Lorijo Metz lives with her husband and little brown dog in a small town in Indiana. Though she has a degree in acting and directing, she much prefers the anonymity of the keyboard, allowing her characters to revel in the spotlight while she sits quietly sipping tea or coffee, nibbling on cookies, and dreaming up ways to complicate their lives. She is the author of Floridius Bloom and the Planet of Gloom, illustrated by Matt Phelan and published by Dial Books for Young Readers; as well as over 30 nonfiction, educational books for kids, published by Powerkids Press. WHEELS is her first middle grade novel and first venture into self-publishing. The book review site, Pocketful of Books, called WHEELS “Brilliant” and said, “It is one I know I’ll re-read, which isn’t something I say about a lot of books.” SFNetcast picked WHEELS as its June, Indie book of the month. In 2013, Lorijo made her début as a lyricist on Owen Duggan’s newest children’s cd, Puppy Dog Jig, for which she wrote the lyrics for the title track.
The other day, after listening to The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield (my 4th time listening to it, by the way) my husband and I started discussing what it meant to be passionate about your art. To really love what you do—what you create—versus simply working for money. He posed this question: What if…
Where I live, we’re getting lots of snow. Lots and lots of snow! In fact, I just finished my first round of shoveling for the day. What’s more, I didn’t bother to take a shower this morning, because I expect to be outside shoveling or snow blowing at least two or three more times before…
Sit me down, talk to me face to face and I’ll tell you exactly what I think about a book. But I don’t enjoy writing reviews. Instead, I’ll be happy to tell what’s on my bookshelf. The thought of writing something negative about a book and posting it for all the world to see—it terrifies…
I’m busy working on my new novel (YA, Fantasy, Dystopian) but wanted to share a bit of other exciting news with you. I’m moving! No—not to a new blog, to a new house. Or rather… a new, old house. Actually, we’re moving (The husband, puppy and me). That’s right, it’s out with the new and…
Or: How To Win Your Inner Creative Battles and Write Your Novel! “The Principle of Priority states (a) you must know the difference between what is urgent and what is important, and (b) you must do what’s important first.” ― Steven Pressfield, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battles…
Sometimes the best writing advice comes from non-writing sources. Advice such as how to find your personal paradigm. What does this have to do with creating great characters? Read on, I’ll tell you. I recently subscribed to an e-zine (a magazine subscription on my iPad) called THRIVEOLOGY. Recommended to me by a good friend, THRIVEOLOGY…
Welcome, Jade Kerrion, award-winning author of Perfection Unleashed. Jade is on tour to promote the next two books in her Double Helix series: Perfect Betrayal and Perfect Weapon. (Read more about the first two books HERE.) Today Jade will try to answer a couple of the more burning questions I had while reading her perfectly wonderful…
I was in a bit of a panic this past week. For some reason, I was under the impression the Mayan End of the World was due to occur on December 12, 2012 — which would have been—TODAY! (If you’re reading this, clearly, I was wrong.) Today! When I’m all alone. No husband, no kids… nobody…
I took off for New York at peace with the idea I was going to leave my best friend at home. The one I spend 70% of my days hanging out with. The friend who gently, but firmly, corrects my spelling and delivers my email. The friend who not only listens to my every imaginative…
Let’s be honest, during the holidays, I’m too easily distracted by turkeys, big balloons, holiday lights, and snowmen to be much of an effective writer. One thing I am good at is making myself a cup of hot cocoa and curling up with a good book to read. Thus, today I’m bringing you my suggestions for…