Category: Me

Hi everyone still reading. Is anyone still reading?

For about a year, I’ve been apologizing for not blogging more. For years, I posted regularly three to four times a week. But as I’ve started teaching more and writing more and blogging for Book Riot , this little project has been taking a back burner. I haven’t found the time to post three times a month, let alone three times a week. And blogging has changed too.

But I’m done saying sorry. And I don’t want to fade out of Hardcovers & Heroines without saying a proper goodbye. Instead of sorry, I want to say thank you. Thank you for reading. Whether you’ve been reading since the beginning (hi Mom!) or you are just reading this post. Thank you for commenting. Thank you for recommending books and encouraging me with my own writing. Thank you for your congratulations when things are going well. Thank you for your kind words when things aren’t.

I started Hardcovers & Heroines with a college friend in 2012. Blogging was the big thing at the time, and we were on opposite coasts. It seemed like it was a good way to stay in touch. And we were both just getting interested in young adult books. Though that friendship ended and my cofounder took her posts down, the blog continued. And since I’ve started blogging I’ve:

• Started a nine to five job
• Quit a nine to five job
• Lived in 4 states
• Written three novels
• Graduated an MFA Program
• Started Teaching
• Started Writing for Book Riot
• Got an agent
• Dealt with Depression
• Started meds & seeing a therapist
• Had nine roommates
• Grown out and recut my bangs
• Marry, Date, or Dumped all my fictional crushes
• And read more books than I can count … actually I keep track of them on goodreads. I’m just too lazy to count them right now.

I learned about YA books on this blog and from other bloggers who’ve been doing this longer than me. I made wonderful friends through this blog, with a special shout out to Jackie Lea Sommers and Betsy Cornwell, who are both incredibly supportive and inspiring writers in my life.

And I’m not disappearing forever. I’m still figuring out what to do with this space. And hope to check back in semi-regularly (one a month? one a season?) with a few book recommendations and some of my Book Riot articles.

Thank you. I really mean it.

Thank you.

When I was a little girl, nothing was as exciting as spending the night at Nana and Papa’s house. With a swimming pool shaped like a whale and the promise of Papa making his signature silver dollar pancakes in the morning, nothing could be. At night, I’d get into Nana and Papa’s bed and sleep between them. Every time, without fail, Papa snored. He didn’t just snore, he snored loud. Very loud. In the morning, Nana would complain. But I decided that I would teach myself to love snoring – to be soothed by it.

And I succeeded. Not only do I not mind the sound of snoring now, but whoever is next to me in bed has never snored as loud as Papa. This is just one of the many ways he’s influenced my life. Continue reading “My Papa, Jerry Barton” →

Hi friends. Are you still out there? I know I’ve been MIA recently. This summer has been a perfect storm of hard things – family illness, divorce, more teaching than I’ve ever done, roommate tumult, boy stuff … pretty much ALL THE THINGS. Still finding joy in writing and friendship and NYC bookish life where I can. And most of all … my recent Mexico sister trip! Here are a few photos if you are interested. Will try to figure out a more consistent blogging schedule again soon as things calm down! xoxox  Continue reading “Mexico Trip / Summer / Sorry I’m Not Writing More” →

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mama’s out there today! My mom is 100% the reason I’m a reader and has been the most supportive person on this writing journey as mine (as well as being my most consistent blog reader). She’s also great fodder for Book Riot articles. Here are a few I’m thinking of today:

• My Mom Hid Romance Novels Under the Bed, I Write About Them on the Internet
• Refusing to Read My Mom’s Favorite Books 
• 100 Must-Read Books About Mothers and Motherhood

April could have been a little warmer, but we had some nice days in there and I got to see lots of nice people and read lots of nice books. Am I overusing the word nice? Sorry, I got in late on a flight to California last night and am feeling a little zoney bologna this afternoon. Probably time for a nap! Continue reading “Goodbye April!” →

It snowed this morning in NYC, and I couldn’t help but wish I was back in California on the beach. It was funny because at 60 degrees in LA everyone kept apologizing to me about the bad weather. I even saw people wearing mittens. Of course, the weather isn’t the main reason I love visiting California … it’s the fish tacos. Just kidding… it was Disney Land! Okay just kidding again. It’s obviously my family. Thanks for your patience in my break from blogging and here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip. Happy Spring everyone! Continue reading “California Spring Break” →

Hi friends! In LA for the next week visiting my family, enjoying warm weather, and eating fish tacos and *real* avocados. Won’t be blogging, but am hoping to write my butt off while my mom and sister are at work to make some good progress on my WIP. Happy weekends to everyone and if you are a student/teacher happy spring break!

Bye February! You’ve been a wackadoodle month. Something about the second month of the year always gets me down in the beginning. It doesn’t matter that I had excellent Valentine’s Day plans, a happy light plugged in and ready, and lots and lots of books to read under snuggly blanket. I’m just ready for winter to be over, and the news – especially the horrific Parkland shooting – continues to weigh on me, as it should. Still the second half of the month, my mood rebounded. And my writing has been going better than ever – at least in terms of me enjoying it. I love revising, but working on a new story…I have the first draft butterflies big time. Continue reading “Goodbye, February!” →