Back next week

I'm just going to make it official: this week is too busy for me to count on getting things done here on this blog or with my editing, which has stalled. I'm hoping to make some changes that will allow me to improve things. Whether I get my editing done or not, the sequel to Wizard's Mischief will kick off in July!

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On age categories for books

I'm still working on editing my current book series--the good news is I'm finally making progress.

I started wondering the other day: what age range should this series be for?

If you don't already know this, most US publishers consider Middle Grade Fiction (MG for short) to be suitable for kids ages 8 to 12. These books are, generally speaking, a little harder to read than the earliest "chapter books" for younger readers, but not yet as challenging as many books for young adults. But the content of the books is important, too: a book may be written simply enough for a younger reader, but if it contains content that is very edgy, dark, sexual, graphically violent, or disturbing it will be put in the Young Adult (ages 12 and up) category instead.

What's hard about some of this is that the lines often get blurred. There has been a push by many MG publishers to include more and more envelope-pushing content in books aimed at younger readers. At the same time, so…
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A short and spooky tale

This past month I participated in a Twitter writing challenge. There were daily word prompts, but other than that each person could write whatever he or she wanted.

I wrote a short story using the prompts. While I've been posting it daily on Twitter, I thought it would be fun to post the whole story here. The prompt words I used are in red.

*****

Carnival. From the Latin “carne vale,” or farewell to meat. A word that rose from the penitential practice of giving up meat for Lent. Written in human blood on the wall of the dingy apartment, it took on a much more sinister meaning.

I glanced at my partner out of the eye above my ear; one of six total, though the two on the back of my head were covered by my hair. “Well?"

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I raised an eyebrow. “Nothing?”

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Getting back to work

I had hoped to keep blogging while working on the fifth book in the Adventures of Ordinary Sam series, but it was a little too optimistic of me to think I could keep up an average daily pace of 3000 words and still find time for a blog post. I'm glad to be able to say that the book's first draft is now complete! When I publish this one it will be the end of a series I've really loved writing.

I'm having a bit of trouble getting back into the writing game, though. Right now I should be working on the first book in my new series, Wizard's Mischief. It's a series I really want to work on, but I haven't asked my advance readers for their input yet, or done any of the other things I need to do to make the next editing pass happen.

But I need to get started soon, because in July I'll be writing the second book in the Wizard's Mischief series. Sometimes, especially at this time of the year, I'd just like life to slow down for a little while so I can c…
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