#YA

6 days ago1 min read

Writing to Music: WINTER LIGHT playlist

Buy NOW! Mary Donahue, the 15-year-old protagonist of my novel, WINTER LIGHT, which takes place in 1978-79 Chicago, listens to a lot of...

Aug 191 min read

WINTER LIGHT: Almost 3 and Still Shining

Buy NOW! There are MILLIONS of books published every year, so when I do as I do occasionally and check my Amazon rating to see #54 for...

Aug 51 min read

Mary Donahue's Winter Olympics

Buy NOW! Mary Donahue of WINTER LIGHT was 14 during the 1976 Winter Olympics in Montreal. Already too cool for school and generally...

Jul 11 min read

Chicago Summer 1978

Buy NOW! Now that it’s summer, I was thinking about my childhood summers in the 1970s back in Chicago. What the season meant: hot, humid...

Apr 221 min read

Earth Day 2025: How Far We've Come, More to Do

Mary Donahue, the protagonist of my edgy YA novel WINTER LIGHT, was 7 years old in 1970 when Earth Day was established in the US. I was...

Mar 251 min read

WINTER LIGHT and the Dumb Things We Do as Kids

Buy NOW! In WINTER LIGHT, March of 1979 is a pivotal month for 16-year-old Mary Donahue of suburban Chicago. Something big happens to her...

Mar 41 min read

Mary Donahue and Women's History Month

Buy NOW! Happy Women’s History Month! All of my novels revolve around strong women, Mary Donahue of WINTER LIGHT and the forthcoming...

Jan 25, 20231 min read

"Winter Light" Audiobook Pre-order and Giveaway!

To celebrate the pre-order of Winter Light, I have 5 FREE copies to give away! If you’d like me to put your name in the Magic Pickle Jar...

Dec 21, 20221 min read

Book Review: "Dream Kids"

by Michael Wayne Hampton I’m a sucker for gritty YA stories that show kids precariously straddling that fence between adolescence and...

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