ABOUT ME

Reader • Writer • Star Wars nerd

I've wanted to be a writer since I was seven years old. I loved books and reading so much that I thought that writing books must be even better than reading them (I was also pretty sure that authors spent a lot of time in their pajamas). So that seemed like a good deal.

After attending Boston College, where I majored in English and Communications, I went to graduate school at Emerson College to get my Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. In college, I wrote lots of terrible short stories about boring adults and their boring problems, but when I went to graduate school I discovered that my stories were much better when my characters were kids. Their problems and situations were way more interesting to me.

It took me seven years of hard work to get my first book published, and I still work really hard on every story that I write. But my seven year old self would be happy to know that she was right: being a writer is the best job ever. And although I don't get to work in my pajamas all the time....sometimes I do!

Fandoms: Star Wars, Marvel, Harry Potter

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do you get your ideas?

My ideas come from lots o f places--things I've read about, places I've been, and experiences I've had. I am open, curious, and fascinated by the world. That means there's always a good story to be found!

How do you write a book?

Once I get an idea, I do a lot of brainstorming. I think about my characters and plot for 2-4 months! I do all of that work in a project-specific notebook. By the time I'm ready to write, it takes me about six months to write the draft of a novel.

Some of my favorite writing resources

• On Writing, Stephen King

• Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott

• Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert

• Story Genius, Lisa Cron

• The AntiRacist Writing Workshop, FR Chavez

• Literaticast Podcast

• Scriptnotes Podcast