Author
Book Reviews and Sex Cults Lauren Hough was born into and grew up in the Children of God, a sex cult known to members as “the Family.” Hough’s abusive upbringing was my primary reason for wanting to read Leaving Isn’t … Continued
I Have a Book! My book of short fiction Acts of Contrition: Short Stories is now available on pre-sale from Los Nietos Press. The official publication date is March 15, 2021. Yeah, the Ides of March! Thankfully, I’m not superstitious. … Continued
Meg Medina’s Burn, Baby, Burn is an example of A perfectly constructed YA novel. It’s great storytelling. This didn’t surprise me as I’d loved Medina’s Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass. I’d recommend Burn to any teen looking for … Continued
A recent experience with a teen writer had me going back to The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. I’d originally purchased and listened to The Poet X on audiobook–a powerful narration by the author herself, which I highly recommend. A … Continued
As shut down orders were put in place to stem the coronavirus contagion, many of us became cheerleaders for our best-loved local businesses. Once we step back out into public life, we want to continue to enjoy our favorite foods, … Continued
I have three things on my mind concerning reading and writing, and they all begin with trying something new: change genres, buy indie, and read local. Change Genres In the past few months, I’ve written a few pieces of flash … Continued
Since I am on a YA fiction jag, I want to have a quick look at why National Book Award winning Far from the Tree by Robin Benway is so good. Happily, one important secret that makes this novel work … Continued
Wendelin Van Draanen, author of Hope in the Mail: Reflections on Writing and Life, wrote one of my favorite YA novels, The Running Dream. (I wrote a review of The Running Dream here. Check it out–and check out the book!) … Continued
When I realized the length of Kevin Young’s Bunk: The Rise of Hoaxes, Humbug, Plagiarists, Phonies, Post-Facts and Fake News, I decided I’d listen to it on audiobook. I’d read a positive review of it in the LA Times and … Continued
In order to make connections with readers, a writer today needs to do a lot more than get an agent to believe in her work and pitch it to publishers.