Author Spotlight: Richard Peck

Have you heard of A Long Way from Chicago, and its sequel A Year Down Yonder? They're both among my favorite upper middle grade reads, and Richard Peck (not to be confused with author Richard E. Peck) is a genuine, friendly author who appreciates his fans. I met him at The King's English Bookshop a year or two ago, and was so grateful for the time he took with each person standing in line. He is quite prolific, and a list of his many works can be found here. You'll have to let me know what you think. I've suggested his books to my MIL and she didn't like them at all! Oh well. To each his own, right?

It is December already, so come back tomorrow to enter my Christmas giveaway!

Author Spotlight: Jerry Spinelli

It's a new month already, and I am highlighting author Jerry Spinelli. I've only read Eggs and Stargirl, but I think he's most well known for his Newbery book Maniac Magee. Growing up, I knew a girl named Jerry, so I assumed Spinelli was a woman only to discover otherwise. I was thoroughly impressed at how well he wrote from a young female perspective. Some of his stories are a couple of decades old. Maybe it's time to pull them out again, and introduce them to your family. Which Spinelli novel is your favorite? Do you know any authors who write with a similar style?

How to Judge an Author IV

I asked my kids what kinds of books the following authors write, and here are their entertaining answers...What does she write? *very sure* Fantasy, for YA. She looks pretty, and pretty/young go with romance authors, but her hair doesn't say romance, and she doesn't look weird enough to be a science fiction author, or mean enough to write horror. Here, I am thinking twice because my daughter knows enjoyed writing a short horror story recently. Hm. Anyway, this is Kate Messner, the author of middle grade novels The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z and Sugar and Ice.

*I show her the picture* Ooooooooo, um...romance. YA. Why's that? Because she looks like a magazine cover and people who write romance sometimes do. This is Cynthea Liu, author of the middle grade novel Paris Pan Takes the Dare, which I haven't read yet, but it's on my TBR. I wonder if this MG has romance. Cynthea also helps aspiring authors through her book Writing for Children and Teens.

How about this one. What does she write? Hm. I don't know. Let's go with autobiography. Why? I bet she...would write a book about herself, *laughs* because she took time to go to a portrait studio to take a picture of just her with that blue lighting, black shirt, and her hair set just so. Good one. This is Katherine Hannigan, author of Ida B, one of my all time, favorite middle grade stories. I guess it could be a secret autobiography, you know? Did Katherine put a lot of herself into Ida B? I wonder.

And last, but most surely not least...How about this guy? *laughs* Horror, for adults, *waits, scrunches face* but the way his eyebrows go up, I'm unsure 'cuz that's what a nice guy would do - not horror. He could be a mystery writer. Think of the Clue game. I can imagine one like him smoking a cigar. Does one of the Clue characters actually smoke? I'd have to get it out to see. We all know this guy! CS Lewis, famous for many books, but most of all The Chronicles of Narnia.

Author Spotlight: Sharon Creech

This month I'm highlighting author Sharon Creech, who has written many books, including Chasing Redbird, Walk Two Moons, and Ruby Holler. I enjoyed these so much that I tried Love That Dog, only to discover it is a story told in poetry form. I don't enjoy poetry very often, and almost returned it to the library before I even started - but I thought I'd give it a chance, and then I enjoyed it enough to get part two, Hate That Cat. Fancy that, me reading an entire book of poetry. I'm proud of myself, even if it is geared toward middle grade kids. Actually, I think I'm a kid at heart, how about you?

How to Judge an Author Part III

I asked my kids what kind of books the following authors write, and since you love this topic, I've decided to make it a regular post! This time though, these authors are actual friends I've met in the bloggerhood. What kind of books does she write? She looks kind of intimidating. I’m not sure. Historical fiction? It’s hard to tell on her because she looks young so she doesn’t seem like the kind of person who wouldn't write historical fiction but she's got a look that makes her seem like she’s not a romance writer – otherwise I would think she’s a romance writer. I wonder what 'the look' is. This is Rachael Renee Anderson whose most recent book is Minor Adjustments.

What kinds of stories does she write? Kid lit because of her funny smile *laughs* and her cutsie hat. What’s funny about her smile? The way she’s looking up as if she were a kid. My other daughter said I bet she writes historical fiction. Why? Well, she just seems like the sort of person that would write historical stuff, like she could be a history teacher or something. And that smile seems sort of like she knows something about fairies – so fantasy. I'm thinking they see Angie Lofthouse as a very versatile author. She's writen a lot of short science fiction that you can find here.

How about this author? *no hesitation* Romance. For one thing, she’s wearing red velvet, which just seems sort of romancy. Romantic people wear velvet? *nods* Um, and the way she has her hair died and she’s pretty so, yeah. Many of you know the friendly and cheerful Talli Roland who has written The Hating Game and Watching Willow Watts which are, indeed, chick lit, which always contains romance.

Last one. What does she write? Comedy? Because it’s a funny picture. Writers wouldn’t probably generally put a picture of themselves peeking over a scarf or something like that – unless they wanted to hide their identity. HAHA! And my other daughter said Comedy, because she is squinting her eyes a little bit like she’s smiling and she looks like the kind of girl that would have a sense of humor. By the way, I asked them seperately, but they both came up with comedy. Terry Lynn Johnson is the author of the adventure Dogsled Dreams. Terry, are you a funny lady? You'll have to let us know!

Author Spotlight: Jenny Nimmo

I discovered this author about the same time Pixar's Finding Nemo came out, so I actually remembered her name by association, which is saying something since I'm not one to remember names very well. Even when I read a novel I cannot remember the names of the characters. They're always, "the one guy who..." or "the main character..." or "the creepy one that...". Jenny Nimmo is the author of the Charlie Bone series, The Children of the Red King. I almost always visit an author's official website, and hers is one of my favorites - simple, yet fun. To visit, click here. On another note, the bluebird won this blog's mascot poll, which is exciting since my current WIP has a lot to do with birds. Now I just need to figure out how to get the designer of this background to design me a bluebird of my own. I'm glad to be back online! I've actually been gone for about a month, having written and scheduled all of my posts ahead of time. I can hardly wait to get caught up on your blogs, and discover the blogs of my new followers from Sylvia Ney's Wonderland blogfest. Hugs to you all, and have a great week.

How to Judge an Author Part 2

We had so much fun with this last month, I thought I'd do another. I showed my kids the following author and asked them, What kind of books does she write? Historical fiction. What makes you think she writes that? First I thought she looked like she writes psychotic things (the way she's tilting her head and smiling, and the way her neck has little lines) but that would be mean, so historical fictions came out of my mouth. Wow. I have those little lines, too. I should make sure I don't tilt my head when I smile. This is YA romance author Meg Cabot, famous in our family for The Princess Diaries.

What kind of books does he write? Horror. And why do you think he writes horror? Because of his sad eyes and funny hair and eyebrows, and he's a man. I've written a little horror. Does that mean I have sad eyes and funny eyebrows? This is actually well known, prolific suspense author, James Patterson. His upcoming book is Kill Me If You Can, to be released August 29th. I haven't read any of his work. Have you? How do you like it? Sometimes when I read prolific authors, all their books start looking the same - though I still enjoy them.

What kind of books does he write? He doesn't look scary enough to write horror, and romance novels just sounds funny for him. What does he write? He's the author of The Lightning Thief. He is?! Yes. This is Rick Riordan whose most recent work The Throne of Fire came out last May. Have you read his Percy Jackson and the Olympians series? My daughter loved it, but admitted she was disappointed with the movie for not following the book well enough.

What kind of books does she write? She looks nice. Umm...Science fiction because the look about her face - she could write about aliens. She looks slightly like one in disguise. *laughs* These are the thoughts I usually keep to myself. I promise. I'm not making these up. This is YA contemporary fiction author Sara Zarr who wrote Once Was Lost, which I just read and loved, and personally I don't think she looks like an alien in disguise.

Author Spotlight: Ann Dee Ellis

This is one of the most incredibly down to earth, encouraging YA authors I've met. She taught a class at WIFYR 2010, after which I bought her books. You should know, I've been to several conferences like this and don't usually buy the books for one reason or another. I'm a little hard to convince, I guess. I wondered if I'd be disappointed in them, because if I ever saw her again, would she ask? What would I say?

But I had no reason for worry. I loved the script-like style, and she handled some sensitive subjects with great tact, even humor. Her two books are This is What I Did and Everything Is Fine. If you're in the mood to try something unique, or if you've never enjoyed YA previously, you might give Ann Dee a second look.

Author Spotlight: Robert Liparulo

I've been reading Robert Liparulo's YA series The Dreamhouse Kings, starting with House of Dark Shadows. Comes a Horseman, a novel for adults, has been out since 2005, and since then the guy has been spitting out novels faster than a mouse on your linoleum floor - ten, according to Wiki, with two more in the works.

Get this, three of his novels for adults are going to be movies, plus the Dreamhouse Kings is going to be made into movies too. All I'm wondering is, where have I been? I've never heard of Liparulo until a couple of months ago, and neither have any of my reading friends. Have you read any of his work? If you like YA + scary + adventure = give this author a try and let me know what you think.

Author Spotlight: Patrick Carman

I'm celebrating the work of Patrick Carman this month, and in the process of typing this post I'm looking after an abandoned 5 week old kitten.

*scratching at keyboard*

I first discovered Patrick's work in 2003 with his debut novel The Dark Hills Divide, a series called The Land of Elyon. We're a read-it-aloud family, and enjoyed the memorable characters and adventures.

*mini dachshund bumping my elbow while gently wrestling with kitten*

A few years later, I was delighted with his series, Skeleton Creek, a book-online video combination. It was the first of its kind, and has just the right amount of scare for my taste.

*purring and pawing at bottle held by my daughter*

You can find out more about him here, along with his other books...

Atherton
39 Clues (one of several authors)
Thirteen Days to Midnight and
Trackers (another book-online video combination)

*sitting contentedly by sleeping dachshund*

Additionally, Patrick is giving the keynote address at the ALA Conference in New Orleans at the end of this month.

Have you read any of his work?

*OUCH! He's biting my elbow*