The Writing Life

Writing and Reading Empathy

Not long ago I had the fantastic opportunity to listen to and then meet Jason Reynolds. Jason is the current US National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and he was in Bozeman as part of a tour in this capacity and heading out to small, rural schools, three of which he visited in Montana. He’s… Read more »

The Working Writer: Systems and Processes

As a “working writer”, I’m learning that it isn’t always about the craft. It isn’t always about the joy of creativity, much as we’d like it to be. Sometimes it’s about how to manage being creative in the face of all those other things on the to-do list. If there’s one lesson I’ve learned after… Read more »

How To Write Through Trauma

I think we can all agree that the times we are living in – really, for the past 6 years now – are traumatic. From polarization in politics, to the pandemic, to the increasing deleterious effects of climate change, and now to the very real threat of global war, we have the misfortune to be… Read more »

What Brings You Joy?

For both writers, and teachers of writers, on the subject of “what do we write about and why”… I have a wonderful coaching client, who has recently finished her first novel (a fantastic and emotionally moving story, beautifully told, about a middle school girl recovering from grief). We were talking about what she would write… Read more »

5 Books To Gift to Your Favorite Writer 

‘Tis the season…to find the perfect gift. And what better thing to buy for your favorite writer than a writing-related book that will help them on their journey?  Here are my recommendations for books available widely, on Amazon, Bookshop(you’ll find each of these titles at this link, with the exception of Create, which you’ll find here),… Read more »

Self-care For Writers (& Everyone Else)

These two years have been so difficult for so many. And every day life throws another curveball into the mix, from weather nightmares to military nightmares to ethical nightmares to health nightmares. For parents and teachers, this new school year is a mixed bag. Everyone’s thrilled to be back in the classroom (where that’s possible),… Read more »

The 1 Superpower All Writers Possess: Authenticity

I’ve been seeing the word “authenticity” everywhere lately. In webinars geared to writers, in blog posts geared to entrepreneurs, in ads for almost anything. (“Try our authentic Mexican food!”) We seem to be craving authenticity. This isn’t surprising, really, after several years in which rumors, falsehoods, and crazy conspiracy theories dominated the airwaves, and we… Read more »

News, And Fun

Last week Mr. Schu of Watch. Connect. Read. featured the release of the cover of my next book, Carry Me Home. The novel launches August 24, 2021 from Simon & Schuster. I love this cover and am thrilled to be able to bring it to you now:       Carry Me Home is the… Read more »