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I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving, and now it’s time to get ready for more holiday parties. The party I am looking forward to the most this season is our SCBWI Houston holiday pot luck dinner on Monday, December 7 at 7:00 at the Tracy Gee Community Center. Along with book and art sales and great food, we’re doing something special this year; we’re celebrating the launch of Kathy Duval’s newest picture book, A BEAR’S YEAR. Everyone who pre-ordered it from Blue Willow bookshop will get a little gift from Kathy. Please join us!
In addition to our SCBWI party, a lot of other events are keeping Kathy quite busy. The next morning, Wednesday, December 2, she’s doing storytime at Katy Budget Books from 10:00 to 11:00. Next week she’s visiting two schools:
December 8 at James Randolph School in Katy, and another on December 11 at Patterson Literature Magnet School. In between, she’ll be Skyping with St. John Vianney School in Brookfield Wisconsin on December 7. Go Kathy!
In this morning’s Publisher’s Lunch I read some good news for Mary Lindsey, the local author of SHATTERED SOULS. Mary’s first three books in the HAVEN series, following a community of shifters and spell weavers whose ancestors fled persecution during the Wurzburg and Bamberg witch trials of the 1600s, sold to Liz Pelletier at Entangled Teen.
In other news for local authors, Russell Sanders has a new YA novel, COLORS, releasing this winter. Mark your calendars for his launch at River Oaks Bookstore on February 6.
Dee Leone, author of BIZZ & BUZZ MAKE HONEY BUNS will be joining Katy Budget Books as they celebrate Indies First on Small Business Saturday. Bizz and Buzz are two bees who want to make honey buns. So, they ask their friend Bear for his recipe. Although the directions seem simple, Bizz and Buzz make mistake after mistake, like finding a little “flower “instead of adding a little “flour.” What will “bee”-come of the honey buns?
Other children’s authors appearing later in the day are D. Scozzari with her middle reader series THE NINTH REGION, and Kay Clinton and Dwayne Bohac with their picture book, MERRY CHRISTMAS, Y’ALL!
As you are thinking about the upcoming holidays and pondering what to put on your wishlist, you might want to review the upcoming writing conferences, workshops and retreats. Click on the menu bar above to find out where the agents, editors, and art directors (now listed with editors) will be in 2016. If you prefer to attend writing events at home in your pajamas, be sure to take a look at the extensive list of online courses being offered.
The authors and illustrators of SCBWI Houston have you covered for Halloween. Check out these funny, not-so-spooky titles for your your little ones! THE THREE BEARS’ HALLOWEEN by Kathy Duval (illustrated by Paul Meisel); THE RUNAWAY PUMPKIN PIE MAN illustrated by Roberta Baird (written by Vicky Town); THE LITTLEST WITCH’S STORY illustrated by Joel Cook (written by Rusty Fisher); LITTLE BAT DOES NOT LIKES THAT! written and illustrated by Arlene Graziano.
New York Times Bestselling author C. C. Hunter will talk about her book UNSPOKEN and what’s next for the Shadow Falls series. Be one of the first twenty fans to purchase a copy of UNSPOKEN at this book signing and get a free Born to Read T-shirt. Pre-orders will count towards the T-shirt giveaway, but you must be present at the event to receive one.
Barnes & Noble presents a special Halloween Storytime with local illustrator and artist Roberta Baird featuring THE RUNAWAY PUMPKIN PIE MAN:Run, Run, Run, as fast as you can—catch that pie! He’s dessert!
A silly Halloween take on the classic Gingerbread Man, this adorable tale follows a sassy Pumpkin Pie Man as he rolls through town. A gaggle of witches, a hoard of black cats, Count Dracula, werewolves, trick-or-treaters, and a flock of ghosts all chase after the Pumpkin Pie Man.
I had a fun time hanging out at Blue Willow Bookshop Saturday for Sara Joiner’s launch for her debut MG novel, AFTER THE ASHES. Sara is a local librarian, and it was great to see so many of her fellow librarians show up to help her celebrate. I got to read an early version of this novel a couple of years ago during a Darcy Pattison workshop that was sponsored by SCBWI Houston. Even in its early stages, I loved this historical novel set in Indonesia in 1883 about two young Dutch girls struggling to survive the aftermath of a volcano. I knew it would be a hit! Kirkus calls it “heart-rending story of love and loss, family ties, and friendship” and Publishers Weekly says it’s a “breakneck, and often heartbreaking, coming-of-age survival story.” Here’s a review from Teen Reads!
Gitty Daneshvari will discuss and sign her new book for kids, THE LEAGUE OF UNEXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN. Are you average? Normal? Forgettable? If so, the League of Unexceptional Children is for you! This first book in a hilarious new adventure series is for anyone who’s struggled to be noticed in a sea of above-average overachievers.
Twelve-year-olds Jonathan Murray and Shelley Brown are completely average and forgettable until they are recruited to help the League of Unexceptional Children (a covert network that uses the nation’s most average, normal, and utterly unexceptional children as spies) save the Vice President of the United States, who has been kidnapped along with an important code.
Picture books seem simple to write, but they are deceptively simple, for it is challenging to create a story that has relatable characters, a strong plot, and a compelling premise in under 700 words. Picture books are wholly unlike other books, in that they are the marriage of pictures and words. While this fact makes writing picture books exciting, it also creates challenges unique to the genre. Despite the inherent challenges of writing picture books, the endeavor is well worth the work, for picture books alone introduce entire generations to the joy of the written word.
In this workshop we will read and analyze several beloved picture book classics and identify the elements that contribute to their magic. If you are an intermediate picture book writer with at least one year of experience attending critique groups and studying picture book craft and you would love the opportunity to explore how you can vitalize and deepen your manuscript with supportive fellow writers, then this is the perfect workshop for you.
The first six writers to register will get to have their picture book manuscripts critiqued.
Seabrook author Jenny McKissack will sign and discuss her new book for teens, SANCTUARY. After the untimely death of her aunt Laura, Cecilia Cross is forced to return to Sanctuary, a rambling, old French-Gothic mansion that crowns a remote island off the coast of Maine. Cecilia is both drawn to and repulsed by Sanctuary. The scent of the ocean intoxicates her, but she’s also haunted by the ghosts of her past — of her father who died at Sanctuary five years ago, and of her mother who was committed soon after. The memories leave Cecilia feeling shaken, desperate to run away and forget her terrible family history.
But then a mysterious guest arrives at Sanctuary: Eli Bauer, a professor sent to examine Sanctuary’s library. Cecilia is intrigued by this strange young man who seems so interested in her — even more interested in her than in the books he is meant to be studying. Who is he and what does he want? Can Cecilia possibly trust her growing feelings for him? And can he help her make peace with her haunted, tragic past?
Please join the Maud Marks Library for the second annual Celebrate Local Authors event. The theme is “Treat Yourself to a Good Book” and the event is FREE for all ages. More than 30 authors will be selling and signing their books. In addition, there will be book presentations throughout the day for various children’s, YA, and adult genres. Attendees will receive a door prize ticket for every 15-minute session they attend and will earn a bonus ticket if they come in costume.
Houston SCBWI members participating include: Carmen Bredeson, Mandy Broughton, Arlene Graziano, Dee Leone, Pat Miller, Trakena Prevost, Ana Maria Rodriguez, Nancy Shakespeare, Jenna Pashley Smith, Fleur Wiig, and Marion Young. For more information, visit Space City Publishing.
KBB will host three authors of creepy YA books for the Halloween season: Gena Showalter, Kady Cross, and Amy Lukavics! Seating is limited, so plan to arrive a little early. See the KBB website for complete information.
Gena Showalter: A MAD ZOMBIE PARTY
Ali Bell and Cole Holland’s crew of zombie slayers thought they’d won the war against Anima Industries, the evil company responsible for capturing and experimenting on zombies in an effort to discover the secret to immortality. In the last epic clash, the slayers lost many of their crew and closest friends. But Frosty, the ice man himself, has not recovered from one casualty in particular—the love of his life, Kat Parker.
On the path to self-annihilation, Frosty receives a message from beyond—Kat’s spirit returns, insisting he partner with rogue slayer Camilla Marks. Frosty will do anything for Kat. Except that. Camilla is the one who betrayed them all, leading to Kat’s death.
But when Anima rises from the grave to become a force the slayers may not have the strength to overcome, Frosty, Camilla and all the slayers will have to work together to survive. And one broken slayer will learn that sometimes, the line between hate and attraction is blurred…and the road to redemption isn’t through revenge, but in letting go of the past and grabbing hold of the future.
Kady Cross: SISTERS OF BLOOD AND SPIRIT
Wren Noble is dead—she was born that way. Vibrant, unlike other dead things, she craves those rare moments when her twin sister allows her to step inside her body and experience the world of the living.
Lark Noble is alive but often feels she belongs in the muted Shadow Lands–the realm of the dead. Known as the crazy girl who talks to her dead sister, she doesn’t exactly fit in with the living, though a recent suicide attempt and time in a psych ward have proved to her she’s not ready to join her sister in the afterlife.
Now the guy who saved Lark’s life needs her to repay the favor. He and his friends have been marked for death by the malevolent spirit of a vicious and long-dead serial killer, and the twins—who should know better than to mess with the dead—may be their only hope of staying alive.
Amy Lukavics: DAUGHTERS UNTO DEVILS When sixteen-year-old Amanda Verner’s family decides to move from their small mountain cabin to the vast prairie, she hopes it is her chance for a fresh start. She can leave behind the memory of the past winter; of her sickly ma giving birth to a baby sister who cries endlessly; of the terrifying visions she saw as her sanity began to slip, the victim of cabin fever; and most of all, the memories of the boy she has been secretly meeting with as a distraction from her pain. The boy whose baby she now carries.
When the Verners arrive at their new home, a large cabin abandoned by its previous owners, they discover the inside covered in blood. And as the days pass, it is obvious to Amanda that something isn’t right on the prairie. She’s heard stories of lands being tainted by evil, of men losing their minds and killing their families, and there is something strange about the doctor and his son who live in the woods on the edge of the prairie. But with the guilt and shame of her sins weighing on her, Amanda can’t be sure if the true evil lies in the land, or deep within her soul.
Soman Chainani will be upstairs in the seating area to discuss and sign his newest entry into the SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL series, THE LAST EVER AFTER. In this last book of the New York Times bestselling trilogy, everything old is new again, as Sophie and Agatha fight the past as well as the present to find the perfect end to their fairy tale. This B&N exclusive edition includes a double-sided timeline, which will let you display your Ever or Never pride!
Former best friends Sophie and Agatha thought their ending was sealed when they went their separate ways, but their storybook is about to be rewritten—and this time theirs isn’t the only one. With the girls apart, Evil has taken over and the forces of Good are in deathly peril. Will Agatha and Sophie be able to work together to save them? Will they find their way to being friends again? And will their new ending be the last Ever After they’ve been searching for?
Heads up! Rick Riordan is bringing MAGNUS CHASE to Houston in October! This ticketed event will be held at Morton Ranch High School. For details and tickets, please go to Blue Willow Bookshop’s page for this event.
This past Saturday, I had a wonderful time at Kim O’Brien’s launch for her debut YA novel BONE DEEP. The novel sounds intriguing and I’m looking forward to diving into it later today after my critique meeting. It was great to see familar faces there, too. These events are so much fun when other local authors show up to chat about books and writing.
There’s lots going on this week for readers and writers:
If you read a paragraph of dialogue without attribution, could you tell if the speaker was a man or a woman? Dialogue can help develop character. So do movements, mannerisms and facial expressions. Even clothing or home décor can show character traits. Join Thelma Zirkelbach in an exploration of character building through verbal and non-verbal communication.
Do you take your fiction with a side of aliens, superheroes, dragons, or witches? Then this is the workshop for you! This course will provide an overview of the SFF genre. Together we will consider those elements of writing which are crucial to crafting compelling speculative stories, such as building our own worlds, extrapolating the fantastic from reality, and creating compelling non-human characters. In addition to discussing classic and contemporary SFF works, you will participate in writing exercises and bring in your own work for critique. Come to class prepared to write and discuss, and by the end of the four weeks, you will have completed at least one SFF short story.
Local author D. Scozzari signs the second book in her Ninth Region series for early readers, THE KNIGHTING NETTLE: THE NINTH REGION. It is a great time for celebration now that the Ice Lady, Polar Spirit, and Fire Prince have disappeared. Mom and Dad Sco, bear twins Gloria and Nathan, their brother, Nettle, and their newest family member, Vincent the overgrown frog, are journeying to the capital so King Otto can honor them for freeing the Ice Lady’s captives. Once they arrive, Nettle is given the opportunity to earn knighthood by performing a task for King Otto: to bring him an old goat’s magical horn that, with its powers, will make the kingdom stronger.
With Vincent, Nettle travels outside the Ninth Region to a different reality. But what Nettle does not know is that the forces of the Fire Prince and the Polar Spirit are preparing wicked plans for Nettle, Vincent, and their new friends. Can Nettle overcome great obstacles in order to get the magical horn back to his King?
YA author Jennifer Lynn Barnes will sign her new novel THE FIXER. When sixteen-year-old Tess Kendrick is sent to live with her older sister, Ivy, she has no idea that the infamous Ivy Kendrick is Washington D.C.’s #1 “fixer,” known for making politicians’ scandals go away for a price. No sooner does Tess enroll at Hardwicke Academy than she unwittingly follows in her sister’s footsteps and becomes D.C.’s premier high school fixer, solving problems for elite teens. But when their secret worlds crash together, Tess finds there is much more on the line than good grades, money, or politics, and the price for this fix might be more than she is willing to pay.
Rachel Caine signs her new YA novel INK AND BONE. In a dangerous world, the Great Library of Alexandria has survived as a ruthless and powerful presence. Through alchemy, the Library instantly delivers the content of the greatest works of history to the masses, but personal ownership of books is forbidden. Jess Brightwell is training to enter the Library’s Service, but when he inadvertently commits heresy by creating a device that could change the world, Jess discovers those who control the Great Library value knowledge more than human life and soon both heretics and books will burn.
World Building is often classified as something exclusive to authors of speculative fiction but the truth is that every time a work of fiction is crafted, an entire world is written into being. While writers of fantasy and science fiction will also benefit from this workshop, writers of any genre stand to gain from examining the world in which their characters live and how they interact with it. Futurists look to tomorrow by examining society, technology, economics, environment, and politics, and in this workshop we shall look at the relationship between these topics as they relate to your plot and characters.
This Saturday, May 2, we are celebrating Independent Bookstore Day all over the country, all day! If you live in or around Houston, stop by one of these local bookstores and see what’s happening. Tweet at @BookstoreDay
Houston shops participating in special events this day:
Blue Willow Bookshop
14532 Memorial Drive, Houston, 77079
Locally owned by Valerie Koehler (aka, Girl Boss). Here you’ll find an eclectic selection of books (fiction and nonfiction) for adults and children. There’s something for everyone, including puzzles, games, and gifts for the book lover. Join Blue Willow Bookshop’s Independent Bookstore Day with activities, great food, giveaways and some very cool limited edition merchandise!
Brazos Bookstore
2421 Bissonnet, Houston 77005
Locally owned by a group of twenty-seven Houstonians. Celebrate with Brazos Bookstore on Independent Bookstore Day all day, from the special edition story time at 10:00 AM to the Ultimate Literary Showdown at 6:30 PM.
If you aren’t near one of the bookstores listed above, you might find one of these locally owned shops closer to you:
Murder By The Book
2342 Bissonnet St., Houston, 77005
One of the nation’s oldest and largest mystery specialty bookstores, stocking new & used, hardbacks & paperbacks, first editions, collectibles, gift items, mystery magazines, and more.
River Oaks Bookstore
3270 Westheimer, Houston, 77098
Locally owned by Jeanne Jard.
Galveston Bookshop
317 23rd Street, Galveston, 77550
Locally owned by Sharan Zwick and Jack Schlossberg. Books Used & New, Vinyl LPs, Comics, with a monthly local authors meet and greet!
Copperfield’s Books
8220 Louetta Rd., Ste. 106, Spring, 77379
Locally owned. New and used books.
Glow Worm New and Used Books
311 Main, Spring, 77373
Locally owned by Nelda Monjure. New and used books and sundries.
Good Books in the Woods
25915 Oak Ridge Drive, Spring, 77380
Locally owned by Jay Rohfritch. New, Used, and Out of Print titles, Fine Bindings, and First Editions.
The Book Nook Sugarland
5022 Hwy 90-A, Sugar Land, 77498
Locally owned by Katrina Chapman. New and used books, plus gifts and gift cards.
The Book Nook Brenham
212 W. Alamo Street, Brenham, 77833
Locally owned by Stefani Snead Kelley. Mostly used, with a smattering of new books.
We also have a two-author YA event happening that day:
FINDING PARIS: Sisters Leo and Paris Hollings have only ever had each other to rely on. They can’t trust their mother, who hops from city to city and from guy to guy, or their gambler stepfather, who’s moved them all to Las Vegas. It’s just the two of them: Paris, who’s always been the dreamer, and Leo, who has a real future in mind–going to Stanford, becoming a doctor, falling in love. But Leo isn’t going anywhere right now, except driving around Vegas all night with her sister.
Until Paris ditches Leo at the Heartbreak Hotel Diner, where moments before they had been talking with physics student Max Sullivan. Outside, Leo finds a cryptic note from Paris–a clue. Is it some kind of game? Where is Paris, and why has she disappeared? When Leo reluctantly accepts Max’s offer of help, the two find themselves following a string of clues through Vegas and beyond. But the search for the truth is not a straight line. And neither is the path to secrets Leo and Max hold inside.
I AM HER REVENGE: She can be anyone you want her to be.
Vivian was raised with one purpose in life: to exact revenge on behalf of her mother. Manipulative and cruel, Mother has deprived Vivian not only of a childhood, but of an original identity. With an endless arsenal of enticing personalities at her disposal, Vivian is a veritable weapon of deception.
And she can destroy anyone.
When it’s time to strike, she enrolls in a boarding school on the English moors, where she will zero in on her target: sweet and innocent Ben, the son of the man who broke Mother’s heart twenty years ago.
Anyone…except for the woman who created her.
With every secret she uncovers, Vivian comes one step closer to learning who she really is. But the more she learns about herself, the more dangerous this cat and mouse game becomes. Because Mother will stop at nothing to make sure the truth dies with her.
I’m sorry I missed posting last week’s events. They were wonderful, so to avoid more shame, I won’t mention any more about them. (Hides head in paper bag.) But look what we’ve got this week!
Please remember to check the bookstores’ websites for the most up-to-date information!
Matt de la Pena will discuss and sign his fifth novel, THE LIVING (Ember). In this Pura Belpre Author Honor Award novel, Shy takes a summer job to make some money. In a few months on a luxury cruise liner, he’ll rake in the tips and be able to help his mom and sister out with bills. And how bad can it be? Bikinis, free food, maybe even a girl or two—every cruise has different passengers, after all. But everything changes when the Big One hits. Shy is only weeks out at sea when an earthquake more massive than ever before recorded hits California, and his life is forever changed.
The earthquake is only the first disaster. Suddenly it’s a fight to survive for those left living.
Internationally best-selling author Brandon Sanderson will sign and discuss FIREFIGHT (Delacorte). In this sequel to the #1 bestseller STEELHEART:
Newcago is free.
They told David it was impossible, that even the Reckoners had never killed a High Epic. Yet Steelheart–invincible, immortal, unconquerable—is dead. And he died by David’s hand.
Eliminating Steelheart was supposed to make life simpler. Instead, it only made David realize he has questions. Big ones. And no one in Newcago can give him answers.
Babylon Restored, the city formerly known as the borough of Manhattan, has possibilities, though. Ruled by the mysterious High Epic Regalia, Babylon Restored is flooded and miserable, but David is sure it’s the path that will lead him to what he needs to find. Entering a city oppressed by a High Epic despot is risky, but David’s willing to take the gamble. Because killing Steelheart left a hole in David’s heart. A hole where his thirst for vengeance once lived. Somehow, he filled that hole with another Epic—Firefight. And now he will go on a quest darker and even more dangerous than the fight against Steelheart to find her, and to get his answers.
Author George Arnold signs his book for young readers, KREMLIN KERFUFFLE: KOSHKI OF THE CIA (Eakin Press). In this seventh story in the Cats of the CIA, Buzzer Louis, Cincinnati the dancing pig, Dusty Louise, and the kitten twins—Luigi and Luisa—are dispatched to Moscow to help the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) track down the opium smuggling panda from China, Ar-Chee. In Moscow, our secret agents confront a spy-turned-traitor, turned-patriot named Natasha, who presents an ongoing puzzle for them. With the help of Boris Alexandrovich, head of the FSB, and Vladimir Putin, president of the Russian Federation, our heroes set a trap for the panda. A trap designed by Luigi and Luisa that’s sure to snare Ar-Chee.
In the process of tracking down Ar-Chee, the heroes learn to speak considerable Russian. You will, too, with a 750-word and–phrase vocabulary and pronunciation guide in Russian, built right into the story.
Lawson Gow, author of SILLY SHOES (Bright Sky Press), will meet and greet customers. The world can seem so serious, and sometimes people just can’t think of a reason to smile. SILLY SHOES, a collection of whimsical, endearing poems, gives kids just the tickle that’s needed. Life is good, and SILLY SHOES reminds us of the color and fun that surrounds us, if we’re willing to look. No matter what’s going on, Lawson Gow proves that there are always things to smile about if you just put on your silly shoes and tie them up tight!
KBB welcomes back Katie Lea Yates as she discusses and signs her young adult book, THE PRIOR (Rocking Horse Publishing LLC), sequel to THE PROVIDER, a huge hit with both the young adult and middle grade book clubs last summer.
We have another crowded weekend, with several events happening Saturday, including opportunities at writing conferences. Good luck to all who are toiling away on NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) or PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month)!
In MORTAL HEART (Harcourt Brace and Company), the powerful conclusion to Robin LaFever’s NYT bestselling His Fair Assassins trilogy, Annith has watched her gifted sisters at the convent come and go, carrying out their dark dealings in the name of St. Mortain, patiently awaiting her own turn to serve Death. But her worst fears are realized when she discovers she is being groomed by the abbess as a Seeress, to be forever sequestered in the rock and stone womb of the convent. Feeling sorely betrayed, Annith decides to strike out on her own. She has spent her whole life training to be an assassin. Just because the convent has changed its mind, doesn’t mean she has.
Picture book author Kathy Duval will be reading and signing at St. Vincent’s Family Night. In TAKE ME TO YOUR BBQ (Hyperion/Disney) aliens have landed on Willy’s farm and they’re not leaving without a square dance and a square meal! So fire up that grill, lay on the barbeque sauce and snatch up that fiddle. Told in verse, this rollicking story puts a twist on the typical encounter with the third kind.
All-day workshop: How to Finish Your Novel with Sarah Cortez. Daunted by characters who won’t cooperate inside your plot? Foiled by narrative arcs that don’t end, lost their tension or, worse yet, fail to deliver reader satisfaction? Come to the Houston Writers Guild, November Fall Mini-Conference session conducted by award-winning teacher/writer/editor Sarah Cortez to learn tips used by professional novelists in these exact situations and more.
November 8, Saturday, 9:00 AM.-4:30 PM A& M United Methodist Church, College Station SCBWI Workshop with Agent Jodell Sadler Cost: $125 for SCBWI members, $150 for non-members
Pick up the Pace!—A Workshop with Agent Jodell Sadler of Sadler Children’s Literary: Story pacing can make the difference between a “nice try” rejection and a publishable manuscript. Whether you’re working on page turns in a 500-word picture book or end-of-chapter cliff-hangers in a 50,000-word novel, Jodell Sadler has tips and tools to help pick up the pace. Join SCBWI Brazos Valley for a day-long workshop focused on pacing and strong writing skills. Register through the event website.
November 8, Saturday, 10:00 AM-Noon Maud Marks Library (1815 Westgreen Blvd, Katy Katy Kritique Group and The Space City Scribes Writing Workshop—Nuts and Bolts of Indie Publishing
Join the writers of the Katy Kritique Group and The Space City Scribes for a free workshop! They’ll help those wanting to independently publish and will provide information on sales channels, covers, editing, marketing and more.
Teen and tween aspiring authors and adult authors who write for teen and middle grade audiences, talk about their books and about other teen and middle grade fiction, book signings. More info about this event here.
Join KBB to celebrate the release of Kimberly Hix Trant’s first book #HASHTAGGED (Tate). #hashtagged is a chilling new science fiction novel about a daughter’s journey through her father’s past and into a frightening future. This future is something that Oliver Smith has seen firsthand and for which he has been preparing his daughter, Madeline. After Ollie’s death, Maddy must follow a trail of secrets that leads her into the arms of her first love, Jagger, the only person that can truly help her fight against a future world governed by artificial intelligence.
Space City Scribes, an author collective of Houston indie authors, introduce their new anthology, SPACE CITY 6: HOUSTON STORIES FROM THE WEIRD TO THE WONDERFUL, a collection of short stories with a Houston flair.
Sophie Foster is ready to fight back. Her talents are getting stronger, and with the elusive Black Swan group ignoring her calls for help, she’s determined to find her kidnappers—before they come after her again. But a daring mistake leaves her world teetering on the edge of war, and causes many to fear that she has finally gone too far. And the deeper Sophie searches, the farther the conspiracy stretches, proving that her most dangerous enemy might be closer than she realizes.
Debut author Skylar Dorset will discuss and sign her novel for young adults, THE GIRL WHO NEVER WAS. In Selkie’s family, you don’t celebrate birthdays. You don’t talk about birthdays. And you never, ever reveal your birth date. Until now. The instant Selkie blurts out the truth to Ben in the middle of Boston Common, her whole world shatters.
Because her life has been nothing but a lie—an elaborate enchantment meant to conceal the truth: Selkie is a half-faerie princess. And her mother wants her dead.
Doris Fisher, won the Crystal Kite Award for the Texas/Oklahoma Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators region this year for her book, ARMY CAMELS, TEXAS SHIPS OF THE DESERT. Doris will talk a little about her writing journey, so don’t miss hearing her story. Also, local writers who attended the National SCBWI Conference in Los Angeles this month will share what they learned from the many breakout sessions and keynotes.
Teen librarian Sandy Hall signs her debut YA romance novel, A LITTLE SOMETHING DIFFERENT, which was selected as the first novel to be published by Swoon Reads, a crowd-sourced teen romance imprint. This sweet romance between two college students is told from 14 different viewpoints. The creative writing teacher, the delivery guy, the local Starbucks baristas, his best friend, her roommate, and the squirrel in the park all have one thing in common—they believe that Gabe and Lea should get together.
Lea and Gabe are in the same creative writing class. They get the same pop culture references, order the same Chinese food, and hang out in the same places. Unfortunately, Lea is reserved, Gabe has issues, and despite their initial mutual crush, it looks like they are never going to work things out. But somehow even when nothing is going on, something is happening between them, and everyone can see it.
Please remember to check the website of the sponsoring bookstore or organization for the most up-to-date information on these events.
Our local bookstores are hosting several events this week to keep us reading and out of the heat, plus there may still be room in Houston’s new writers’ workshop venue, Write Space, for this week’s class. Here’s the details:
Deborah Masterson joins Storytime to read MY BROTHER BOBBY BOUGHT A PET SNAKE. Bobby buys a pet snake, and now he has a big problem. Can you help him figure out what to do?
Kirkus says, “This cleverly illustrated picture book will have readers pondering their own endings and possibly inventing further adventures for Bobby and Sue.”
August 1, Friday, 3:00-7:00 p.m. August 2, Saturday, 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Kroger #017, 1440 Studmont St.
Rebecca Nolen, MG Author
Multi-age group author Rebecca Nolen will be signing books, including her middle grade fantasy, THE DRY. West Virginia, 1895. A deadly dry spell has left the earth parched and souls desperate. Crops are failing. Cities are starving. A missing newspaper man doesn’t account for much in times so terrible, except to the twelve-year-old son he left behind. When Elliot Sweeney discovers the search for his father has been called off, he boards a train alone to find him.
His quest leads Elliot into the depths of an abandoned mine, with a peculiar pocket watch, a blind burro, and a gutsy girl at his side. He discovers a world he never dreamed of, even in his worst nightmares, and lands smack in the middle of a war between two kingdoms. Monstrous insects, smiling villains, and dark riddles are everywhere. Deciding who to trust may prove to be his greatest challenge, while the fate of the world above hangs on Elliot’s choice.
This revision workshop is led by Matthew Salesses, author of I’M NOT SAYING, I’M JUST SAYING (Civil Coping Mechanisms). Revision is often held up as the key to good writing. But rarely does an author or editor walk you through concrete strategies for how to revise. There are, however, some real steps one can learn. In this 6-hour course, we will go over 20 of these steps and will emulate some of them with our own stories in class. Students should bring with them the first two pages of a story they want to work on.
A.G. Howard will sign and discuss her young adult novel, UNHINGED (Amulet). In this second book of the Splintered series, Alyssa Gardner has been down the rabbit hole. She was crowned Queen of the Red Court and faced the bandersnatch. She saved the life of Jeb, the boy she loves, and escaped the machinations of the disturbingly appealing Morpheus. Now all she has to do is graduate high school. That would be easier without her mother, freshly released from an asylum, acting overly protective and suspicious. And it would be much simpler if the mysterious Morpheus didn’t show up for school one day to tempt her with another dangerous quest in the dark, challenging Wonderland–where she (partly) belongs. Could she leave Jeb and her parents behind again, for the sake of a man she knows has manipulated her before? Will her mother and Jeb trust her to do what’s right? Readers will swoon over the satisfying return to Howard’s bold, sensual reimagining of Carroll’s classic.
Jennifer Armentrout will kick off her tour for OPPOSITION, the fifth book in the LUX series from Entangled Teen. Katy knows the world changed the night the Luxen came. She can’t believe Daemon stood by as his kind threatened to obliterate every last human and hybrid on Earth. But the lines between good and bad have blurred. Daemon will do anything to save those he loves, even if it means betrayal. But when it quickly becomes impossible to tell friend from foe, and the world is crumbling around them, they may lose everything to ensure the survival of their friends…and mankind.
Sometimes even big events sneak up on me. The Mississippi Mud Bash happening at Murder By the Book this week took me by surprise. So here’s a heads up for a major event coming up in September; Tweens Read 2014 will be held September 27 at South Houston High School in Pasadena, Texas.
Katie Lea Yates signs her young adult book, THE PROVIDER.
The book: Finishing eighth grade and getting ready for high school is hard enough. Finding out that you can jump into the pictures you’ve drawn and become ruler of thousands of people makes it just a tiny bit tougher. Thankfully, I’m not alone. There’s a whole group of us. They’re very cool, and I love living with them. But it seems that I brought back a little more than my memories when I jumped into that first drawing-now I’m able to create things, or bring things from somewhere else, or . . . well, it’s complicated. And unfortunately, somebody might want us all dead.
Lindsay Cummings: THE MURDER COMPLEX (HarperCollins), an action-packed, blood-soaked, futuristic debut thriller. Meadow Woodson, a fifteen-year-old girl who has been trained by her father to fight, to kill, and to survive in any situation, lives with her family on a houseboat in Florida. The state is controlled by The Murder Complex, an organization that tracks the population with precision. The plot thickens when Meadow meets Zephyr James, who is—although he doesn’t know it—one of the MC’s programmed assassins. Is their meeting a coincidence? Destiny? Or is it part of a terrifying strategy? And will Zephyr keep Meadow from discovering the haunting truth about her family?
Rachel Harris:A TALE OF TWO CENTURIES (Entangled). Tired of her sixteenth-century life in Italy and homesick for her time-traveling cousin, Cat, Alessandra D’Angeli is lost. Until the stars hear her plea. One mystical spell later, Alessandra appears on Cat’s Beverly Hills doorstep five hundred years in the future. Surrounded by confusing gadgets, scary transportation, and scandalous clothing, Less is hesitant to live the life of a twenty-first century teen…until she meets the infuriating—and infuriatingly handsome—surfer Austin Michaels. Austin challenges everything she believes in…and introduces her to a world filled with possibility. But how will she return to the drab life of her past when the future is what holds everything she’s come to love?
Kristi Helvig:BURN OUT (Egmont). The last girl on Earth…just got company. Most people want to save the world; seventeen-year-old Tora Reynolds just wants to get the hell off of it. One of the last survivors in Earth’s final years, a teenage girl yearns to escape the wasteland her planet has become after the sun turns “red giant,” but discovers her fellow survivors are even deadlier than the hostile environment.
Julie Murphy: SIDE EFFECTS MAY VARY (HarperCollins)What if you’d been living your life as if you were dying—only to find out that you had your whole future ahead of you? When sixteen-year-old Alice is diagnosed with leukemia, her prognosis is grim. To maximize the time she does have, she vows to spend her final months righting wrongs—however she sees fit. She convinces her friend Harvey, whom she knows has always had feelings for her, to help her with a crazy bucket list that’s as much about revenge (humiliating her ex-boyfriend and getting back at her arch nemesis) as it is about hope (doing something unexpectedly kind for a stranger and reliving some childhood memories). But just when Alice’s scores are settled, she goes into remission. Now Alice must face the consequences of all she’s done, as well as her true feelings for Harvey. But has she done irreparable damage to the people around her, and to the one person who matters most?
Philip Siegel:THE BREAK-UP ARTIST (Harlequin Teen). Some sixteen-year-olds babysit for extra cash.
Some work at the mall. Becca Williamson breaks up couples. Becca knows from experience the damage that love can do. After all, it was so-called love that turned Huxley from her childhood best friend into a social-world dictator, and love that left Becca’s older sister devastated at the altar. Instead of sitting on the sidelines, Becca strikes back—for just one hundred dollars via PayPal, she will trick and manipulate any couple’s relationship into smithereens. One night, Becca receives a mysterious offer to break up the most popular couple in school: Huxley and the football team’s star player, Steve. To succeed, she’ll have to plan her most elaborate scheme to date—starting rumors, sabotaging cell phones, breaking into cars…. No one said being the Break-Up Artist would be easy.
Paula Stokes:THE ART OF LAINEY (Harper Teen). Soccer-star Lainey Mitchell is gearing up to spend an epic summer with her amazing boyfriend, Jason, when he suddenly breaks up with her—no reasons, no warning, and in public no less! Lainey is more than crushed, but with help from her friend Bianca, she resolves to do whatever it takes to get Jason back. And that’s when the girls stumble across a copy of The Art of War. and decide to use the book to lure Jason back into Lainey’s arms. Lainey channels her inner warlord, recruiting spies to gather intel and persuading her coworker Micah to pose as her new boyfriend to make Jason jealous. After a few “dates”, it looks like her plan is going to work! But now her relationship with Micah is starting to feel like more than just a game.
I hope everyone enjoyed celebrating our Independence Day. My family had a great time in Fredericksburg at the National Museum of the Pacific War. Although I expected it to be there, it was still a thrill to see Sherry Garland and Layne Johnson’s gorgeous book VOICES OF PEARL HARBOR prominently displayed in the children’s book section.
John Sandford and Michelle Cook will sign and discuss UNCAGED (Knopf for Young Readers) the first book in their new Singular Menace series. In UNCAGED, Shay Remby arrives in Hollywood with $58 and a handmade knife, searching for her brother, Odin. Odin’s a brilliant hacker but a bit of a loose cannon. He and a group of radical animal-rights activists hit a Singular Corp. research lab in Eugene, Oregon. The raid was a disaster, but Odin escaped with a set of highly encrypted flash drives and a post-surgical dog.
When Shay gets a frantic 3 a.m. phone call from Odin—talking about evidence of unspeakable experiments, and a ruthless corporation, and how he must hide—she’s concerned. When she gets a menacing visit from Singular’s security team, she knows: her brother’s a dead man walking.
What Singular doesn’t know—yet—is that 16-year-old Shay is every bit as ruthless as their security force, and she “will” burn Singular to the ground, if that’s what it takes to save her brother.
Local author Dee Leone will visit KBB for a special story time with her new book BIZZ AND BUZZ MAKE HONEY BUNS (Grosset & Dunlap). Bizz and Buzz are two bees who want to make honey buns. So, they ask their friend Bear for his recipe. Although the directions seem simple, Bizz and Buzz make mistake after mistake, like finding a little “flower “instead of adding a little “flour.” What will “bee”-come of the honey buns?
Join author Debra Winegarten for a discussion of her new biography OVETA CULP HOBBY: COLONEL, CABINET MEMBER, PHILANTHROPIST. Oveta Culp Hobby (1905-1995) had a lifetime of stellar achievement. During World War II, she was asked to build a women’s army from scratch – and did. Hobby became Director of the Women’s Army Corps and the first Army woman to earn the rank of colonel. President Eisenhower chose her as Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, making her the second woman in history to be appointed to a president’s cabinet. When she wasn’t serving in the government, Hobby worked with her husband, former Texas governor William P. Hobby, to lead a media empire that included the Houston Post newspaper and radio and TV stations. She also supported the Houston community in many ways, from advocating for civil rights for African Americans to donating generously to the Houston Symphony and the Museum of Fine Arts.
This first biography of a remarkable woman has been written for middle school readers. It traces her life from her childhood in Killeen to her remarkable achievements in Washington, DC, and Houston. Debra Winegarten provides the background to help young adult readers understand the times in which Hobby lived and the challenges she faced as a woman in nontraditional jobs. She shows how Hobby opened doors for women to serve in the military and in other professions that still benefit women today. Most of all, Oveta Culp Hobby will inspire young adults to follow their own dreams and turn them into tangible reality.
Join Ricci Casserly as she signs KATHY’S ADVENTURES (Tate) the story of a little girl named Ricci and her favorite doll, Kathy. Ricci and Kathy are the best of friends, and Ricci will do anything to care for Kathy. But as time passes, Ricci plays with Kathy less and less. One day when Ricci goes to her grandmother’s house to see Kathy, Kathy is gone. Come along with Ricci as she learns never to give up hope and follows her dreams of reuniting with her best friend.
Here’s this week’s roundup of events for children’s and young adult authors and illustrators. Don’t forget to mark your calendars for the Montogmery County Book Festival on February 2! If you write or illustrate—or are interested in learning about writingor illustrating—children’s literature, there is still time to sign up for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators spring conference here in Houston on April 13. Critique slots for our guest speakers are filled, but there are still opportunities for critiques from several of our wonderful local authors, including Kathy Duval, Warren Hanson, Sherry Garland, Joy Preble, and Ana Maria Rodriguez.
Melanie Chrismer, author of more than a dozen books, including the Phoebe Clapsaddleseries, presents her newest picture book, CHACHALACA CHIQUITA. In a Southwestern spin on the Chicken Little tale, Chachalaca Chiquita, a colorful southwestern bird, is on a mission to tell the jefe (boss) that the sky is falling after a pebble falls from the sky and hits her right on the head. Chachalaca Chiquita joins the feathered flock-Lina Gallina, the prairie hen, and her chicks-and heads to the mountain, passing bugs buzzing, birds flying, lizards snatching, and animals moseying, collecting more animals along their journey. Their adventure takes a turn when they meet sly Tacito Ocelote and they learn that he is the jefe—the one who started it all and has been expecting the odd flock for dinner.
January 26, Saturday, 3:00 p.m. River Oaks Bookstore Kip Cosson, PB Author/Illustrator
New York artist/author Kip Cosson’s newest picture book, MEECE FOR MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY, follows the adventures of Meece Mouse, who decides to run for Mayor of New York City. As part of his campaign, Meece and his campaign manager, Ned Penguin, visit all five boroughs of New York City. Mayors from all across the country are reading this book to children and teaching them about our electoral system in an entertaining way.
Houston playwright Kathleen Tolan’s regional premiere of MEMORY HOUSE, directed by Claire Hart-Palumbo.
As Katia struggles to finish her college essay by tonight’s midnight deadline her mother Maggie tries to motivate and encourage her while baking a pie. Mother and daughter wrestle with lingering issues from Katia’s adoption from Russia, her parents’ divorce and her fear of leaving home as they pick their way through the very human, very honest, and sometimes very funny struggle of how to connect with each other and face the future.
For very important information about this event including pricing and age restrictions, see Main Street Theater’s website
Our beautiful park suffered severely from last year’s drought. Money raised through ticket sales for this event and 30% of artists’ sales will be donated to The Memorial Park Conservancy for park reforestation.
Come enjoy the wine, dessert and snacks at the cocktail reception featuring the founder of Paws on Patios, Patrick Walsh, Jim Porter– chairman of The Memorial Park Conservancy, Brian Kalinec– singer/songwriter, Suzanne Marsh– silhouette artist, and the amazingly tall Walking Tree Of Life performer as well as many wonderful artists who will be selling tree-themed art. Visit www.theartfullumbrella.com/art_benefit for the details and to purchase tickets. Art which is not purchased at the event will be for sale online from December 12th-18th at www.theartfullumbrella.com/art_gallery/. Photo credit: Steve Lathem
For those of you in the West Houston/Katy/Fulshear areas, I wanted to pass on news of the 3rd annual “Stuff the Sleigh of Katy”, an all-volunteer holiday toy drive benefiting pediatric cancer patients treated at Texas Children’s Hospital (TCH) – West Campus, and their siblings. Santa Claus will present the children with toys collected in his Santa’s Sleigh at a family holiday party. The community toy drive is accepting donations to purchase holiday gifts through Wednesday, December 12. Those interested in sponsoring a child’s gift may stop by the Firethorne Community Center to select a ‘sleigh’ gift card with a wish list item on it from a young cancer patient or their brother or sister. Photo credit: Ginny Lund
We have several fun events happening this weekend! Remember that the information here is from the sponsoring bookstore or organization’s website and changes do happen. Please check their websites for the latest, most up-to-date information on these events.
Best-selling picture book author and illustrator Anna Dewdey will visit Houston to kick off the Houston Public Library’s annual Season’s Readings program. Anna is the author of the LLAMA LLAMA picture books as well as ROLY POLY PANGOLIN, GRUMPY GLORIA and NO BUNNY’S PERFECT.
Join Rachel Harris as she discusses and signs her new book MY SUPER SWEET SIXTEENTH CENTURY.
Armed with only a backpack full of contraband future items, Cat is thrust into the Renaissance on the eve of her sixteenth birthday where she soon falls for the gorgeous aspiring artist Lorenzo. But romance takes an unpleasant turn when the much-older Niccolo starts sniffing around. Can Cat find her way back to modern times before her Italian adventure turns into an Italian forever?
Illustrator Nancy Binford presents her new book, THE LAST CHRISTMAS TREE. The story of a not-to-handsome tree that has watched all the other trees on the lot get taken home. Will The Last Christmas Tree get a home?
While you’re out doing your holiday shopping, don’t forget to stop by the Houston area fine independent bookstores which frequently sponsor author and illustrator events:
TeenBookCon is over for this year, and what a great turnout they had! Now TLA is in full swing and everyone is posting pictures on facebook and twitter. Last night, Blue Willow Bookshop had such a fun event—a panel of five MG authors with author/editor David Levithan as moderator. Now we’ve got a whole ‘nother batch of author/illustrator events to take us through the end of the month.
Starting with a bang (drumroll…)
April 20, Friday, 7:00 p.m. West Houston Community Center, 725 Bateswood, Houston, TX Veronica Roth, Author
Blue Willow Bookshop hosts Veronica Roth as she discusses and sign DIVERGENT, her debut novel for young adults. We hope she will give us some hints about the upcoming INSURGENT as well!
Staff from Blue Willow Bookshop will begin handing out line numbers at 6:30 pm.
I know we are all excited about TeenBookCon and happy that next week it’s Houston’s turn to host TLA, the Texas Library Association’s annual conference. But though these are the biggest events rocking Houston’s children’s literature community, they aren’t the only events. Check out what’s happening in the next few days:
Children’s Author/Illustrator Laurie Knowlton signs I KNOW A LIBRARIAN WHO CHEWED ON A WORD. Miss Devine, a bun-wearing bibliophile, has a passion for literacy that reaches new heights. She has actually chewed on a word, claims one small witness to this outrageous event. In the manner of “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly,” she has downed a book shelf, table, chair, cart, and a copy of Peter Pan trying to chase down a savory assemblage of letters. What is that word?
April 14, Saturday, 10 a.m.-4p.m.
Alief Taylor High School TeenBookCon
Orson Scott Card will be the keynote speaker for the 3rd annual Houston-area TeenBookCon. TeenBookCon is FREE, though attendees may want to bring money for books and snacks. Along with Card, over 20 authors and artists of teen books from all over the U.S. will participate in author panels, signings, and activities at the free event. Authors’ works include graphic novels, paranormal and dystopian fiction, fantasy and romance. This is a great opportunity for teens and other fans of YA literature to interact with a variety of authors and graphic novelists! TeenBookCon’s major sponsor is the Blue Willow Bookshop. For details on the event schedule and other sponsors, please visit
Last week I thought I’d caught all the literary events for Houston up until March 10, but it looks like I missed a few. I’ve got them here now, plus a reminder for a couple more. This week’s line-up has a famous baseball player-turned-author, two virtual author chats, a story of a heroic librarian, a rising star of Young Adult literature AND a free writing workshop! Whew!
As always, this information is from the sponsoring bookstore or organization’s website. As times and events can change on short notice, please remember to check their website, or better, their stores, for the latest updates.
Meet and chat with Lauren McLaughlin author of SCORED and CYCLER about new books, past books, the writing process or the color of their socks. This author chat is the virtual equivalent of sitting and chatting with your favorite writer at a coffee shop. Don’t forget to check out her books from your local library!
NOTE ON VIRTUAL ONLINE CHATS:
Readers can view the broadcast from any computer, anywhere in the country! Or you can click here to view. You can also visit any of the listed Houston Public Library locations to participate in these virtual author visits. If you want to participate in the chat, please go to HPL’s Almost Totally Virtually Here!page, scroll down, and use the chat window there.
Cal Ripken, Jr., The Iron Man himself, stops by to sign his new book for kids. In SUPER SIZED SLUGGER , Cody Parker is the new kid in school. He’s overweight, scared and hates his new life in Dullsville, Maryland, aka Baltimore, where he’s a target–okay, a big target–for brutal teasing. But he loves baseball. And despite his size, he plays third base like a dream. Too bad he’s competing for the starting job on the Orioles of the Dulaney Babe Ruth League against budding hoodlum Dante Rizzo,
Another great week of author and illustrator events is here! Something for everyone: a picture book author/illustrator, a Newbery honor winner, a popular author/screenwriter and a quartet of YA authors. Mark your calendars!
Divya Srinivasan, an illustrator and animator living in Austin, Texas, will lead a special storytime featuring LITTLE OWL’S NIGHT . It’s evening in the forest and Little Owl wakes up from his day-long sleep to watch his friends enjoying the night. Hedgehog sniffs for mushrooms, Skunk nibbles at berries, Frog croaks, and Cricket sings. A full moon rises and Little Owl can’t understand why anyone would want to miss it. Could the daytime be nearly as wonderful? Mama Owl begins to describe it to him, but as the sun comes up, Little Owl falls fast asleep.
Jennifer L. Holm, New York Times bestselling children’s author and recipient of three Newbery Honors, will discuss and sign her books for children, including SQUISH, a tale of microscopic proportions.
2011 is winding down, and what a fantastic year it has been for author visits in Houston! We had our first ever Tween Reads Festival, which is now planned as an annual event. If you missed seeing Mary at Blue Willow Bookshop last week, you have two more chances! Scroll down for the info. I hope to go see her again, but in case I don’t write about it, you can read my post about Mary’s launch at Blue Willow Bookshop.
We’ve had so many great authors here this year. At times I was swamped with other work and didn’t get a chance to write posts about some of our wonderful author visits, but if you’d like to read about the ones I managed to write about, you can see their posts here:
Sophie Jordan will sign & discussVANISH, the dramatic follow up to her debut paranormal young adult novel Firelight.
To save the life of the boy she loves, Jacinda did the unthinkable: She betrayed the most closely-guarded secret of her kind. Now she must return to the protection of her pride knowing she might never see Will again—and worse, that because his mind has been shaded, Will’s memories of that fateful night and why she had to flee are gone.
I’m exhausted after the Thanksgiving holiday, but happy to be back home. We arrived home from Florida to find a nice cold front was blowing in—34 degrees! It’s great to cozy up by the fireplace and settle back in to writing. This fall we’ve had a whirlwind of visits from authors and illustrators, but things are slowing a bit now. We do have two events in the area this week, one in town and one out in Brenham!
Please remember that this information is from the bookstores that are hosting the events. For the latest, most accurate information, please visit their websites, or better yet, their stores.
Come celebrate the release of C.C. Hunter’s exciting AWAKE AT DAWN, the sequel to Born at Midnight.
C.C. Hunter will be reading an excerpt from the book, answering questions and signing copies. She’s a talented and hilarious speaker so you won’t want to miss a minute. Seating is limited. Come early!
There will also be snacks and an opportunity to get your copy of Awake at Dawn autographed.
December 5, Monday, 3:00 PM The Book Nook, Brenham Marci Peschke, Author
If your child/grandchild/niece/neighbor reads Junie B. Jones, Magic Tree House, Ivy Bean, or Ramona Quimby books, then this book series will be just right for them! Marci Peschke’s KYLIE JEAN series of chapter books launched earlier this year with four titles: Kylie Jean, Rodeo Queen; Kylie Jean, Blueberry Queen; Kylie Jean, Drama Queen; Kylie Jean, Hoops Queen
The Book Nook will open early on Monday with special hours just for this event— from 2pm to 5pm. Marci Peschke will be signing from 3pm to 5pm. So bring the kids over after school to come meet a real live school-librarian-turned-author!
Check out The Book Nook’s Facebook page for details.
Here it is the third week of November, and I haven’t wished good luck to all the brave and determined people who are hammering out 50k words for NaNoWriMo. Best wishes to all of you and a Happy Thanksgiving, too! To help everyone around the Houston area have a great Thanksgiving week, here are the author/illustrator events around town:
Marianne Malonewill sign and discuss her debut middle grade book, THE SIXTY-EIGHT ROOMS. Housed in the deep inside the Chicago Art Institute is a collection of 68 exquisite miniature rooms, each set in a different historic period, and every detail is perfect. Some might even say, the rooms are magic. Imagine—what if on a field trip, you discovered a key that allowed you to shrink so that you could sneak inside and explore the rooms’ secrets? What if you discovered that others had done so before you? And that someone had left something important behind?
November 26, Saturday, 1:30 PM Katy Budget Books Sam E. Bromley, Author
Sam E Bromleywill signHUNKA CHUNKA MONKEY SHAPES UP, an early middle grade tale of a curious but sedentary monkey who soon discovers it is refreshingly fun to make a new friend and join him in playful, active adventures of running, jumping and learning the fast paced game of basketball.
Annie Barrows will discuss and sign IVY AND BEAN: NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS, the latest in the IVY AND BEAN series. Ivy and Bean need some money. Ten dollars, to be exact. Never mind what for. Okay, it’s for low-fat Belldeloon cheese in a special just-for you serving size. Don’t ask why. How are Ivy and Bean going to make ten dollars? Hey, maybe they should write a newspaper about Pancake Court and sell it! Great idea! And easy, too. All they have to do is snoop around the neighborhood. Wow…It’s very interesting what they can find out. It’s even more interesting when the neighbors read about it in the newspaper.
Last week, I mentioned what an amazing line-up of events we have going on in Houston in September. As well as having many wonderful bookstores in Houston, both big chain stores and outstanding independent bookstores, Houston is also fortunate to have several excellent writers’ organizations. One event I forgot to mention is a multi-author signing at the Barnes & Noble at Town & Country Village on September 17th. The writers at this event are part of the Houston Writers’ Guild—an organization with authors across all genres and age groups—which hosts a conference each year featuring prominent editors and agents. They have already announced the date for next year’s conference, so if you are a writer or an aspiring writer, mark Friday, April 13-14, 2012 on your calendars! I had a great time this year (and part 2 here), and I’m looking forward to Market Sense for the Writer, 2012.
Sophie Jordan presents VANISH, the dramatic follow up to her debut paranormal young adult novel Firelight.
To save the life of the boy she loves, Jacinda did the unthinkable: She betrayed the most closely-guarded secret of her kind. Now she must return to the protection of her pride knowing she might never see Will again—and worse, that because his mind has been shaded, Will’s memories of that fateful night and why she had to flee are gone.
Last night’s Houston SCBWI meeting featured author, teacher and speaker Wendy Lanier. Wendy spoke with us about working with nonfiction packagers and work for hire. Her talk about this side of the writing life really opened some eyes about this opportunity. I saw pens flying over notebooks the whole time she was speaking. Thanks for sharing with us, Wendy!
Now on to our weekly author/illustrator event/s.
I need a clever name for this feature. Something catchy. Something that will encompass authors and illustrators without changing the name each week when only authors are having signings or only illustrators are having events. I’ll have a think on it.
Events like this are always a little slow in summer, but we have a good one this week! As always, the information here is taken from the sponsoring bookstore’s website. Please visit their website for the latest, most accurate information.
Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she’s dead. With no recollection of her past life—or her actual death—she’s trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowning in her river…
As I promised last week, I’ve posted storytimes at some of our local libraries. On today’s post, I’ve featured the libraries of Fort Bend County. It’s quite a long list, so I’ve put it beneath our author event. This week, award winning YA author Tear Lynn Childs will be signing her newest book at two locations. As Always, the information here is from the sponsoring bookstore or organization’s website, but plans sometimes change, so please check their websites to confirm this information. Blue Willow Bookshop July 8, Friday, 7:00 p.m. Tera Lynn Childs
Tera Lynn Childs, award-winning author of the mythology-based Oh. My. Gods. and Goddess Boot Camp, the mermaid tale Forgive My Fins, will celebrate the debut of her newest book for young adults, FINS ARE FOREVER.
This is part of the Girls of Summer event series. If you attend all three events and get your Girls of Summer card stamped, you will be entered to win an amazing swag bag from all three authors. You must have attended all three events and be present at Tera Lynn Childs’ event to win the swag. Katy Budget Books July 9, Saturday, 3:30 pm Tera Lynn Childs Blockbuster young adult author Tera Lynn Childs signs FINS ARE FOREVER, the sequel to Forgive My Fins, a romantic mermaid tale.
Fort Bend County Library Children’s Book Events: Ongoing throughout July
George Memorial Library Wednesdays, 10:00 AM
Story Time: Stories, crafts, & a movie for preschool children. Recommended for ages 3-6 years. Thursdays, 6:30 PM
Pajama Night Story Time
Start Time: Description:
Stories & other activities for the whole family. Saturdays, 10:00 AM
Story Time: Stories, crafts, & a movie for preschool children. Recommended for ages 3-6 years.
Albert George Branch, Needville Thursdays, 10:15 AM
Story Time: Stories, crafts, & a movie for preschool children. Recommended for ages 3-6 years.
I’m posting our weekly events a bit early this week because we have a big event coming to Houston, the Chills and Thrills Teen Book Tour, featuring Lara Chapman, Tracy Deebs, Jordan Dane and Sophie Jordan. Also, the very popular MG writer, Michael Scott will be visiting Houston. The particulars of these visits are at the bottom of today’s post, so don’t forget to scroll down!
This past weekend at our YA/MG writers meeting, Mary Lindsey talked about writing in deep POV from a theatrical background. Although I appeared in a few school plays, I have never taken acting classes, so even something which Mary said everybody knew, like the “cup of coffee” method of sensory exploration, was news to me.
Deep, personal exploration of sensory memories brings realistic tension to scenes—you can tell the author has a real experience with the situation. Mary used a personal story about a traumatic event from her childhood to demonstrate how she used sense memory recall to create a realistically terrifying scene in her novel Shattered Souls (debuting from Philomel Books December 8, 2011).
When she needed her main character to have a unique habit—something other than the run-of-the-mill hair-twisting or nail-biting, Mary used the sense memory recall method to think of things she found/finds soothing and came up with a combination of memories that blended into a unique habit for her character.
Another technique Mary discussed was object endowment—giving an object characteristics it doesn’t actually have to link it emotionally to a person or event.
Halfway through the meeting we took a break to refill on coffee and pastries then reunited for a amazing “around the room” review of what everyone is working on. As always, I am flabbergasted by the talent and dedication of the Houston YA/MG Writers. What a great group!
Mary recently had a blog tour for the upcoming release of Shattered Souls. Check out these blogs to read all about it:
Barnes & Noble presents a special Halloween Storytime with local illustrator and artist Roberta Baird featuring 
Rachel Harris:
she’s come to love?
Philip Siegel:
Paula Stokes:
