Welcome!
Or as we say in Arabic, Ahlan wa Sahlan. Thanks for stopping by! If you don’t find what you’re looking for, reach out! Refer to my contact page for any inquiries, or if you’d just like to connect.
Shad Hadid and the Alchemists of Alexandria
The first novel in my children’s book series follows a 12-year-old Lebanese-American immigrant, Shad Hadid. Shad’s life is uprooted when he discovers he’s descended from a long line of alchemists and sent to the mysterious Alexandria Academy. But Shad’s arrival at the school awakens a nefarious force, and he soon learns he holds the key …
Mentoring for WriteMentor (Again!)
I’m excited to announce I’m a mentor for the WriteMentor summer program once more! My introduction to this wonderful UK-based mentoring program came in 2019 as a mentee for a young adult novel I’ve since tabled. I truly believed in that novel, and the confidence my mentor had in me helped inspire me to persevere …
Debut Book Announcement
I’m humbled to announce that HarperCollins publishers has acquired my children’s novel SHAD HADID AND THE ALCHEMISTS OF ALEXANDRIA! The Publishers Weekly press release is above and the link to that is right here. Additionally, the Publishers Marketplace announcement is below. It is a bit surreal to see my face associated with a publishing juggernaut …
Mentoring for Author Mentor Match!
Update! I’m mentoring for a third time in 2020 (and, technically, the first time in 2021), for the highly regarded Author Mentor Match program!
PitchWars Advice from a Former Mentee
Welcome back to my blog, friends! As a former Pitch Wars mentee and now mentor, I’ve got a couple bits of advice I hope to impart for this year (and future year!) hopefuls. Two of these tips revolve around the submission process and the last centers on after the submission window has closed. Regardless of …
Pitch Wars Wishlist
Hello, Pitch Wars hopefuls! Come, grab a warm cup of tea, and gather around. We’re so glad you found your way to our wishlist for the Middle Grade age category. To start off, what even is Pitch Wars? Well, it is a mentoring program where published/agented authors, editors, or industry interns choose one writer each …
Mentoring for PitchWars!
I’m excited to announce that I’ll be a 2020 PitchWars mentor! Like the WriteMentor program I mentored for this summer, PitchWars is a mentorship opportunity for up and coming writers, and probably the highest-regarded such opportunity of its kind. That’s why I’m thrilled that I was chosen to mentor this year. Last year, I was …
WriteMentor 2020
I’m officially going to be mentoring for WriteMentor, a UK-based writing competition! I’ll be working co-mentor Sabrina Prestes (who happened to be my mentor when I was selected to participate as a mentee in 2019). Together, we’ll select one manuscript in the Young Adult science fiction, fantasy, or thriller genres to work with. Read more …
Agent Representation!
Recently, I signed with a literary agent for my middle grade novel. It’s been nearly four years of daily writing, and several manuscripts, but I’ve finally accomplished a major long-term goal! My agent is Jennifer Azantian, of Azantian Literary. She and I clicked from the very first message, and she resonated with my novel on …