Kristin Wolden Nitz

Author: Kristin Wolden Nitz

  • Suspect

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    It’s official!  SUSPECT, my YA mystery, will be released October 1! Here’s a description from the publisher: Seventeen-year-old Jen is scheduled to spend the summer helping Grandma Kay run the Shoenhaus, a Victorian bed and breakfast. But Grandma Kay’s plans include a lot more than housekeeping; she intends to solve a real mystery from the past…

  • Finding the Way Back into a Novel

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    I was in the middle of a major rewrite of a middle grade fantasy when the revisions for my YA mystery landed on my doorstep.  I had every intention of spending ten or fifteen minutes a day with the fantasy so that I could jump back into it fairly quickly.  In the past, I’ve totally…

  • Locked-in on the Olympics

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    I am endlessly fascinated by the Olympics.  I will watch almost any event.  This afternoon it’s been Nordic combined, biatholon, and luge.  And yes, I will be tuning in for the more popular figure skating tonight.  While I love watching these people step onto the world stage and give it everything that they have, I am…

  • Naming Characters II

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    In an earlier post, I wrote about some of my naming problems for a protagonist.  When I ran my list of new names for that person past my various critique groups, I got a wide variety of answers.  Elisa was a favorite with many, but my son shot that one down in something less than…

  • First click of the day

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    Fuse #8 continues to be one of my first clicks of the day as I check out her unscientific poll of the top 100 chapter books.  Sometimes I kick myself that I didn’t add a book to my list.  Today, I discovered that I’d read and adored four out of five on the list even though…

  • Fuse #8’s Top Hundred Countdown Begins

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    I have a feeling that I’ll be checking the blog of librarian Betsy Bird quite regularly as she counts down the top 100 chapter books.  This morning she had 91-100.  Ms. Bird not only lists the books, but also puts them in context. One of my top ten picks, ELLA ENCHANTED, was there.  I learned…

  • Naming Characters

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    Naming characters is always a challenge, but often trying to change the name at a later date is even worse.  Characters can be stubborn.  In fact, one named Werner in DEFENDING IRENE refused.   I offered him at least twenty other options.  Katrin Ladurner from my current work in progress has promised to be equally stubborn, especially…

  • Top 100 Chapter Books

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    Librarian Betsy Bird at Fuse#8 is doing an unscientific poll of the Top 100 chapter books. It closes tonight at midnight if you care to participate.  I probably would have seen this before if I hadn’t been so busy finishing the revisions to my YA mystery.    So I decided to throw together a list of my top…

  • Pronouncing the Griffin

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    I’ve noticed on my blog stats that people have a few concerns about pronouncing Italian words from SAVING THE GRIFFIN.  Here’s a quick guide. If you’re familiar with Spanish, it should be extremely easy because the vowels are similar.  A: ah as dog E: ay as in day I: ee as in need O: oh as in…

  • Hitting the Send Button

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    Kristin Wolden Nitz
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    Incoming!  Thwump!  That’s the sound of 51,000 words landing in my editor’s electronic inbox. My YA mystery is done, at least for the moment.  It was a pretty major revision, so I’ll have to see what my editor thinks about the changes and additions.  But my kids, who are in high school and college, liked…