I have two complaints to file today. These have been simmering–no, festering–for weeks, and it’s time I said something.
(1) Reading on my iPad is NOT, NOT, NOT the f***ing same. Don’t get me wrong, as a writer and PhD … Read more

Okay, I love looking at pictures of beautiful food. I love thinking about making it. Especially beautiful desserts like this one from Gourmet. But sometimes, it all just starts looking too difficult, complicated. Don’t get me wrong: I can handle … Read more

There ought to be a database out there with all the characters in YA and MG novels who love books, dictionaries, literary allusions, or word play.
There ought to be such a thing so that I can print it out … Read more

Last week, Meghan Cox Gurdon’s article “Darkness Too Visible” denounced YA lit as trying to “bulldoze coarseness or misery” into children’s lives. Gurdon gets YA wrong on so many levels, and the kidlit world noticed. Massively. Most responses have been smart … Read more

Another rant. Liam turns ONE year old in about two weeks, and since he was born, we’ve been trying to get his name recorded properly on his birth certificate. We’ve been all over the place and even had an ACLU … Read more

This is a rant. So forgive me for putting aside my usual lovable self to be a horrible cranky pants. I think I’d be forced to either quit writing or disown “The Road Not Taken” if I were Robert Frost. … Read more