Teller of tales. Lover of words. Writer of stories for children & young adults.
I can share my news!! My picture book Feliz New Year, Ava Gabriela! is being published by Albert Whitman in fall 2020, and I’m thrilled!! I feel so incredibly blessed for getting to do what I love, and I can’t wait to share Ava Gabriela with all of you!
I can hardly believe it. Like always, there have been highs and lows. I started with the passing of my grandfather, and I’ve had the longest writing dry spell I’ve had in years. But, I’ve also had better health days and fun adventures with my family–we traveled to Colombia in the summer and I even managed to climb almost 650 steps up to the cima of El Peñol.
It was exhilarating. I want to go back.
And tucked between it all, I sold not one but two picture books that I’m so excited about and that I can’t wait to share with you!
This year, I’m thankful for it all–the good and bad, the laughs and tears. I’m thankful for family and for new opportunities. I’m thankful for the moments that make it all worthwhile.
*dusts off blog*
First things first:
I’m a little rusty at this, but I’m hoping to resurrect it–at least for important writing related updates! Watch this space because exciting things are happening, and I’ll announce here once I can!
To all of you: best wishes for a happy, healthy 2019!!
THIS IS NOT A DRILL, PEOPLE! It’s Pitch Wars time again and I am so freaking excited to be mentoring MG this year!
If you’ve stumbled on this post by accident, you might be asking yourself: What’s Pitch Wars? It’s only the best contest ever, held by Brenda Drake, where selected mentees work with mentors to polish their manuscripts extra shiny for an agent round. You can read more about what Pitch Wars is here, the details here, and the schedule here.
The best part isn’t getting to have your work in front of agents, though. The best part, in my humble opinion, is the amazing community of writers and writer friends that comes with this contest. Because not everyone will get in—that’s just part of how a contest works—but everyone can take part in the building of friendships, improvement of craft, and connection with like-minded peeps that comes with all the contest hoopla.
 *have been on both the mentee and mentor sides of the Pitch Wars. In 2013, Dannie Morin chose me as one of her alternates, and in 2015, I served as a co-mentor with her. Both times, I’ve met so many wonderful, hard-working writers. Some of us have gone on to become beta readers and even CPs! In fact, Dannie and my co-mentees and I still keep in touch and read each others’ work.
*Image is part of the Pitch Wars Scavenger Hunt.
Some quick facts about me:
If you want to know more about me, click on About above.
So…why pick me? Because I’m awesome. Duh.
Okay, no—for real.
I have over twelve years’ experience in reading critically and editing other people’s work. I grade over 400 assignments (essays, poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction) per semester. In addition to the grading–in which I look at, comment on, and correct everything from grammar to content–I critique and beta read for several published and pre-published writer friends.
Here’s what you can expect from me: I’m going to be honest. I’m going to fangirl over the stuff I love, but I’m also going to let you know when something’s not working. I’ll also help you brainstorm, if you need me to. Most of our communication will be via email or chat (Twitter, Google, or Skype).
My preference is to work with MS Word Track Changes, where I’ll provide tons of in-text comments. Some of these will be questions I have. Some will be comments/observations. Some will simply be snorts of laughter or me yelling at the characters. I can get intense when reading. You will always have feedback on big picture items (plot, characters, setting, world building, etc.) and small picture bits (grammar, syntax, punctuation, tense and POV shifts, etc.) In addition to the in-text comments, I’ll be providing a detailed edit letter addressing main concerns. My goal is to get you one extensive, comprehensive critique and a second, quicker read before the agent round. It all depends on how fast you revise within our two-month time period.
There will be many moments like this:
And many others like this:
I’m looking for a mentee who’s not afraid to get dirty in revisions, who’s a good listener, who’s not afraid to ask questions, and who will work hard. I shouldn’t be the first person who’s looked at this manuscript (in addition to you–the writer–and close family) and this shouldn’t be a first draft, but I don’t expect it to be perfect either (otherwise, you wouldn’t be entering Pitch Wars!) Together we will work to make your story be the best it can be and get it ready for agents.
As a reminder, I’m mentoring MG this year. Here’s what’s right for me:
What’s not for me right now:
Some other things to consider if you want to pitch to me:
If you’d like a sense of what I like to read, you can find me on Goodreads. It doesn’t list everything I’ve read and I don’t always do a good job at updating it, but I think it can give you an idea of my reading tastes.
If you have any questions or if you’re not sure if your project fits my wish list above, feel free to ask! You can @ me on Twitter.
Happy pitching!
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There are times when the words flow forward, a strong unstoppable current that carries anything in its path. Then there are other times when the words come in a trickle, a slow moving stream, jammed with pebbles in some spots and boulders in others. And every once in a while, the flow becomes stagnant–whether because of life circumstances or because you’re simply drained from working too much.
This is such a natural part of the process! Frustrating, yes, but normal. Just recently, I had to stop working on my WIP for a while. The words were drying up, not because they weren’t there but because my body was going through a rough patch. Not only was I flaring with the lupus and fibro, but I’d developed tendonitis in my shoulder, severe spasms in my cervical area, and my wrists were swollen. Talk about getting creativity sucked out of you!
So how do you find motivation when the words just won’t come? When you’ve dried up from the inside?
You find inspiration somewhere else. All you need is a spark–a hearty, healthy spark–to trigger one creative endeavor. Imagine a dam of twigs. The spark loosens a small hole that lets some water in, a trickle. Then that trickle grows and widens so it’s a stream. The process continues, trickle, stream, until there’s so much pressure the dam breaks and a torrent of water pours over the wreckage, burying it.
Inspiration and motivation work this way. I’ve held hard and fast to this idea for a while now, and it helps every single time. Here are some things I’ll do to help myself heal and bring the power on.
So what do you do to get your words back?
One of the things I learned quickly after being diagnosed with lupus and fibromyalgia is that I had two choices: I could break down and give up or I could keep moving forward, however slow it had to go at times. Don’t get me wrong–there are times I felt (feel) broken, or frustrated, or angry, but I’m not giving up.
The same applies to writing. And, well, to all things life.
The only way we will reach our goals and dreams is by not giving up when life throws us challenges. No matter how large those challenges are, we can’t quit. We can slow down and take a breather, but:
In fact, we should channel those obstacles and let them mold us, strengthen us.
And then there’s this thought: 
Rejection and challenges sometimes knock the wind out of us. They leave us battered and wounded. And sometimes, the temptation to quit is very strong. Don’t let it win. “They” say the wall is there to see how much you want whatever is on the other side. If you quit, you’ll never know, you’ll never reach it.
Similarly:
Time improves our craft. It’s human nature to be impatient. My son, who is 8, often gets frustrated and gives up because something is too hard or is taking too long. I’m trying to teach him to keep at it until he gets it write, until he succeeds. For writing, time is our friend. I am a much better writer than I was one, five, ten years ago.
So keep on keeping on.
I’m a sucker for quotes. They’re great to plaster above my writing desk or to pin in my Pinterest to remind me, on the tough days, that everything is possible, that all I need to make it is “hope, trust, and pixie dust”–and a whole heap of work. One of my all-time favorite–and one I have on the back of my business cards–is by Walt Disney:
I believe this with all the fiber of my being. It doesn’t mean our dreams will come quickly. Or easily. Or exactly the way we imagine them. It doesn’t mean that you can’t take breaks because of certain life events and challenges. But it does mean that if we dream something, work hard, and keep trying, never giving up, then the chances are for us that we’ll succeed.
There are gazillion articles out there that quantify this. Like this one.
But part of this journey involves failure. It’s natural, and I’m convinced we appreciate our successes that much more because of the times we’ve failed. With each attempt that hasn’t worked, we’ve learned and grown and stepped closer to our goal. Remember:
So don’t quit. Keep on keeping on. I know you can do it.
I only recently got the change to read JUST A DROP OF WATER by Kerry O’Malley Cerra and let me tell you–I’d been missing out!
Here’s the blurb:
Ever since he was little, Jake Green has longed to be a soldier and a hero like his grandpa, who died serving his country. Right now, though, he just wants to outsmart–and outrun–the rival cross country team, the Palmetto Bugs. But then the tragedy of September 11 happens. It’s quickly discovered that one of the hijackers lived nearby, making Jake’s Florida town an FBI hot spot. Two days later, the tragedy becomes even more personal when Jake’s best friend, Sam Madina, is pummeled for being an Arab Muslim by their bully classmate, Bobby.
According to Jake’s personal code of conduct, anyone who beats up your best friend is due for a butt kicking, and so Jake goes after Bobby. But soon after, Sam’s father is detained by the FBI and Jake’s mom doubts the innocence of Sam’s family, forcing Jake to choose between his best friend and his parents. When Jake finds out that Sam’s been keeping secrets, too, he doesn’t know who his allies are anymore. But the final blow comes when his grandpa’s real past is revealed to Jake. Suddenly, everything he ever knew to be true feels like one big lie. In the end, he must decide: either walk away from Sam and the revenge that Bobby has planned, or become the hero he’s always aspired to be.
A gripping and intensely touching debut middle grade novel by Kerry O’Malley Cerra, Just a Drop of Water brings the events of September 11, which shook the world, into the lens of a young boy who is desperately trying to understand the ramifications of this life-altering event.Â
This novel is a Florida Book Award winner, winner of the Crystal Kite Award, and named to VOYAs Top Shelf Fiction for Middle Readers’ 2014 list.
I read JUST A DROP OF WATER in one day because I could not put it down. The chapter headings count down to that fateful September 11, 2001, which really increases the tension. It’s a day I remember vividly, and it’s tackled in just the right way for the target audience who did not live through it. There were so many poignant lines in it. One of my favorites is this: “Anger can lead us to a place of hatred and intolerance. And if we get to that point, then everything that really matters is already lost.” Anger–and what to do with that anger–is a constant theme in this novel, and it’s handled beautifully without being preachy. This is one of those stories I will read again and again.
JUST A DROP OF WATER is powerful and timely and it should be on all middle school lists. Jake and Sam are two best friends whose lives and friendship are turned upside down as a direct result of the horrific events of 9/11. It’s the story about friendship, doing what’s right, and not giving in to anger and fear. The storyline is gripping, the characters heartfelt and flawed, the voice on point, and the writing beautiful.
At our latest SCBWI Florida conference this past January, Kerry accepted the Crystal Kite Award with a touching and moving speech–there was not a dry eye in the house! It’s a testament to the heart that she brings to everything she does, including her novels.
Hello loves! I dusted this ol’ blog today and realized it’s been a whopping 8 months since I last came on here!
I know. Cray cray.
I’m on a fabulous and wonderful sabbatical, where I get to write for an entire semester without worrying about the day job, and I feel so blessed to get to do this. It’s a wonderful opportunity. So I’m bringing back my Motivational Monday posts, and I have a couple of book reviews I’ll be posting.
Happy (belated) 2016, peeps!
I’ve reached 500 followers on Twitter, and to celebrate, I’m giving away a $25 Amazon gift card–just in time for summer! 
To enter the raffle, click here: a Rafflecopter giveaway. You have until midnight EST on Sat, May 30 to enter, and you get an entry for following me on Twitter–plus a bonus one for liking my Facebook page! Easy peasy. 🙂 Good luck!
