HEIDI RUBY MILLER

Paths to Publication The Boy from Ilysies by Pearl North I wasn't always Pearl North . That's right. It's not my real name. I'm really Anne Harris and I wrote three science fiction novels for adults before turning to YA and adopting the pen name Pearl North. People tend to have a lot of questions about this. Why did I take on a pseudonym? Why did I switch to YA? And the question I get the most: How did you come up with the name Pearl North? As to why I started writing YA, that was a total gimme. I've always had adolescent characters in my books, frequently as main characters, and when I decided to write a book about a teenage girl living in a library so vast people sometimes get lost in it and never come out again, well, that was an idea that pretty much screamed YA to me, and my editor agreed. It was at that point that he asked me if I'd be willing to take on a pseudonym, and the reason is pretty unglamorous. The unvarnished truth is that after three s

Book Deals I am happy to finally announce that Many Genres, One Craft: Lessons in Writing Popular Fiction has been picked up by Headline Books, Inc. . This is the writing guide that Mike Arnzen and I are co-editing. Michael Arnzen and Heidi Ruby Miller signing the contract for Many Genres, One Craft Photo by Jason Jack Miller Lots of news to come, including a list of contributors, a new website, and a tour schedule. This has been two years in the making, so I am very excited about the project coming to fruition in such a great way.

Articles I knew my article "Almost There" was going to be in the Nov.-Dec. 2010 issue of The PennWriter , the official publication of Pennwriters Inc. , but I was excited to see it was on the first page. This article sums up my frustration at being an in-betweener, someone who has taken the workshops, sorted through the writing advice, written my million words and then some, and watched my peers attain a certain success (in novel writing) while I wait in limbo. More importantly, it shares how I have accepted this fact and simply moved on with my writing and am happier because of it. I quoted some wonderful words of advice in "Almost There" from my first Seton Hill mentor, Tom Monteleone . He told me, "...This business is mostly luck. Sometimes good writers don't become successful: sometimes bad writers do. If you like to write, then write the best story you can and at the end of the year, if nothing else, you have a book you want to read."

Events Jason and I had an incredible weekend in Washington, D.C. The highlight, of course, was Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert 's Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear . Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear Thank you to Jason Jack Miller for taking all of the photos; that way I could just enjoy everything, but still have photographic stock later. FRIDAY This photo was taken on Friday, October 29, but The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority counted 825,437 passenger trips on October 30, the date of the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, breaking a 19-year record. We ate lunch at Ben's Chili Bowl as soon as we got into DC. Awesome! Then headed down the street to the International Spy Museum. It's hiding behind that tree. And, that's me acting like a spy in the cafe. Our training allowed us to sneak into the National Portrait Gallery right through the front door. SATURDAY On Saturday, we got to the Mall around 10:00 AM. The first