I'm a children's writer who has learned that bone-headed stubbornness pays. I have two middle grade novels out, DEFENDING IRENE and SAVING THE GRIFFIN, as well as a young adult mystery called SUSPECT. As an electrical engineer by degree, I have a slightly slanted view of writing and the literary world. But I was a voracious reader long before I ever took Calculus and circuit design.
It kept happening. My Dell laptop would freeze up and slowly shut itself down. I performed search after search of what could be causing it. Was it an update? Was it a fan that had too much dust? I made sure that I only had one program up when I was meeting a self-imposed deadline … More Shut Down!
My manuscript review service focuses primarily on middle grade and young adult novels. It starts with a “Let’s Get Acquainted” review of a manuscript for thirty dollars. I spend a half an hour reading an excerpt and making comments followed by a second half-hour in which I briefly discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your … More Nitzpicking: A Manuscript Review Service
To use a comma or not: that is the question. Here are some variations on punctuating dialogue and dealing with dependent phrases and clauses. The repetition could seem mind-numbingly boring, but I wanted to write the same content in a number of different ways for clarity with respect to punctuation and capitalization. PUNCTUATING DIALOGUE … More A Quick and Dirty Guide to Commas
A thirteen-year-old American girl plays on a fiercely competitive boy’s soccer team during the year her family spends in Italy and experiences culture clashes both on and off the field. WHAT CRITICS ARE SAYING What keeps this tale from being just another soccer story with play-by-play action is the unique setting; the inventiveness of … More Defending Irene
During so many events at the Olympic games, the local crowds have tended to cheer against the U.S. But will they feel the same about the women’s soccer team? We’ll see. One fan thinks that Tobin Heath is secretly Brazilian. And there are rivalries in South America. My Peruvian sister-in-law is always happy to cheer … More U.S.A. vs Colombia at 6:00 pm Eastern and 3:00 Pacific!
My soccer novel about an American girl playing on an Italian boys’ team in Italy was released as an e-book today. Since DEFENDING IRENE originally came out in 2004, a few sections will undoubtedly read more like historical fiction. But so many things hold up. Italian women and girls are making slow but serious headway … More Defending Irene was Released as an E-book Today
My name and heritage might be German, but I’ll be cheering for the Azzurri this Saturday, July 2, at 3:00 Eastern time and noon Pacific time on ESPN 2 when the Italians take on Germany in the Euro quarterfinal match. After all, once upon a time, my American son dreamed of playing for the Italian World … More Italy vs. German: Euro Cup 2016
On my bookshelf, I have all sorts of outdated Rick Steves guidebooks from the days my husband I roamed around Europe with our kids. In one of his books, he recommended that parents have their kids watch movies to help get them excited about different locations before they arrived. I remember picking up the Italian-dubbed … More A Few International Reads
How do you pick out a Christmas present or birthday gift for a young reader? There are all sorts of ways to choose, but sometimes I like to pick out a book set in a place where those readers live or featuring characters from the same locality. Readers have enjoyed recognizing places from Suspect, my … More Regional Reads for Christmas
I’ll be leading a workshop at the Powell’s in Beaverton, Oregon at 2:00 PM on the relation of conflict and character to story.
Kristin Wolden Nitz 