Category Archives: On Writing

Everything You Want to Know, and Even Stuff You Don’t

February 17, 2016On Life, On Reading, On Writing, Sword and Verse, Young Adult FantasyFAQkathymacmillan

I’ve posted a round-up of the most common questions I get about Sword and Verse, my writing process, and my favorite stuff. Which Hogwarts House would I be Sorted into? Do I write longhand on a computer? What’s my favorite movie? Check out the FAQ to find out!

ASL Interview

January 29, 2016American Sign Language, Interviews, On Writing, Sword and Verse, Young Adult Fantasyruith lehrerkathymacmillan

I’ve been fortunate to participate in lots of great interviews about Sword and Verse in the pas few weeks, but this is my favorite! That’s because it was conducted by Ruth Lehrer, a fellow American Sign Language interpreter and the author of the forthcoming middle grade novel Being Fishkill (Candlewick, 2017). We decided to do the interview in American Sign Language to make it completely accessible to our friends in the Deaf community. (Don’t worry, nonsigners – we also provided an English transcript – mostly. There’s a bonus, untranslated question for signers only!)

I loved the thoughtful questions Ruth asked about the role of language in the book, and I loved the opportunity to share how my experiences in the Deaf community impacted the story. I hope you will enjoy this interview as much as I did! Watch the interview in ASL or read it in English at the Swanky Seventeens Blog.

7 Years

January 13, 2016On Writing, Sword and Verse, Young Adult Fantasykathymacmillan

Exactly 7 years ago today, I got an email from agent Lindsay Davis saying that she wanted to work with me to revise the manuscript that eventually became Sword and Verse. I was leaving an interpreting job, and was walking out to the parking lot with my team interpreter. It was the first time the other interpreter and I had worked together, and I was sure she thought I was having some kind of fit when I looked at my phone and then started babbling incoherently. (We have worked together since, and she assures me that this isn’t the case.)

The whole twisty narrative, if you’re interested, can be found here. But the point is: that was 7 years ago today. In 6 days, Sword and Verse will finally be out in the world. You know how they say, “Never give up”?

Never give up, kids.

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of attending KidLitCon, right here in my hometown of Baltimore, and presenting a session on “Connecting with Debut Authors” with Alyssa Susanna of The Eater of Books! blog. I wanted to give attendees a sense of the particular neurosis that is being a debut author, and that means making one thing crystal clear: the waiting.

Oh, the waiting.

To that end, I polled my fellow Sweet Sixteens, and eleven authors graciously agreed to anonymously share the timelines of major developments in the publication of their debut novels. You can find the entire PowerPoint linked at this post at Alyssa’s blog, but here are some of the averages from our completely unscientific sampling that might surprise you:

The moral is: if you wanted to be a published author, be prepared to do a lot of waiting.

GeekyCon Recap

August 12, 2015Authors You Should Know, On Life, On Reading, On Writingkathymacmillan

A couple of weeks ago I got to go to my first GeekyCon, and it was fabulous! I left the con and went directly to a camp in the woods, which is why I haven’t gotten to post about it until now. A week and a half after leaving Orlando, here are the moments that stuck with me:

1. Being incredibly proud of founders Melissa Anelli and Stephanie Dornhelm as they received a “Geek Day” proclamation from the Orange County Commissioner.

2. Watching my good friend Megan Morrison discuss topics such as likable protagonists and making old stories new alongside authors like Taherah Mafi, Ransom Riggs, Holly Black, and Cynthia Leitich Smith (all of whom, by the way, totally recognized Megan as a fandom authority).

3. Getting signed copies of books by Stephanie Perkins, Courtney Summers, and Marie Lu. I was pretty much tongue-tied and starstruck. (And getting to reread Stephanie Perkins’ Isla and the Happily Ever After at camp. It was even better than I remembered.)

4. This sign in the bookstore:

5. Co-presenting a session on fanfiction as a launching pad for original writing with my pal Megan, and reliving our shipping days.

6. Getting the map in the back of Megan’s book, Grounded: The Adventures of Rapunzel signed by mapmaker Kristin Brown.

7. The opening event at the Wizard World of Harry Potter. A bunch of Harry Potter fans having the whole place to themselves? It was awesome. And my son was chosen to be measured for a wand at the Ollivander’s Experience. I’m not sure who was giddier – him, or the superfan adults watching it all go down.