5 Things to Inspire Creativity

There are so many things that inspire me. Some inspire me to work harder, others to play more, and some to be a better person. Inspiration comes in so many forms. Here are five things that inspire me and that can inspire you too: 1. Looking at Photographs — Whenever …

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5 Best Books of 2013

There were a ton of books I wanted to read this year, but I couldn’t get to them all. Here’s my five favorites of those I enjoyed (in no particular order). 1. The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson — “Lennie plays second clarinet in the school orchestra and has always …

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Do You Believe?

Guest Blogger: Georgia McBride PRAEFATIO is a story about actions, reactions and consequences. There are so many lies being told and so much backstabbing and duplicitous behavior, Grace wonders who she can trust. And the pain that Grace experiences as a result of these lies never really goes away. It …

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Why We YA and You Should Too

Guest Bloggers:  Stephanie Wardrop, Kelly Hashway & Rachel Schieffelbein          It’s summer, which means that visions of spending days basking in sunlight, reading a great book by the pool, and freedom from homework are dancing around in the heads of many. But summer also brings one more delight; Swoon Romance’s …

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On Writing YA and Adult Thrillers

Guest Blogger: James Phelan SURVIVOR is the second installment in my ALONE trilogy for Young Adults.  It follows a 16-year-old protagonist, Jesse, in a post-apocalyptic setting in NYC. The trilogy started because I’d already written 3 adults thrillers and was contracted for 3 more, and needed a different writing challenge.  …

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Seriously Funny

Guest Blogger:  Jill Wolfson The four novels that I’ve written for the middle-reader and the young adult audience all deal with heavy topics – foster care, unemployment, depression, death, medical emergencies. In COLD HANDS, WARM HEART, I actually killed character – a likeable teenage girl – in the first chapter, …

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When did you first make Miss Dickinson’s Acquaintance?

Guest Blogger: Michaela MacColl I have to admit that poetry has never been my thing. I’m a prose girl. I like plot and character development. All too often when I read poetry I feel as though the writer is scoring points off me – I’m just not as clever as …

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Point of View is Not Always a Good Compass For the Truth

Guest Blogger: Anne Greenwood Brown I love writing in the first person point of view. Somehow, telling the story how one character perceives it helps me channel that character’s emotions and capture a unique voice. I think first person works particularly well with YA fiction, where the reader wants to …

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The Haunting World of Scowler

Young Adult author Daniel Kraus was kind enough to answer a few questions about SCOWLER, his latest release. Daniel “is a Chicago-based writer, editor, and filmmaker. His debut novel, THE MONSTER VARIATIONS, (Random House, 2009), was selected to New York Public Library’s “100 Best Stuff for Teens.” Fangoria called his …

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Food Trucks and Hoarding

Guest Blogger: Lisa McMann I admit it. I love reality TV. I love the thrill of SURVIVOR, all the cooking shows, especially THE GREAT FOOD TRUCK RACE, and I am strangely fascinated by shows about people’s obsessions, addictions, and dark secrets. I’ve even been on a reality show called SEARCHING FOR …

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