Rochelle Deans's Blog

You might look at the title of this post and think I’m crazy. The first week of NaNo isn’t even over yet–why should you be crawling to the finish line? You probably still have the momentum built up from adrenaline and waiting to start on this novel for however long between idea and November 1st. […]

There are a lot of things I love about being an editor. I love getting to have input into shaping stories, questioning things, making them stronger. Back when I edited for an engineering company, I used to tease that I spent my days telling people they were wrong–and got thanked for it. But there are […]

Once upon a time, there was an ingenious author (um… *cough*) who had a feisty critique partner who dared suggest a way to improve her book. Since my adjectives are exaggerations, if not downright lies, said author (read: me) realized the changes were awesome. My critique partner recommended fleshing out an argument near the beginning […]

I saw this video on my Facebook News Feed today, and as I watched it, I couldn’t help but think of the WIP that I’m brewing. Watch the whole thing if you have time. At least watch the first three minutes and then the last thirty seconds. Amazing drawing by an amazing artist <3 Posted […]

Continued from last week’s post, The One That Got Away Comes Back. Please read that one first. *** In the weeks following Valentine’s Day, Rosa often wondered if turning Miguel down was the right decision. Whenever she would begin to forget about their strange encounter, her brain would spin into overdrive and remind her just […]

I can’t believe the year is more than half-over already. So far, 2015 has been excellent, but I’m not entirely on track with my goals. That said, with how much has changed in my life since January, I’m surprised I’m on track at all. As I set out to write my 2015 resolutions in late […]

The Starbucks across from Rosa’s work was decorated in infuriating shades of pink and red. She felt like there had been a board meeting at headquarters where some up-and-coming slimewad said, “Hey! Let’s make sure our decorations for February make it clear this is Rosa Gonzalez’s twenty-eighth consecutive Valentine’s Day without a boyfriend.” Admittedly, it […]

Dear Writer’s Block, I hate to do this in a letter, but you’ve given me no other choice. See, here’s the thing: you always disappear when I confront you. So I’m just going to leave this on my desk and assume you find it. All the usual cliches assault me as I sit down to […]

I’ve been really bad at a few things lately, including, but not limited to: Blogging; and Writing So I decided to pick up the Writer’s Digest Boot Camp for two weeks of writing exercises. While I wait for CP feedback and let my newest idea distill like wine, I figured a short challenge would be […]

QUERY: Dear Agent, According to Treyton Staub’s birth certificate, his heart will kill him exactly a month after his sixteenth birthday. No one outlives their expiration date. His best friend Hunter’s gravestone is all the proof he needs of that. Hayleigh, Hunter’s twin sister, is unconvinced. Her neighbors are suing their pediatrician for giving their […]