The Agency 4!
Hello friends! I have lovely news to share with you today. First, A Spy in the House has been nominated for the Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s brand-new John Spray Mystery Award! Can I possibly hold...
View ArticleA short delay
Hello, friends. I’m in Toronto for the Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s annual awards gala and will blog all about it here tomorrow!
View ArticleAward-winning (since Tuesday night)
Hello friends! Please pardon my lateness in blogging. I’ve been shuttling to and from Toronto with a wee infant, who, while being the best baby companion imaginable, is still a bit boggled by her late...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Meditation in Action
Three-and-a-half years ago (ie, Before Kids), I was a passionate yogi. I practiced regularly, I thought daily about my practice and how it was evolving, and travelling to Mysore, India (birthplace of...
View ArticleWe are all Jane Austen
Hello, friends! This week, I saw an interesting conversation develop about Jane Austen, race, and feminism. It started at Reading in Color, when Ari asked, “Is Jane Austen only for white people?”...
View ArticleA women’s detective agency? Why?
Hello, friends! I’m guest-blogging this week at Bites, where Donna asked me why I chose to write about a women’s detective agency in Victorian London. The short answer? I love bright and shiny...
View ArticleI’ll never tire of sewers
Really, what’s not to love? That’s why I recommend this BBC radio program about the desperate state of London’s current sewer system. In the late 1850s (immediately following the action of A Spy in the...
View ArticleMy brain is tingling
Hello, hello! My friend, Colette Colligan, is a terrifyingly smart person who pops into my life every now and again with something that completely changes my view of the nineteenth century. Those of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
For once in my life, I am part of the zeitgeist
…in a bookish way, of course. As you probably know, Hilary Mantel is now the first woman to win the Booker prize twice. And she’s done it with linked works of historical fiction! If you’re a regular...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Spy in the House, redesigned!
Hello, friends! I just received an absolutely wonderful surprise in the mail. (If you’re thinking that authors often receive delightful surprises in the mail, you’re right. As if we need another reason...
View ArticleWhat is a novel?
Hello, friends. I recently had a long and utterly engaging conversation with three fellow writers: two of them critically acclaimed poets, all of us writers of novels. We were talking about the act of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
We are still the Victorians
Hello, friends. Today is Earth Day – a useful time to reflect upon what our environment is like, what might happen to our world in the future, and how things used to be. As you know, I think we’re a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A beautiful reminder
Hello, friends. How was your week? I’ve been writing, weeding, baking, and judging a teen writing contest, among other things. A few days ago, I received a large parcel from my former literary agency....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Reading ahead, reading abroad
Hello, friends. I had SUCH a lovely batch of unexpected mail this week! First came Candlewick Press’s spring/summer 2015 catalogue. Its cover (right) is based on the cover of the new Kate DiCamillo...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Scandal & superheroes
Hello, friends. On April 26, Candlewick Press will be reissuing all four Agency novels in super-atmospheric new covers. There will be a mini blog tour and some giveaways (hurrah!), and I’m feeling...
View ArticleConfetti and contests
Hello, friends. This week, the Agency novels are once more bursting forth into the world, dressed in their new, super-atmospheric covers! To mark the occasion, I’ve written a brief guest post and my...
View ArticleClik here to view.
It’s almost time
Hi, friends. Tomorrow marks the start of the YA Dash, a giveaway featuring a prize pack of 16 books (including A Spy in the House). The contest runs from August 25 to August 29. (But the YA Dash isn’t...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Giveaway time!
Hello, friends. It’s time for an end-of-summer giveaway! We have a prize pack of 16 books up for grabs, including the first Agency novel, A Spy in the House. Ready to play? The DASH rules Visit all...
View Article
