Kissing Scenes . . .

I find writing kissing scenes for YA books tricky. I mean, I love romance and apparently a lot of my teen readers like it too, but some of my readers are quite young and I always want my books to…

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