Ready? David Levithan and Billy Merrell are putting together an expanded edition of The Full Spectrum and are looking for essays about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, questioning and other queer identities by writers under 21. If you have a story you want to tell, go to www.queerthology.com for details on submitting. Deadline is August… Read more »
nail polish
I have the solar system on my fingernails
This was pretty challenging, especially because in order for everything to line up correctly, the more complicated planets had to end up on my dominant hand. Turns out it is really hard to paint a tiny Saturn with a nail polish brush and toothpicks, right-handed! I tried to represent their relative sizes correctly, more or… Read more »
On Writing: The more complicated and unusual the book, the more the little things matter.
The book I’m revising right now has an unusual structure and an unusual narrative voice. For the reader who isn’t looking for a puzzle or a job, it has the potential to be a bit offputting. My job is to help that reader wherever I can. I want that reader to feel grounded, pulled in,… Read more »
Five Emails and Several Pictures on the Topic of SNOW
It’s becoming difficult to take pictures that convey the absurdity of the situation here in the Boston area. The pictures just don’t do it justice (and it’s hard to get a full view of anything, because backing up quickly puts you against a snowbank). It’s not unusual to walk down a badly-shoveled sidewalk with walls… Read more »
The Report from Eastern Massachusetts
Dear readers, Here in Cambridge, we’re having some problems. I’m sorry about this person’s bike. I’m sorry about this person’s… car? (Though at least they have a parking spot.) It says “MOST BURRIED.” Too much snow affects people’s spelling. The mailman looks like the Grim Reaper. The fire hydrants are shivering. Some person has lost… Read more »
Three Weeks of Revisions, Shown in Nail Polish
When I began this revision, I was feeling a little vulnerable.I wanted my nails to make me think of claws, or maybe little shields. My palette. During the next week, things briefly got impossibleand I needed my nails to help me feel as hard as asphalt. My palette. This morning, I have gotten to a… Read more »
Penguin’s Teen Author Spotlight. Also, Nail Polish
As usual, I’m a little behind the curve about blogging things, but this week, to celebrate the release of the Bitterblue paperback, I’ve been the author on Penguin’s Teen Author Spotlight. Check it out if you want to see a short interview. Then scroll down and read about the other featured authors! Also, I painted… Read more »
These Photos Speak for Themselves
An alternative title to this post is “France is Yummy: Miscellany.” These are not all my meals. My companions — fellow authors, publishing folk and interpreters — became accustomed to me leaning over their shoulders with my iPhone. Please forgive me for the fact that in some cases, I can’t remember what these dishes were,… Read more »
“God have mercy on the [domestic longhair] who doubts what [s]he’s sure of”
I’ve been listening to one of the best Springsteen albums ever, Tunnel of Love. When we were kids, my sister (codename: Cordelia) and I came up with a theory, convincingly backed up by textual evidence, that the song “Brilliant Disguise” was about our cat Sugar, a beautiful and secretive creature one was likely to cross… Read more »
For the Pink Floyd Fans Among You
Check out this card. Presumably for when you want to send greetings to your friend whose life is an irreparable disaster?
