Musings and Mayhem
(the NPTwrites blog)

Spring/Summer Reading Recap
With my move in May, my blog posting got interrupted and then I blinked and somehow summer was over and I realized I...

Mid-Summer Updates (and a Sale!)
Disappointed you didn't win one of the free Kindle copies in the Goodreads giveaway last month? Or maybe you weren't in the...

The morning after the tornado
I've been up all night, unable to sleep after yesterday's tornado. I am exhausted. Have been staring at my computer screen...
Book 3 Cover Reveal Countdown
I'm in the home stretch to the Mirror of Wolves (book 2) launch. It's a stressful time, but instead of getting all anxious, I've decided to have some fun with a cover and title reveal countdown for book 3! If you're following along on my Instagram page, we've had two...
March Reading Recap
March in Ottawa, where I live, should be a melty kind of month where the temperatures steadily increase. This year, we just keep getting more snow, which is really starting to weigh on me. I'm done with winter and I want it to just go away now. This has also,...
Sequel Anxiety and the Mirror of Wolves Book Trailer
I was commiserating with a couple of other middle grade authors recently about the whole "sequel anxiety" thing, wherein we must learn to deal with the overwhelming sense of dread about sequel releases. The countdown-to-launch period is stressful with any book...
The proof is in the pudding…
Okay, so I lied. In this case, the proof is actually in my hand. Literally. There's no actual pudding in this post. (I know, I know... you're terribly disappointed now, aren't you?) But never fear, for I have something better than pudding to share! Behold my shiny new...
February Reading Recap
I've spent February working my way through the Keeper of the Lost Cities series, and I'm still loving it. So many parts that had me literally bursting out laughing as I was reading. đ Keeper of the Lost Cities: LodestarKeeper of the Lost Cities: NightfallKeeper of the...
Aaaaannnd… We’re Live!
I am SO excited to announce that the revamped website is now live! As mentioned before, some parts of the site will look familiar from the old version, while some partsâlike the dedicated page for the entire Arcanium Sagaâare brand new. There are also a lot of little...
Where the Names in The Arcanium Saga Come From
The Ottawa Public Library posted something on their Twitter feed today that made me laugh. They asked whether the twist in a book was more shocking or the realization that you'd been mispronouncing the characters' names all along. And there's kind of a funny...
Progress on the New Website!
Well, it's almost 7:30 on a Sunday night and, while I should have spent the weekend working on the next book, I have instead spent both days working furiously away on website updates. And I kind of feel like my eyeballs are about to fall out from staring at the screen...
January Reading Recap
I am still chugging along with the writing and editing stuff instead of the reading stuff, so Iâve only got a few books for the recap for January. But that does give me some extra space to say how hugely excited I am about the cover for book 3 of The Arcanium Saga. I...
December Reading Recap
I am very late posting my December Reading Recap, but in my defence, I've been pouring all my non-day-job hours into writing the next Arcania book. But I am making up for my lateness with a more-books-than-usual post because I had more free time over the holidays to...
November Reading Recap
One of the most common writing tips you'll ever get is that you should read a lot. Read everything. The genre you write in. The genres you don't write in. Anything and everything. Just... read. How fortunate then, that most writers also love to read. In these...
River of Crows Nominated for an Award!
So⌠I have some big book news that I can finally share with you today! A few weeks ago I got a very exciting email from the good folks over at Cybils.com informing me that River of Crows has been nominated by a member of the public for a 2022 Cybils Award in the...