Welcome to my new blog! Since I’m a lover of the written word, every week you’ll find a new post starting with “One Good Reason to…” and I’ll write about why you should “Read this New (or Classic) Book,” “Check out these Lyrics,” “Respond to this Headline” “Keep Writing Prose/Poetry” or even “Watch this Episode” (because someone did write the screenplay after all). I’m sure my topics will morph over time, but I figure this list is a good place to get started.

First, here’s a little about me. I’m a Young Adult author who has written three novels: Girl in the Middle (available at amazon.com); Waking Under Water (available in September), and The Broken One (forthcoming). I’m hard at work on my fourth book—it’s about a teen girl (with a huge secret) who meets a guy with an even bigger secret.

I love to get lost in reading really good books or spend the day chasing new plot lines and creating characters. I also teach writing and literature courses. Here are a few titles that I’ve recently read (or reread) over the summer: The Catcher in the Rye; Speak; The House on Mango Street, and The Giver.

For today, I’ll keep my blog short and sweet. Don’t worry, I’ll be back next week with a post on “One Good Reason to Read…the classic novel The Catcher in the Rye. It’s a favorite of mine! Any classics that have stayed with you over the years? Leave me a comment and let me know.

Thanks for reading!