Author Archives: kirstincm

Bifurcation = a split. Your word nerd moment of the day. Notice how the yin/yang is split? More on this later. I have now been a published YA author for just over one year. Craziness. Complete awesomeness. The time went … Continue reading →

Today, friends, we have our second installation of Outlaw Boots, this time featuring middle-grade author Kurtis Scaletta. True confession: my kid loves Kurtis’ books, which is enough endorsement for me, but I think Kurtis is awesome, too. What does Kurtis … Continue reading →

BEWARE: blaspheming ahead. Here are my favorite things for this week:Be careful with that touching, guys. And do your hair like these ladies–He’ll like you even more. Both images swiped from here. Now for my new motto: Go, friends, go! … Continue reading →

This guy is an environmentalist named John Francis. In 1971, he witnessed an oil spill in the San Francisco bay, and he swore off motorized transportation for 22 years. But–more amazing to me–in 1973, he decided to be silent. FOR … Continue reading →

I love how life contributes to art. Or not. At the moment, I’m trying to write some big emotions for a couple characters, and I’m not quite getting there. Things are still flat. So what does Life decide to do? … Continue reading →

BACKSTORY: I’ve been looking for a way to feature writers/writerly peeps on my blog, because part of blogging is returning the blog love. So–Outlaw Boots. Now I’m sure you’re asking, because you are discerning blog friends: what the hell? What … Continue reading →

Confession: I am not good at maintenance. This confession applies to many things. For example, I don’t scrub out the fridge except in the summer. I just did it today, which is why I’m thinking about maintenance. I cleaned my … Continue reading →

Do you know the play FENCES? I teach it in my Intro to Lit class, and it just closed on Broadway (three Tonys, including one for Denzel). Awesome play. An African-American play, but a universal play. The main character, Troy, … Continue reading →

I am so lame–Pride Month is over today! Happy Pride! I love Pride Month–I always want to take my homophobic students to a parade and say “Look. Not all gay men wear buttless chaps. They’re regular people, just like you.” … Continue reading →

In our house, we like Rick Riordan. My husband and son devoured the PERCY JACKSON series this winter, and I finally finished it late this spring. When we saw his latest series, THE RED PYRAMID, we were all over it–woo … Continue reading →