Cast of Thousands

A couple weeks ago, I lent my husband one of the adult science fiction books I read last month. To my delight, he enjoyed it as much as I did. “It had a lot of characters,” he said, “which usually frustrates me, but the author did a great job of introducing only one...

Character Flaws, Character Growth

Any well-rounded character should have flaws, I think. It makes them more realistic, for one thing, and it gives them room for growth as well. If a character starts out perfect, how can they change over the course of the book? Yet, I’m noticing a trend in reviews of...
Non MG Characters in MG Books

Non MG Characters in MG Books

Recently, I was asked whether it was difficult to write non-MG characters into a major role in The Eighth Day without fear of losing my audience. The answer was NO, although before the book sold, I was worried about losing potential publishers.If you write MG or have...

An Open Letter to My Characters

Dear Characters of my WIP (working title: VOLTAGE):You are hereby invited to attend the climax of the book, expected to begin approximately 20,000 words from now. I wanted to give you plenty of advance notice, because I am anticipating the climax will consist of...