I care deeply about my characters' emotions. Some readers have opined that I care too much—that I describe emotion too lingeringly, in prose that occasionally verges on indigo. Jaele's numbness—because it's a self-defense mechanism, and just as important as the grief...

I'm forgetting my nouns. Other things too (walking into a room for something—what?), but mostly nouns. I say “thingy” a lot, and roll my eyes, even as dread snakes through my gut. Maybe I've used “thingy” since I was 13 and, amusingly, just don't remember. Maybe it's...

Years ago, just after my second book came out, I attended a swishy Penguin event to welcome the man of that particular hour, David Davidar, to the company. (Not all that many years later, this is what became of him.) Afterward, because sometimes canapés just aren’t...

I feel as if I do a lot of whining in this blog—when I'm writing about writing, anyway. Part of me thinks this is OK, because I'm being honest, and writers so often talk only about the positive, exciting stuff. Part of me thinks it's disingenuous: I want to be admired...

They’re electronic. They have gorgeous covers. And they’re mine—my first two novels, long out of print. The brief introductions I wrote for these new editions are below, along with the links to the e-books themselves. They’re back, baby. * I started A Telling of Stars...

  I'm reading the Harry Potter series for the first time—aloud, to 12.75-year-old Younger Daughter. We're three quarters of the way through The Goblet of Fire. There are some neat, worldbuilding-related details, and some preteen, best friend moments that are kind...

I'm sitting in bed, covered in blankets and cats, sinking into the falling-snow quiet that's somehow seeping through the walls of the house. The house is quiet inside, too: I'm the only human here, and will be for the next two days. I'd be in Montreal with Peter now,...