The origins of this series lie in my quintessential problem: I don’t write short stories, at least not easily or often or even willingly. But when I got wind of an upcoming anthology about Were-kind, with the specific fiat that … Continue reading
Category Archives: YA
Recently, I received this letter from a fan with whom I’d been corresponding. It spoke deeply to me, and rather than answer it alone, I asked some of my writer friends to join in a series of round table blogs … Continue reading
Back in 2002, back when Harry Potter WAS the YA genre (Number One, and then twenty empty spaces behind it before the next contender…), I attended that year’s World Fantasy Convention. At that time, I had no real interest in … Continue reading
I test-drove The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time with my ninth graders. We read and discussed the book in a single week. For my largely special-ed classes, this was a fast, fast read. Because of the language, the … Continue reading
My daughter, Kristine, reads constantly. She is, in fact, sitting in the living room reading Lord of the Rings with a stack of history books and Jane Austen-related material next to her chair. She gets her exercise by walking to … Continue reading
Read WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY in earlier installments. This is the final question. Continuing – Question 6: HOW Going back to the trope thing, when I started writing the Were Chronicles it was with a lot of ideas in … Continue reading
Lies and Prophecy – Illustrated Edition by Marie Brennan There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and prophecy. Kim never had to wonder what to major in at college. Her talent for divination made her future clear in … Continue reading
In order to discuss this young adult fantasy, I have to get sort of spoilery. I try to avoid specifics, but I do talk about the general outline of the book. So, Court of Fives, described in various places as … Continue reading
Read WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN in previous installments. Continuing – Question 5: WHY The question of motivation has been discussed a lot, to the point of being made fun of. Remember that immortal exchange in ‘Galaxy Quest’: “You’ve got to … Continue reading
Read WHO, WHAT, WHERE in previous installments. Coninuing – Question 4: WHEN It isn’t a coincidence that stories told to all of us in our childhood used to begin with “Once upon a time…” The concept of a moment in … Continue reading