Search this site:
Autographs for your Kindle books!
Did you know you can request autographs for your Kindle edition of Corgi Capers, The Scarred Letter, or any of my other books? Check out the books available for autographing at my Autograph page.
Author Archives: Val
Writer Wednesday: Battling Addiction
One of the conflicts in my YA novel, The Girl Who Flew Away, involves heroin addiction. The protagonist has a family member who has been in and out of rehabilitation after battling an addiction that began in high school. I … Continue reading
Posted in inspiration
Leave a comment
Book Review: An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
I chose this as my “summer reading pick” at the school where I teach: each teacher shared the title of a book they were reading and invited students, parents, and community members to read the same book. In August, we … Continue reading
Posted in book reviews
Leave a comment
Flash Fiction: Kijji People by Cathy MacKenzie
Welcome to the Spot Writers. This month’s prompt: “The Sound of Silence. Write about staying quiet when you feel like shouting.” This month’s story (real instances with identifying items changed to protect the guilty!) comes from Cathy MacKenzie. Check out … Continue reading
Posted in flash fiction
Leave a comment
Flash Fiction: The Two Little Pigs and the Prepper
For an online class I taught, about working with archetypes (Campbell and Jung, for example), one of the assignments was to take traditional fairy tale and add a modernized character–or a character from a current work-in-progress. Though I’m not writing … Continue reading
Posted in flash fiction
Leave a comment
Book Review: Doctor Who Time Lord Fairy Tales by Justin Richards
Illustrated by David Wardle, this collection of fifteen fairy tales puts a “Doctor Who” twist on traditional fairy tales. As a fan of the show Doctor Who, I enjoyed the twist. The fifteen tales are divided over 261 pages, which … Continue reading
Posted in book reviews, sale
Leave a comment
Fantastic Friday: Tess of the… strawberries?
In 9th grade, I had an Earth Science teacher who told us that “books change lives,” and although I believed him, I didn’t understand what he meant until I was older. Without my realizing it, books have been changing my … Continue reading
Posted in Fantastic Friday
Leave a comment
Writer Wednesdays: Like the Leafy Seadragon
The first time I saw a leafy seadragon, I was fascinated. It’s a fish in the same family as a seahorse, and it’s covered in leaf-like growths that help camouflage it in the waters near Australia, where it lives. For … Continue reading
Posted in Writer Wednesdays
Leave a comment
Book Review: Shadows of the Dark Crystal by J. M. Lee
As the film The Dark Crystal was formative in my childhood—I watched the film several dozen times per summer as a kid—I was excited to see that someone had written a sequel about it. I’m not an expert in the … Continue reading
Posted in book reviews
Leave a comment
Fantastic Friday: Expand the Universe
Books, Books, Books! I blogged earlier this month about summer reading. It’s always been a favorite activity for me since I can remember. Today, my county library was having a huge book sale set up in one of the middle … Continue reading
Posted in books, Fantastic Friday
Leave a comment
Book Review: Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
I’d meant to read this book for a while now. After enjoying Clan of the Cavebear, I found it while researching similar stories. The story follows thirteen-year-old Julie, aka Miyax, as she escapes the arranged marriage of her Eskimo village. … Continue reading
Posted in book reviews
Leave a comment