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.
I’d never heard of the expression bucket list until the movie, The Bucket List, starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, came out. After that, of course, I had to sit down and make my own bucket list. What I discovered is that I’ve already accomplished most of the items I would have put on my bucket…
Here’s something for all you NaNoWriMo writers to contemplate when you need to take a break from your frantic writing schedule. Last month, Erica Wagner, a columnist for the Wall Street Journal, asked J.K. Rowling “…which fellow scribe, living or dead,” she would most like to meet and have dinner with. After some consideration she chose,…
I just read two blogs that made me feel a bit better about my own woes this past week. I know, I don’t live in New York or New Jersey, so I shouldn’t be complaining (Though I will be attending the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade this year, but that’s another post.). Also, I shouldn’t feel…
Jade Kerrion wants to know: “What would you do if you came face-to-face with perfection, and it looked just like you?” Personally, I’d be quite surprised. All kidding aside, I just finished reading Perfection Unleashed, by Jade Kerrion, book one in a series I’d describe as a brainy, emotional X-Men-like adventure. Honestly, I didn’t know what to…
This is the third post in my series on self-publishing, in which I share with you some of the lessons I’ve learned. It is the post I’ve most dreaded writing. Why? Think about it. How do we learn? We learn from mistakes. I’ve already shared one mistake with you. (See: Self-Pub, Part 2) Now, I’m…
I began working on a new novel this week. Actually, it isn’t exactly new, as the story has been mulling around in the back of my mind for a while. I’ve even attempted a few chapters and character sketches, but the timing just wasn’t right. I needed to finish WHEELS. Finish, as in, get it…
As a blogger who reads and reviews (discusses) books and a writer who is constantly submitting her books for review, I can’t tell you the number of times the expression, “So many books, so little time!” has come up in my correspondence with other bloggers and reviewers. Well, I’m here today to announce that I’ve…
One of the best things about being a writer is having writer friends. I’ve met many of my writer friends through an organization called the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators—or SCBWI, as it’s commonly referred to. Children’s writers, in particular, are hugely supportive of each other. It’s tough to make it in this…
For avid readers there are many books that are enjoyable, many we might even consider brilliant, but only a few that actually leave a lasting impression on us—for me, Seraphina is one of those books. With her novel, Seraphina, Rachel Hartman joins the ranks of JRR Tolkien, JK Rowling, and CS Lewis. Much like Middle…
My Wake-up Call Yesterday was a milestone for me. I received the proof of the paperback edition of my novel, WHEELS. The journey to its publication has often felt unbearably long. Back in January of 2000, when I first began writing, I knew almost from the outset that I wanted to write a science fiction…