It always confused me when department stores showcased bathing suits in January. I grew up in Los Angeles, but we didn’t use our fully heated pool in the middle of winter. My mom explained that, to the rest of the country, winter is cruise season. It didn’t compute. Why would anyone lucky enough to have [CONTINUE READING]
During the 18 years that have passed since publication of the first of my 13 novels, the question that readers have posed to me most often is, by far, “Where do you get your ideas?” And the question is perfectly logical. Creativity is sometimes described as “making something out of nothing,” so the making of [CONTINUE READING]
Recently, we moved our family from Chicago, IL to Phoenix, AZ. No big deal. People move across country every day of the week. The part that had many of our family and friends scratching their heads was one day my husband came home and said, “How do you feel about moving to Arizona?” He loved [CONTINUE READING]
Thanks so much for inviting me to guest blog over here! For those who don’t know,my debut young adult novel, SOLSTICE, was just released last month. SOLSTICE is what happens when MATCHED meets THE LIGHTNING THIEF and is a story I loved writing and am thrilled to share with readers. SOLSTICE has two worlds parallel [CONTINUE READING]
Writing is my life. After my eleven-year-old daughter died, I began keeping a daily journal. It was therapy. It gave me a reason to get up each day. It kept me putting one foot in front of the other. It helped me focus beyond the moment. It began to heal me. It became a passion. [CONTINUE READING]
When I tell people I teach creative writing, one of the most frequent questions I’m asked is whether or not writing can be taught. Parts of it I’m convinced can be, particularly elements of craft, such as an understanding of how point of view works, effective ways of developing characters, and how to make readers feel [CONTINUE READING]
Dialogue is the most important part of any decision to have plastic surgery. It can be a life changing benefit but can have serious physical and mental consequences if done for the wrong reasons or by inexperienced surgeons. Parents, coaches, teachers, counselors – any one dealing with teens and adolescents need to be mindful of [CONTINUE READING]
Jun 152011
Author Paul Levine explains why he has pledged all royalties to childhood cancer treatment in his guest post below at The Book Faery Reviews. His novel “Flesh & Bones” is priced at 99 cents for a short time on Kindle, Nook, and at Smashwords. In the United States today, one in 300 children will be diagnosed with [CONTINUE READING]
Jun 142011
I love that I can make a difference in a child’s life. If I can educate them, inspire them, make them laugh or put a smile on their face with my words or characters, then I did my job as a writer and that makes feel good about what I am writing about. The Joe-Joe [CONTINUE READING]
While thinking about the title of this piece, I started to wonder – is there lifeoutside of writing? I soon realized that the answer is no, not really. Certainly, there appears to be one because I teach, and have friends and throw parties and love to sit in the morning with a cup of tea [CONTINUE READING]
