This Is My Secret: The Blog and Website of Writer Kristin Cashore

I'm annoyed that my voice recognition software recognizes Ludwig Wittgenstein on the first try but doesn't recognize Miss Marple . Humph . (To be fair, it doesn't recognize Lord Peter Wimsey , either. But nor does it recognize Luce Irigaray . But it recognizes Jo March . But not Gilbert Blythe . AARGHHH!) (Incidentally, my favorite VRS kerfuffle recently was when I dictated, "He dropped his pen suddenly and stood with eyes closed, massaging his hand," and my computer wrote, "He dropped his pants suddenly and stood with eyes closed, massaging his hand.") So, I leave for Vail on Wednesday, followed by many cities in a short amount of time, and since I've never done a tour before, I'm not sure how much blogging time I'll have. Don't be surprised if you don't hear from me regularly for the next few weeks. (The tour ends October 15.) There's an FAQ about being an introvert and dealing with appearance anxiety that I've been

So, the blog posts I like to write are the ones that don't have anything to do with news . They're the posts about random thoughts, the poetry or poll posts, the posts in which I answer FAQs or talk about writing and life. They are NOT the posts in which I say, guys, here's what's happening to my books in the world. And recently I've felt overwhelmed by news in my own posts.... and that's why I've decided to make a link on the left for news, and put all news there. If anything spectacular happens, of course I'll mention it in a blog post (I'll let you know if I win the Nobel Prize in physics, make the Olympic figure skating team, or sprout an extra head, all of which are equally likely), but from now on, any news will be recorded behind my News link, and not here. Make sense? We'll see how it works. This leaves me free to talk about the three most recent books I've read and loved! So, I'm really terrible at writing b

The discussion of favorite and least favorite words has been delightful. I've learned that Schmetterling is the German word for butterfly -- isn't it beautiful? So, do you ever feel like you need a good cry -- not necessarily because anything terrible has happened, but just because you need to clear out your system and process things? What do you do in times like that? I do things like listen to sad music (like Barber's Adagio for Strings -- here's a gorgeous choral version ), or meditate, or watch the My So-Called Life episode where Sharon's dad is in the hospital (that one gets me weeping every time!). My sister, secret codename: Cordelia, used to be very accommodating when I needed a cry and couldn't seem to get started -- she would offer to give me a good kick or something. (Cordelia is a therapist. Real good with that emotions stuff. ^_^.) I've been a little overwhelmed lately, and I haven't had time to arrange for a good cry. But in t

Today I'm starting with a thank you to my readers. THANK YOU for making Graceling a bestseller in Germany, and THANK YOU for putting the American paperback of Graceling on next week's (Sep 27) New York Times bestseller list ! I am overwhelmed. I am staring blankly like a slow loris. And giggling. *flops* So, how much time do you have? If you have 12 minutes today, listen to the story "In Search Of," which was chosen as the very first podcast for the Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and which was written by my buddy Will Ludwigsen . It's read by actor and playwright Daniel John Kelley, and it's super. If you have an hour today, listen to last week's This American Life , on the subject of frenemies. Here's the description from the website: " This week we bring you stories about friends. Or wait, enemies? How about both? Tales of estranged sisters, BFFs breaking up and making up and breaking up, and how reality stars walk the fine line

Hi everyone! I'm sneaking in a Wednesday post just to remind y'all about my live chat at readergirlz this evening at 9pm Eastern/6pm Pacific. The chat will take place here and last an hour; feel free to stop by! Also, the blog tour has begun; the schedule is here if you're interested in following along. And now, the question. First, some context: I'm preparing for the Sirens conference in Vail in October, and am thinking a lot about language and identity. Do you have a favorite word or words? If so, will you share it/them with me in the comments, and explain why you love that word or words? And if it's appropriate, may I incorporate your comment into the speech I'm writing? I will, of course, cite you. ^_^ ETA: What about least favorite words? Please feel free to share/explain them, too! Please remember that I only see comments posted at my Blog Actual . (Although I'm not sure this even matters at the moment, because livejournal feed syndica

Everyone, please feel free to vote in today's important poll of importance! (If you're reading this post somewhere other than my Blog Actual and cannot see the poll, please click here .) With whom would you prefer to be stranded on a desert island? ( trends ) Never seen a slow loris being tickled? Well, here you go: Happy Monday, everyone.

Hi everyone! So, next week I start a three-week blog tour. The theme of the tour is "Getting to Know the Characters of Fire ," which means that at each stop on the tour, I'll introduce a character (or characters) from Fire . My character intros have been carefully screened by a team of experts (read: my patient and generous friends Deborah , Sam , and JD -- thanks, guys) to ensure that they're accurate ( *ahem* for example, Sam pointed out that I was calling a character by the wrong name) AND not too spoilery. Each of my host bloggers will be giving away a signed finished copy. So -- if you're curious about Fire -- or interested in checking out a bunch of cool book blogs -- or if you'd like 15 chances to win a signed copy -- check it out. The schedule is below. I'll close by sending a big thank you to my host bloggers. Thanks to each of you for letting me visit! I'd also like to thank Jillian Laks, the wizard at Penguin who organized th

It's been a while since I've lived in a place where September marks a true change in season, so the weather in Massachusetts lately has been making me beside myself with happiness. In Florida, the weather didn't dip below the 80s (I mean, even at night ) until maybe November. In my excitement, I've been dressing too warmly. Autumn, you are welcome! Those of you who've been reading my blog for a while know I used to walk along the St. Johns River almost every day. Well, now I walk along the Charles River... no pelicans, but there are geese, and crew teams in long, graceful boats. It's lovely. And one of the windows in my new home faces the rising moon :o). Anyway... September. So, Bitterblue is, by nature, a slow write.... and the last few months have been full of distractions (moving, beautiful babies, you name it).... and the next few months are going to be even more distracting (the tour, other work-related travel). But right now I have September. S

Dear Readers, Last week, I flew to Florida to meet two new friends. We had lots of fun! We did some eating.... We did some writing.... We hung out. We also had dance parties. Do you realize how many songs lyrics are secretly about babies? For example, " I want a girl with a short diaper and a LOOOOOOOOOONG blanket ." Or, " If I had a boat, I'd go out on the ocean, and if I had a baby, I'd bring her on my boat ." Also, sometimes we howled. And then, maybe later, we felt a little better. Despite appearances... ...my new friends don't sleep that much. Frankly, the rest of us are a bit boggled by their stamina. Seriously. Everyone is boggled.