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May 15, 2015

Prom Memory --- Guest Post by Kasie West

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By Kasie West
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Oftentimes authors draw from their own experiences when writing their books. Luckily, this wasnt' the case for Kasie West, author of  the new book THE FILL-IN BOYFRIEND --- at least not for the opening scene at the prom. Below, Kasie compares and contrasts her own experience with her protagonist, Gia's. Let's just say, it seems like Kasie had a lot more fun!  

Interview: S. E. Green, author of Killer Instinct

May 15, 2015

You get all sorts of female protagonists in YA literature, whether they’re fighting to save an empire, overcoming a difficult family situation or trying to summon the guts to talk to their crush.

Lane, the protagonist of KILLER INSTINCT and KILLER WITHIN by S.E. Green, is a slightly rarer breed --- she’s obsessed with serial killers, and struggles with an urge to kill, herself. We talked to Green about her series, and she revealed the most difficult scenes to write, at which point in the writing process she determines the identity of the serial killer and the inspiration for Lane’s character.

Read below, and be sure to check out KILLER INSTINCT and KILLER WITHIN!

BRC Summer Reading

Links to http://www.bookreporter.com/features/summer-reading/summer-reading-2015.

Amelia's Middle-School Graduation Yearbook by Marissa Moss

Twenty years ago, a little book hit the marketplace with a simple premise: an elementary school girl writes and doodles in a journal, and we get to see it. That little book turned into another one…and another one…and another one…and the Amelia’s Notebook series became one of the most beloved in children’s literature.
 

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Interview: Marissa Moss, author of Amelia's Middle-School Graduation Yearbook

May 15, 2015

Twenty years ago, a little book hit the marketplace with a simple premise: an elementary school girl writes and doodles in a journal, and we get to see it. That little book turned into another one…and another one…and another one…and the Amelia’s Notebook series became one of the most beloved in children’s literature.

Now that the 30th --- and final (!) --- book in the series is coming out and Amelia is graduating middle school, we wanted to talk to this spunky protagonist’s creator, Marissa Moss. Read our interview below to learn about her inspiration, her writing process and some intriguing pieces of fan mail, and be sure to check out AMELIA’S MIDDLE SCHOOL GRADUATION YEARBOOK!

Mid May 2015

Hi Teenreaders,



I have a confession to make: this month, I haven’t felt particularly professional. As a journalist in the young adult book world, it’s my job to know about books, read books, write about books…and, sometimes, meet people who write books. And since it’s my career, I have to act composed when that happens --- smile, nod and be a normal, non-shrieking human.



I gave it a valiant effort this April and May, but I’ve got to be honest…I was holding myself together --- a lot. When I saw Emily St. John Mandel, the author of the bestselling (and beautifully written) adult book STATION ELEVEN, get off at my subway stop in Brooklyn, my heart started beating at record levels as she neared my street. Could someone so famous be my neighbor?! (Shamefully, I slowed my abnormally fast walking pace on my block to see if she’d enter an apartment before I entered mine…she didn’t).

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Jeffery Deaver, author of Solitude Creek: A Kathryn Dance Novel

A tragedy occurs at a small concert venue on the Monterey Peninsula. Cries of "fire" are raised, sending people running for the doors, only to find them blocked. A half-dozen people die and others are seriously injured, though there was no fire. Kathryn Dance --- a brilliant California Bureau of Investigation agent and body language expert --- discovers that the stampede was caused intentionally and that the perpetrator, a man obsessed with turning people's own fears and greed into weapons, has more attacks planned.

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Craig Johnson, author of Dry Bones: A Walt Longmire Mystery

When Jen, the largest, most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton ever found, surfaces in Sherriff Walt Longmire’s jurisdiction, it appears to be a windfall for the High Plains Dinosaur Museum --- until Danny Lone Elk, the Cheyenne rancher on whose property the remains were discovered, turns up dead. With millions of dollars at stake, a number of groups step forward to claim her, including Danny’s family, the tribe and the federal government. Walt is determined to find out who would benefit from Danny’s death.

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Lincoln Child, author of The Forgotten Room

Jeremy Logan is an "enigmalogist" --- an investigator who specializes in analyzing phenomena that have no obvious explanation. Here, Logan finds himself on the storied coastline of Newport, Rhode Island, where he has been retained by Lux, one of the oldest and most respected think tanks in America. Just days earlier, one of its most distinguished doctors began acting erratically and killed himself in a truly shocking fashion. Terrified by the incident and the bizarre evidence left behind, the group hires Logan to investigate what drove this erudite man to madness.

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Sally Mann, author of Hold Still: A Memoir with Photographs

In HOLD STILL, a unique interplay of narrative and image, Sally Mann's preoccupation with family, race, mortality and the storied landscape of the American South are revealed as almost genetically predetermined, written into her DNA by the family history that precedes her. In lyrical prose and startlingly revealing photographs, she crafts a totally original form of personal history that has the page-turning drama of a great novel but is firmly rooted in the fertile soil of her own life.

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