Books for kids, teens, & those who are young at heart
On October 8, 2016 from noon – 4:00 p.m., the Stratford, CT Public Library is participating in the Indie Author Day, a nationwide event designed to bring local writers together to share information. It’s open to the public, and there will readings from local authors and a panel of industry experts. The afternoon concludes with a book signing event, where you’ll be able to find me with copies of ELIXIR BOUND!
If you’re local, I’d love to see you there!
Banned Books Week is coming up at the end of the month, so we thought it would be cool to talk about banned books for September #InkRipples. The American Library Association put together a video about the ten most challenged books in 2015 (their Banned & Challenged Books website has a ton of resources for parents, teachers, librarians, and book lovers).
It’s kind of strange that we have a week to recognize these books, that we need a week to do that. Let people read what they to read. Read things out of your comfort zone and learn something new or take in a new perspective. Monitor what your kids read and be ready to talk about the issues that might come up as a result. But don’t ban books or protest them. Just because something might make you uncomfortable, doesn’t mean there is something wrong with it. Check yourself, maybe it’s you that needs to be rethought.
Early on in my blogging days, I scoured my house to find all the banned and challenged books I owned. Then I draped myself in them and took a picture (you can see the original post here). I also talked about one of my favorite banned books THE GIVER by Lois Lowry. It’s been quite some time since I’ve read that one; I might have to pick it up this fall. What are some of your favorite banned/challenged books?
#InkRipples is a monthly meme created by Katie L. Carroll, Mary Waibel, and Kai Strand. We pick a topic (September is all about banned books), drop a ripple in the inkwell (i.e. write about it on our blogs), and see where the conversation goes. Be sure to check out Kai’s and Mary’s posts this month. We’d love to have you join in the conversation on your own blogs or on your social media page. Full details and each month’s topic can be found on my #InkRipples page.
The Barnes & Noble B-Fest Teen Book Festival this past weekend was such a great event! So many authors I know and many of my favorites who I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting in person participated in B&N locations all across the country. I was lucky enough to be a part of the event on Sunday at the North Haven store.
The staff totally made me feel like a rock star. They were super accommodating, supportive, and helpful. My day started at noon with a book talk about ELIXIR BOUND. Anyone who knows anything about how I got started writing knows it’s a sad story about the death of my sister Kylene.
To counterbalance the sad part of my writing journey, I brought along some of my old writings (and illustrations). They included a series of picture books inspired by IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE by Laura Joffe Numeroff and illusatrated by Felicia Bond, a short novel I wrote in elementary school, a saucy journal from high school filled with stories of old boyfriends (though I didn’t share any of those stories directly!), a high school newspaper that I both wrote for and edited, and a feature from a stint working for a regional newspaper while in college.
After my talk and book signing, I had a little downtime. But I had a few friends and family that stopped by to say “Hi,” so that kept me busy while I signed stock for the store. If anyone in the area is looking for signed copies of ELIXIR BOUND, the North Haven, CT Barnes & Noble has some!
Then it was time for Tara Sullivan, author of GOLDEN BOY and THE BITTER SIDE OF SWEET, to talk about her books and writing process, which was like listening to a fascinating civics lesson on albinism and the dark truth of where chocolate comes from. Tara and I met at the NESCBWI conference earlier this spring, and it was really nice catching up with her and hearing about her books.
Finally it was time for the B-Creative event Barnes & Noble set up, which was a writing workshop about creating log lines and pitches. It was geared towards teens, but we had a few great adult participants as well. And I’m pretty sure everyone went home with a prize!
Overall a hugely successful event all around. I’m excited about doing future books events here. Did anyone else participate in the B-Fest? I’d love to hear how it went!
Barnes & Noble is hosting a nationwide Teen Book Festival June 10-12 that will feature all kinds of fun activities and book signings. I’ll be at the B&N in North Haven, CT, signing and discussing my YA fantasy ELIXIR BOUND at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 12. Then I’ll be sticking around for the B-Fest Teen Book Festival: B-Creative, a writing workshop for teens, at 2:00 p.m. I hope to see some local peeps there and I’m excited to meet some new readers!
For non-local peeps, there are events happening at B&N stores all over, so definitely check out your local store to see all the happenings. Also, a quick reminder that if you purchase a copy of ELIXIR BOUND and would like a signed bookplate, I’m happy to send you one. You can use the contact form on my website to let me know you want one (those go straight to my personal email). Happy reading!
(Oh, and if you’re an author and are participating in the #BFESTBUZZ, feel free to share the details of your event in the comments!)
First order of business is I have a new event to announce. Barnes & Noble is hosting a nationwide Teen Book Festival the weekend of June 10-12, and I’ll be participating at the B&N in North Haven, CT on Sunday, June 12. Once I have all the details, I’ll post them here on the blog and on the homepage. But I wanted to start getting the word out now for any local people who might be interested.
In other news, I’ve been working hard to meet a couple of freelance deadlines and the hubby is away all this week, so you’re all getting a picture post. It’s quick and easy, and you all love pics of the boys, right? (You’re so not allowed to say no to that question!) 😉
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