A few days ago, the lovely Maureen Johnson started a conversation on twitter about the dystopian genre and how it is defined. An #isitdystopia hashtag emerged. There were talks of flowcharts. One made the rounds, and while it was amusing and had me smiling, it made me think more critically about how I define the...Continue Reading
The Fourth has come and gone. I had a fabulous holiday weekend up in the Adirondacks with the Engineer and some of my family. It consisted mostly of sun and reading and swimming off the boat. There was also beer and grilling and sparklers, in typical Independence Day fashion. It was really quite lovely. Raquette...Continue Reading
First off, I’m guest posting over on Ellen Oh‘s blog today. Ellen is a fellow YA writer (her debut, Prophecy: The Dragon King Chronicles, comes out from HarperCollins in Winter 2013, just like me!) and she’s currently running a series aptly titled: “What’s the Best Writerly Advice You’d Give Your Younger Self?” I discuss, as...Continue Reading
A fast-paced adventure that’s a little too close for comfort. Summary from the inside jacket: In America’s Gulf Coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being broken down for parts, Nailer, a teenage boy, works the light crew, scavenging for copper wiring just to make quota–and hopefully live to see another day. But when, by...Continue Reading
