Hello, friends. This week, my family is either fighting or has succumbed to a nasty, gastro-ish, high-fever bug that's making the rounds. I assume you don't need photographic evidence of our misery. Instead, here are Parts One and Two of a group interview I did with Susan Hughes of Open Book Toronto. It's about mystery writing for children and young adults, and the interviewees include Norah … [Read more...]
Rivals in the City: the transatlantic edition
Hello, friends. As I mentioned a few weeks ago, Rivals in the City will be published in the UK/World in June 2014. The gorgeous cover, designed by Walker Books, is here. And now I have a pub date for the US/Canadian (Candlewick Press) edition of Rivals in the City: February 2015. I am so thrilled to have a concrete date. I know it's twelve months away, but I hope you'll find it worth the wait. I … [Read more...]
On performance
Yesterday, my almost-four-year-old had a birthday celebration at his preschool, to which his whole family was invited. It was absolutely beautiful: thoughtful, focused, loving, and joyful. And yes, I wept. But I'm more interested in my son's response, which was an intense blend of pride, excitement, the need to control his own surge of emotions, and stage fright. It's all completely logical, and … [Read more...]
Yes. THIS.
I have the most interesting, keen-eyed friends a girl could ask for. A few days ago, my fellow Master of Arts (that's what they said at our convocation: "Rise, Master of Arts!") Jo Valin sent me this link to some photos of Smiling Victorians. The photos are all borrowed from a Flickr group called - you guessed it - The Smiling Victorian, but Retronaut does a great job of explaining why the … [Read more...]
The whole Mary & James thing
Okay, so the #1 question I get from readers - and this is by a long shot - is, "Will Mary and James get together?" Naturally, I don't have a simple yes-or-no answer for you. James is back in The Body at the Tower but the path of true love is never entirely smooth, know what I mean? I go into a bit more detail in an interview with Cecilia at the Epic Rat, but it contains some spoilers for both Spy … [Read more...]
Notorious Victorians, days 2-5
Hello, friends. On Tuesday, the Body at the Tower blog tour stops at Bookworming in the 21st Century. There, I talk favourite books and writing challenges in an interview with Kristen. And Body gets a 5-star review! I'm going to have patchy internet access for the next few days, but the blog tour rolls on. Do check in at GreenBeanTeenQueen on Wednesday for my essay on Notorious Victorian … [Read more...]