Goin' Back To Cali

Oh, how I love California...

I was fortunate enough to live on the Central Coast for four years, and now I get to visit L.A. this weekend for the SCBWI summer conference.

If you're there, come say hello!

Why Birmingham Is Where It's At

I've been a bit quiet around here lately, as you may have noticed. I'd like to say that I'm off having summer fun, but it's more like I've been hiding out from the HEAT. July is hitting me full force here in ol' Mississippi. I'm catching myself saying things like, "Lord, have mercy," and "It's a scorcher, y'all."

It's a little frightening, I know.

But I thought I'd come out of air-conditioned hiding for a moment to tell you about a cool event in Birmingham this October: the Southern Breeze chapter of SCBWI is having their annual fall conference (Writing and Illustrating for Kids) October 19-20.

And I'll be on the faculty with a workshop on YA and MG mysteries. It'll be fun, so I hope you'll consider coming to Birmingham. I know, it's hot in Alabama too, but I hear it's lovely in October...

Get the scoop on the Southern Breeze Writing and Illustrating for Kids conference here.

Where I Geek Out And Declare My Love For Research (Writerly Wednesday post)

Confession time: I love to do research. I love to surf the web--or even better: check out a big stack of books at the library. There's just nothing better. I'm geeky that way.

For Double Vision, I must've read a dozen books on Leonardo da Vinci. I combed travel guides on Paris, learned about its awesome catacombs. I dove into the fascinating history of codes and ciphers.

So you'd think the book is full of facts and history, right? Not really. I think that out of all that research, maybe one percent makes it into the book.

I could save myself a lot of time by just looking for what I need and getting back to writing. Maybe research is just avoidance, hmmm...

How 'bout you, writer friends? Do you like research, and where do you go to get your data?

I talk some more about research at Sleuths, Spies and Alibis.

When a Song Is a Short Story--Folsom Prison Blues (Monday Music)

I love this song--it's like a short story waiting to be written, don't you think?

Want A Copy Of DOUBLE VISION?

Head over to Goodreads--you can click on the nifty widget to the right here if you want to enter to win a copy.

I hear it's halfway decent, this book...

If You Could Write For TV, What Show Would It Be? (Writerly Wednesday post)

Oh, how I love TV. I know, that's not very classy for a writer to admit, but it's true. I read a lot, but I can so enjoy a good TV show (preferable with a healthy dose of snacks).

Here at the Bradley house, we're all about Leverage. There's a good heist, great characters, and a big dose of humor--when I hear the Leverage theme song, I smile. And it's just about PG enough to watch with my tween posse, so big fat extra points for that.

The show's new season begins this weekend. Can't wait to see what they've cooked up for us this time. 

Which got me thinking yesterday... How cool would it be to be able to write an episode? No way that'll ever happen, and the writers of Leverage do just fine on their own--but a writer can dream, no?

If I could choose any TV show to write for, it would probable be Leverage.

How 'bout you, writer friends?

Monday Musical Inspiration

I took a little blog break in last week--blame it on that middle-of-the-week 4th, or the heat. But here's a little inspiration in case you need it this Monday. You gotta admire those Olympic athletes, right?