Status Update

I'll admit it. I don't know who all of you are. Some of you, definitely, but many I haven't had the pleasure to be better acquainted with.

That said, I'll tell you a few things about why I blog.

First reason- meaning literally, the first reason that made me want to try this out....
I was writing and knew that I knew nothing about the business. To learn, I searched the internet and soon discovered that the best resources were blogs. Weird, but true. On blogs things are more real-world and less censored. They have the facts about the hard world of writing and publishing.

In other words, authors who were strangers to me gave me the incentive to follow in their footsteps. I'm happy to say that now many of those authors are no longer strangers.

A little blip while we're on the subject- blogs are a great way to get information about agents too.

Second reason- I wanted to be able to tell the world about my book(s) and let people get to know me better. I love learning about writers and what makes them tick.

Third reason- this one is completely selfish. Having a blog meant that I would be able to keep up with friends and family better. Some people read the newspaper, I read the blogs. If I didn't have one, I really doubt I would keep up with everyone as well.

And fourth- I can think about random things out loud here and sometimes hear what you have to say about it. It's like having a conversation.

That said, here's my status update. In a nutshell.... I'm waiting to hear about the second book in the Alvor series, my newest novel is on submission via my agent and I'm currently writing a contemporary YA book. I call it contemporary, but it is going to have some twists in there that aren't the normal. Kind of like an urban cutting edge of technology now thing.

Whether that made any sense to you, it's turning out to be a story that grips the edge and runs headlong into real problems and real dreams. The kind of dream that gives you a reason to keep getting out of bed and making it through another day.

I can't wait for the day when I can finally say there's another book on the horizon for the world to read, but I promise to let you know if good news ever trickles in my direction.

Other than that, the next thing coming up is the SCBWI writers conference here in Boise, September 11. I feel lucky to have been invited to present there. If you live around the area, or not too far away, this is a great conference. They have manuscript critiques and other great things. The annual day-long conference in Boise will feature Cheryl Klein of Arthur A. Levine Books and Jill Corcoran of the Herman Agency.

Okay, there you have it. My writing life in one post.