Everyone’s got a guilty pleasure, right? That thing we enjoy but don’t want anyone else to know about it because it’s embarrassing, weird, childish, etc. I decided to come out about mine: Star Wars junior novels.

When you get a kick-in-the-pants email sent from a writing mentor at 4:30 a.m., it makes you think about your life. In my case, the email wake-up was something along the lines of, "Why have you been fiddling with one manuscript for the last six years? You should have at least two or three complete manuscripts at this point. If you want a career as a writer, you need to step it up."

Books like this—romance in genre terms, or possibly love stories—may be regarded as "cotton candy" or "fluff," but I disagree. I think these books fulfill an important purpose.

Here are my best-of 2018 reading recommendations!

Happy fall! School started, the leaves changed color, and that morning nip gets me now when I head off for a morning run. So it seemed like a great time to highlight some books where school plays a big role.

After Cedar Fort cancelled my contract, they offered to give me my cover (which had already been designed in preparation for publication) in exchange for me signing a non-defamatory clause. The wording of that clause was in limbo for a while, and in the end, Cedar Fort decided to gift the cover to me as a sign of goodwill.

“What’s your favorite book?” That’s a question I get asked a lot—mostly on first dates . . . but also when people find out that I write. And talk about an unanswerable question!

Ever wondered how authors decide what story to write? If you watch Studio C, you might think stories can be bought from Teddy's Story Joint, but reality is better: some ideas come from a weird conversation, some from the vibe you get from a certain location, and some from a perfect first line that drops into your mind screaming, "I have no idea what story I go with but you need to use me!"

If you love young adult books and need something to read by the pool this summer, I’ve got suggestions for you.

2018 has been a roller coaster of a year for my writing life. In February, I signed a contract from Cedar Fort, Inc., a local Latter-day Saint publishing house, for them to publish my clean college romance novel, Smiles, Boyfriends, and Other White Lies.