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 »
THE ARTIFACT HUNTERS
It’s Spooky Season!
A Tool You Can Use
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 »
Time For Author Reboot and Reader Gifts!
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 »
BOOdles of Fun
Yes, I know – Halloween is over. But it does feel like this Halloween was even more of a needed treat than usual, doesn’t it? As a member of the Spooky Middle Grade authors group, I believe that kids love spooky books for good reason: learning how to be scared of things when you can… Read more »
Audio Excerpt From The Artifact Hunters
Hi all – yes, The Artifact Hunters is an audiobook! Read by the remarkable Ralph Lister, I’m thrilled to be able to share with you a Soundcloud excerpt. Check it out, and then, if you have an Audible account, you can listen to the entire book. Happy listening! audiolibrary-a · The Artifact Hunters By… Read more »
Authoring Around
Lately I’ve been bouncing around the internet (cause bouncing around in person is not happening right now, sigh). I’ve been having lots of fun with these interviews and such. If you are into a bunch of authors spending some time talking about books, you may be interested. Here is a Youtube video from the Books… Read more »
Just For Fun!
I am part of a collective of authors who write “spooky books.” I love these other authors – and their books! Kim Ventrella, who is part of this group, is super-savvy when it comes to social media fun, and she turned me on to this cool site. Take a look at what I did to… Read more »
The Scottish Celts: The Faerie Courts and The Ring of Brodgar
The Artifact Hunters is a story about magic and is set in Scotland so naturally I wanted to include aspects of Celtic mythology and history. The Faerie Courts In Scottish mythology, the Realm of Faerie is inhabited by two types of fae: the “good” and the “wicked”. The good faeries are members of the Seelie… Read more »
The Old-New Synagogue and the Golem of Prague
I was lucky to visit Prague just as I was editing The Artifact Hunters, and we spent four days researching for Isaac’s backstory and childhood experiences. Prague is a beautiful city, occupied by the Nazis, who turned the country into a “Protectorate”. The Old-New Synagogue and Josefov Isaac Wolf, my main character in The Artifact… Read more »
Ancient Clocks, From Greece To Prague
Because the Death’s Head Watch and time travel play such an important role in The Artifact Hunters, I used other time pieces in the story. The Antikythera Mechanism In 1901, in the Mediterranean Sea off the Greek island of Antikythera, an artifact was retrieved from an ancient wreck. It is a complex clockwork from ancient… Read more »