Category Archives: 1

Finding a YA Keeper in my Mailbox (Among Other Places)

by

Oh, how I love to get the mail! You just never know what might be waiting to surprise you! Like today, when I opened the package from David Patneaude and found my autographed copy of Epitaph Road!

I won this YA keeper just a few days ago, so I have to give Mr. Patneaude props for his due diligence. And I can’t wait to dig into his latest work (he’s written 8-or is it 9?-books!). Oh, and I won a query critique, too! YAY! But there’s a reason I”m sharing my Epitaph Road news, other than just gloating over my good fortune (and extolling the virtues of its author).

The thing is, I won these fab prizes through a contest that I found out about on Twitter. Which directed me to Facebook, where I could enter the contest and win. So, if you’ve been putting off joining Facebook, you might want to rethink that. And if you think Twitter is for the birds, you definitely need to rethink that. The more I flutter around Twitter, the more I learn about queries, agents, editors, publishers, YA and books. Just to name a few topics that might interest you.  Not to mention lovely contests. You just never know what you’re going to find, waiting to surprise you.

‘Cause you know what they say: Finders, keepers. Losers, weepers!

Finding a LOT of Keepers at the Library!

by

One of my favorite places in the world is the library for lots and lots of reasons. But mostly because I can go there and browse among row after row of books and bring home pile after pile of books. All for free!

Which is kinda important for me. I read A LOT of books. Especially children’s books. And one of my favorite online places to hang out is a Fuse #8 Production, which is Elizabeth Bird’s blog at School Library Journal. She’s always going on and on about libraries and books. It’s a win-win for me.

April 12th was Library Appreciation Day and you might have read quite a few posts across the blogosphere about libraries…but I think I’ll declare this Library Bloggers Appreciation Day-with Fuse #8 at the top of the list!

(P.S. You can sign up for the School Library Journal newsletter and catch up on what kids are reading. Plus, you’ll find a lot of cool blogs to investigate over at Fuse #8- all about children’s reading, writing, and such. The more you know, the better writer you’ll be!)