My classmate Rachel is part of Barrel of Monkeys, an arts education theater ensemble in Chicago. Among other things, they teach creative writing to under-served students, and adapt students’ stories for the stage. And now, thanks to Rach [who (whom??) is also singing background], I can’t get one of the songs out of my head…. Read more »

I’m pretty sure I’m late on this, but for a while there the 25 Random Things About Me Meme was all the rage on Facebook. And I kinda sorta ignored all those tags I got. But never fear — now that my Vermont College of Fine Arts packet is out the door, I’m happy to… Read more »

I’ve never been one for creating New Year’s Resolution, but being that I’m too lazy to get some writing done right now, I figured I’d share a few thoughts on what I’m hoping to accomplish next year. 1) Hire someone to update my website: I started my website in July of 2005, using good-old html… Read more »

1) For anyone seriously thinking about making a go of the writing-full-time gig, I would encourage you to check out The Cold Hard Facts about the Writing Life and More Financial Truths from author Laurie Halse Anderson (found via Cynsations). It may come across as a bit bleak, but it’s definitely worth reading. 2) To… Read more »

Thanks to everyone that came out to my book signing at Barnes and Noble this past weekend. Not only was it a great success, but it was also nice to catch up with old friends. Austin authors and friends that dropped by include Cynthia Leitich Smith, Greg Leitich Smith, Jeanette Larson, April Lurie, Brian Yansky,… Read more »

For those of you that don’t know, I’ve got a new book out, and it seems to be doing pretty well. I also have quite a few author appearances scheduled, with more coming in every day. So while all of this makes for a very tired Mr. V, it also makes for a very happy… Read more »

A few weeks ago, famed author and Tootsie Fruit Roll enthusiast Sara Zarr tagged me with the Seven Songs Meme. The rules are pretty simple: List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether or not they have words, or even if they’re not any good, but they must be… Read more »

Yours truly has an article in this year’s Writer’s Digest You Can Write for Children Magazine titled “Pie Charts, Footnotes & Doodles — Oh My!” The article is about how to best include supplementary items (such as footnotes) in your fiction without alienating the reader, and includes advice from a number of best-selling and award… Read more »

15 things that were on my mind this morning: 1) No matter how much people want to deny it, race is still an issue in the United States. Just ask anyone in Jena, Louisiana. 2) I wonder if people will think I wrote a pro-abortion book. I wonder if people will think I wrote an… Read more »