Janet Fox

When I was a kid, Halloween was one of my favorite holidays. But it wasn’t a big deal. Stores didn’t stock massive numbers of spooky decorations; we had to make our own costumes; pumpkins were carved but also eaten. When we went trick-or-treating we stayed in our own neighborhood, walked with friends (parents in tow),… Read more »

What’s your process for writing a novel? That’s a question I get all the time. And the answer is…every time is different. I’ve written novels completely on the fly, I’ve written them using templates, I’ve written them through 35 revisions and through 5. Years ago when it was first invented I discovered Scrivener, and because… Read more »

“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” Anton Chekhov What do we mean when we say, “show, don’t tell”? Lately I’ve had to help writers with this concept, so I thought I’d share here. I’ll attempt to give you some clear pointers, definitions, and concrete examples…. Read more »

If you are struggling with your writing career – whether you have imposter syndrome, or are getting tons of rejections, or have the feeling that you’ll never write anything as good as the last book you read – you are surely fighting fears. I know these fears so well. In the “before times”, our local… Read more »

Vacation Time I’ll be away most of the month of September, but before I go I wanted to share a super fun giveaway with you! THE ARTIFACT HUNTERS, sequel to THE CHARMED CHILDREN OF ROOKSKILL CASTLE, came out the summer of the pandemic, which meant…sob…no school visits or bookstore events or conferences………….   As you… Read more »

Here we are, on this magical, mysterious day to celebrate the launch of…(drumroll)…DAYBREAK ON RAVEN ISLAND by Fleur Bradley! Look at all these guests! And all this glitter! Golly! I’m making my way now to the talented Fleur for an interview. Fleur, oh, Fleur! Hi there! I hope you’ll let me ask you a few… Read more »

Today CARRY ME HOME is out in paperback! If you have bought a copy, here’s your last chance to grab a selection of goodies about the book. There are fun things for kiddos and teachers, so get them now!   Send me those CARRY ME HOME goodies before they are gone!   And I’m thrilled… Read more »

By the time our son was in middle school a lot of people had written him off. He was diagnosed with dyslexia when he was in second grade, plus he was ADD. He took tests poorly, he had terrible grammar issues, and he couldn’t tell you the months of the year correctly in order. (Still… Read more »

I’ve known my sweet friend Debbie Gonzales my entire career. Not only did we both live in Texas at the time, but she has made every one of my excellent teacher guides, and I’ve worked with her on my Pinterest platform. Now she’s doing something bold, fresh, and remarkably innovative. She’s building Pin Lit, a… Read more »

I recently participated in a high-level writing workshop and something jumped out at me: I felt that many of the writers were not entirely clear on their character’s motivation. Let’s discuss. (Note: a lot of these ideas are inspired by GMC: Goal, Motivation, Conflict, by Debra Dixon, a craft book I highly recommend.) What Do… Read more »