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I made my way to Body Combat early this morning.  The snow began to fall just as I left.  I allow myself to be lazy after workouts like that.  To lie on a couch and dream a novel forward. 

I write so slowly now.  But I never mind the time I make to dream a novel forward.

In between I read the astonishing work being sent to me by the YoungArts writers; our literary future, ladies and gentlemen, is in excellent hands.  I read, as well, Katrina Kenison's glorious new book, Magical Journey, of which I wrote not long ago.  Look for a chance to win your own copy here, on New Year's Day.  All you'll need to do is tell me what makes you quietly glad, and your name will be put into the hat.

Finally, I discovered, thanks to a little white-winged bird, that A.A. Omer, a reader of discerning tastes (in my humble opinion), placed Small Damages number one in her five-book list of the year's best writing.  It joins the work of David Levithan, Moira Young, Ilsa Bick, and Wynne Channing.  It is an act of greatest kindness.  Thank you.

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I just finished reading four books, back to back, and each one was STELLAR. That never happens, so you better believe I’m excited to praise these reads, all of which have a common thread–each features a flawed, unconventional protagonist.

I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER by Dan Wells.

Six Second Summary: John Wayne Cleaver is dangerous, and he knows it. To keep his obsession with serial killer under wraps and under control, he lives by rigid rules he’s written for himself, practicing normal high school life as if it were a private religion that could save him from damnation. After a string of brutal murders terrorizes his town, John has to confront a danger outside himself, a threat he can’t control, a menace to everything and everyone he would love, if only he could.

I loved it because: Wells’ voice is electric–he keeps the action moving at a fast clip, but all the while, we feel the misunderstood, melancholy wounds that John Wayne Cleaver tries to conceal. There are twists and unexpected turns of fate that make I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER nothing less than stone cold stellar–don’t miss it.

Shelve it between: DARKLY DREAMING DEXTER by Jeff Lindsay and your copy of SUPERNATURAL: Season One, two other chilling, thrilling diversions.

BLACK HEART by Holly Black

Six Second Summary: Cassel Sharpe comes from a long line of con artists and curse workers. Everyone wants him–the crime families and feds, but he’s just trying to stay out of trouble and protect the headstrong girl who’s always held his heart. Cassel will need every ounce of wit and will to make one last score, a final play to win his freedom, once and for all.

I loved it because: It’s no secret I adored WHITE CAT and RED GLOVE, but Holly Black outdid herself this time–BLACK HEART is a David Mamet meets Mario Puzo masterpiece, one of the very best trilogy conclusions I’ve ever finished. Get thee to a bookstore right now and pick it up.

Shelve it between: David Mamet’s sleeper con-artist flick, THE SPANISH PRISONER and Mario Puzo’s THE GODFATHER: PART II. Yeah, it’s that good. A top shelf trilogy.

DROWNING INSTINCT by Ilsa J. Bick

Six Second Summary: Jenna Lord hides a lot of scars–her psycho dad and drunk mother haven’t protected her in life, and when Jenna meets Mitch Anderson, her chemistry teacher and coach, she’s drawn to him. He’s the one person she can trust, the one honest adult who makes her feel safe. In

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So many fantastic authors have come to Houston lately that I am backlogged on my blog posts. Today I want to tell you about a recent visit to Blue Willow Bookshop from Ilsa Bick, author of ASHES.

Ilsa, who started writing in 1997 on a dare, started off by asking if anyone was familiar with the term EMPs. A young man in the audience gave us a great definition but I’ll let you read it here. Ilsa said the reason she used this concept in Ashes is because she is a doctor and she likes the real science. A lot of horror isn’t believable, so she wanted to do something that might be possible.

“Science fiction is a literature of possibilities,” says Ilsa. She asked the teens in the audience to define dystopia. Totalitarianism, they said. Individuality is squelched, like school, like Mom and Dad.

“That,” said Ilsa, “is why these books are so popular with adolescents, because they are about living under someone’s thumb.”

Ilsa said she was thinking about those things while writing Ashes. “If you destroy the world as in Ashes, nothing will ever be the same. All elders must die. Kids are more plastic—if you can revive them, they end up being fine. In Ashes, all the older folks die so everyone who knows how to survive dies. Young kids all survive. Some of the older people survive. The teens change in ways that make you not want to be close to them.”

The main character, Alex, is seventeen, an orphan. Her parents died in a crash three years before. She has a brain tumor that is terminal. She decides she is tired of people telling her what to do. She takes off into the mountains on her own as one last thing to do before dying. Maybe she’ll walk out—maybe she won’t. But when the event happens, she meets a bratty eight-year-old, Ellie, and a twenty-year-old army guy, Tom.

Something special happens when people bond together in an emergency to keep other people safe.

Ilsa said she included an army person because the people in our military are young people and they are just as much a part of our young population as anyone. Plus, she was military and has been around military people all her life. Part of being a doctor is being able to take charge. This made it hard for her to learn to give up decisions to

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