Upcoming Events
October 2nd and 3rd
Tampa Bay Teen Lit Fest is a one of a kind event bringing critically acclaimed writers of Young Adult Fiction to one virtual space. Please join us for live sessions featuring authors who write in a variety of genres. Attendees will get a chance to ask questions, hear stories and even win autographed books from their favorite authors!
I'll be participating in two panels:
Getting Real
Saturday, October 3, 11:00 a.m.
This panel focuses on tough topics in young adult novels including issues of racism, abuse, mental health, and war. Shaun David Hutchinson (We Are the Ants) will moderate this panel of fellow authors: Stacey Lee (The Downstairs Girl), Fred Aceves (The New David Espinoza), Isabel Ibañez (Woven in Moonlight) & Christina Hammonds Reed (The Black Kids).
Backstory – Researching a Book
Saturday, October 3, 12:00 p.m.
This panel focuses on how and where authors use research in young adult novels and why research is important in different genres. Stacey Lee (The Downstairs Girl) will moderate this panel of fellow authors: Katherine Locke (The Girl With the Red Balloon), Fred Aceves (The New David Espinoza), Danielle Paige (Mera: Tidebreaker) & Trish Doller (In a Perfect World).
This is free and open to the public. Register HERE.
Creative Writing Workshop Nov 7th to the 28th
9am - 12pm EST
This workshop is for beginners and also a great refresher for those wanting to write narrative, whether it’s the short story, novel or memoir. Find the inspiration to get started on your project or to finish what you’ve already started.
This is NOT a self-guided course, where you get lectures from videos or texts and then do exercises on your own and receive no feedback. That’s what books on the writing craft are for. You will be sharing your work with other writers, and we will all offer feedback, myself included.
Throughout the course we will go over plot development, creating characters, dialogue, description, point of view, and styling sentences. With in-class exercises we will put into practice everything we learn.
You will need a computer or tablet and an internet connection so you can connect to Zoom.
The only other requirement is at least two hours during the week to do exercises on your own, which you will share with me.
You will acquire the basic skills to:
Structure a story that engages readers
Create compelling characters
Write dialogue that reflect their personalities and advance the plot
Create vivid scenes
Improve your prose style by deconstructing sentences, both yours and those of favorite writers
Only seven students permitted so be sure to register soon.
Registration deadline is October 23rd
December 4th and 5th
The Latinx KidLit Book Festival is a virtual celebration of Latinx KidLit authors, illustrators, and books for all readers and educators. The festival will open its virtual doors from December 4-5, 2020, and present two free days of keynote sessions, Q&A events, and panels with your favorite Latinx authors and illustrators of picture books, middle grade, young adult, graphic novel, and poetry. The sessions are geared towards readers and educators everywhere. Everyone is welcome!
I'll be participating in the panel The Culture of Machismo and Toxic Masculinity