Welcome!

I’m so excited you found me!

And I’m so excited that I’ll soon be publishing my first middle grade novel, The Tzohar Legacy, on all ebook platforms. I’m just waiting for a final editing pass and the cover.

I’ll update with a pre-order announcement and a cover reveal as soon as I can.

 

Random Act of Publicity 2

In honor of Random Acts of Publicity Week (thanks to Darcy Pattison’s Fiction Notes) I plan to write about some of my favorite recently read books. Now, I don’t have much experience writing book reviews (it shows, doesn’t it?). However, I have been reading books forever (since the womb, people), and as with wine and art, I know what I like.

In Maureen Johnson’s 13 Little Blue Envelopes, a girl takes a journey of self-discovery through Europe, prompted by her dead artsy aunt. The fun premise ended in a heart-warming and satisfying way. And I just read last night that she is working on a sequel.

Strangely enough, it reminded me of all the backpackers I met in Africa. Most were Australian, traveling in ones and twos all around the world for as long as it took. If money ran out, they’d stop wherever they were and work for a bit. They slept in hostels and on rooftops, anywhere, really.

I occasionally offered them a ride in my double cabin pick up truck, and even had one or two over for a meal. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time, even though I was sharing resources that were not my own. I enjoyed their stories of all the places they had visited. And I felt like I was helping someone else out. It also gave me a glimpse into another world. It wasn’t something I could imagine doing, even though I had taken a huge leap into the unknown by taking a job in a war-torn country on a continent I had never visited.

However, I did travel alone a bit in Europe while a college student. Ginny in 13 Envelopes mostly travels alone, as well. We both experienced the loneliness of trains and hostels and wide-open public spaces. But she found some romance along the way, while I found harrassment. Oh well. C’est la vie.

Speak

I recently recommended Laurie Halse Anderson’s powerful book, Speak.  I have just discovered a movie was made in 2004 based on the book, starring Kristen Stewart – now of Twilight fame.  The movie will be shown on the Lifetime network this Saturday at 9 pm (EDT).

Would love to hear from others who have read the book and/or seen the movie.

A few book recommendations

I love to read.  I must always have at least one book on my bedside table.  Below are some books by authors I have recently discovered and who inspire me to keep writing.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

A life-and-death mystery, ghosts, ghouls, witches and one orphaned boy make a fun read that you can’t put down.  I haven’t even finished it yet, but it makes me laugh, worry and just keep reading.  Would appeal to middle grade through adult readers.

Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

Based on a little-known Grimm Brother’s fairy tale and set in ancient Mongolia, this young adult novel is the diary of a lady’s maid shut away in a tower with her lady, how they survive the darkness, the rats and diminishing food supplies, and what happens after.  Sweet, gripping, lovely (with a supernatural twist).

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

A teenager starts high school as the most hated girl in town.  This beautiful book grabs the reader with a unique style and a slowly unfolding back story to answer the questions of why everyone hates her and why she won’t talk.  This author tackles big issues with flair and subtlety.  Her newest, Wintergirls, deals with eating disorders.

Big Slick by Eric Luper

An Albany-area author with a penchant for poker has created a sympathetic character who digs himself a very big hole.  I didn’t expect to like this young adult novel, about a boy who steals from his father’s business, accidentally gets involved with drugs, has a crush (and then some) on a bad-girl and ultimately kicks his gambling addiction.  Looking forward to Bug Boy, about horse racing in the 1930’s, out this week.