Friends, it's been a minute since I wrote a post about my life's happenings. Currently, I'm sprawled out on the sofa in our living room, laptop on my lap, fireplace crackling on Netflix (I'm loving all the fireplace options!), glancing at the blustering snowstorm outside between writing sentences. I have to venture out there soon… Continue reading LIFE UPDATE!
Tag: Books
How to Survive Querying
In my last blog post interviewing Ainslie Hogarth, we talked a lot about writing query letters. I gave examples using the query letter that Ainslie edited that I was going to submit to an agent at a workshop. Soooo, the workshop was this past Sunday...and golly, did I learn a lot! First things first: we… Continue reading How to Survive Querying
Loss, Labour (Quitting Writing) & Luxuriation
LOSS On Friday, July 11, 2025, our beloved Oscar crossed the rainbow bridge. That morning when we awoke, he was in the hallway, puddles of urine and vomit around him. We cleaned him up, took him outside where he was able to go to the bathroom...but then he fell to the deck and couldn't move.… Continue reading Loss, Labour (Quitting Writing) & Luxuriation
Interview with Charis Cotter!
This is award-winning, Canadian author Charis Cotter! Charis and I have been writing partners and best friends for years. This June, her new middle-grade novel Mystery of the Haunted Dance Hall released from Tundra, an imprint of Penguin-Random House. Critics are wildly impressed... "Cotter trusts readers with deep descriptions and a languid buildup to the… Continue reading Interview with Charis Cotter!
VANESSA SHIELDS 