Behind-the-scenes notes on writing The Ruby Road — the research, the false starts, and the parts that almost didn't make it in.
Every author gets asked where an idea came from, and the honest answer is almost always messier than the version that ends up in interviews. Here's the real one: a wagon, a box, and a question I couldn't put down.
Read the story →I spent more hours than I'll admit researching rooster schedules and pig-pen etiquette. None of it was wasted — most of it just hides quietly behind one line of dialogue.
Read more →The hardest part of bringing back a classic antagonist wasn't making her scary. It was making her patient — and patience, it turns out, is much scarier.
Read more →A reader asked me recently why Jewel doesn't act more like the girl from the story everyone already knows. Short answer: because a hundred years passed, and so did she.
Read more →I didn't type a single word of this book until the second draft. Here's what slowing down on purpose taught me about Jewel's voice.
Read more →Writing notes, release news, and the occasional cut scene — straight to your inbox.