To name the novel or not, that is the question…

by | May 6, 2007 | Need to Read

So, I haven’t posted for a while because for a couple of days I just read the newspaper and magazines. And for the last few days I’ve been reading a pretty long YA. I’ve gone back and forth on whether to name it here or not, because I have very mixed...

The Friday Five – Author Interviews

by | May 4, 2007 | Daily Writings

I recently had the pleasure of asking author, Cynthia Cheng, the Friday Five questions. Her debut novel, ASPIRATIONS, is available now at Amazon, Borders, Barnes & Noble and other bookstores. This Canadian writer, born and raised in Toronto, likes to blog about...

Your Writing – an exercise

by | May 3, 2007 | Daily Writings

Hi. Today I’m giving you five words to use in a 100 or less word story. I totally stole the idea from Miss Snark (although, it’s a pretty common writing exercise). She got about 500 entries. I’m hoping for five. Show me what you’ve got! carpet...

My Writing – Lower your expectations

by | May 2, 2007 | Daily Writings

What? Lower your expectations! What kind of loser advice is that? Well, I’ll tell you. When I am revising a novel, it’s not unusual for me to write for 4-5 hours per day. In the final stretch, I can put in 6-9 hours. Pretty impressive, right? I am...

Teen Topic Tuesday – Teens push for Green Power

by | May 1, 2007 | Daily Writings

Tuesdays are topics that I think might be of interest to teens. I’m welcome to suggestions too. Here in the South we have an opportunity to participate in Green Power Switch. We opt to pay a little extra each month on our power bill and then the power company...

FRAMED by Frank Cottrell Boyce

by | Apr 30, 2007 | Need to Read

This is another great British MG. Set in a small town in Wales where their claim to fame is more rain than anywhere else in the UK, it’s about…well, I’m not going to tell you because if I do, I’ll spoil it. The beginnings a bit of a mystery. I...

Parent Swap by Terence Blacker

by | Apr 28, 2007 | Need to Read

I’d once thought of writing a book about two families who swapped kids, so when I saw the title of this book, I thought, “Old Slow Joe, missed the boat.” However, that’s not what this book is about, so you never know…any editors out there...

Tough Love by Joelle Anthony

by | Apr 28, 2007 | Uncategorized

Originally published in the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Bulletin, March/April 2007 It’s very easy to fall in love with your characters, but it can be detrimental to your plotting. How many times have you heard a writer affectionately...

A Questionable Beginning by Joelle Anthony

by | Apr 28, 2007 | My Nonfiction

Originally published in the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Bulletin, January/February 2005 Beginning an article with a question can be weak at best and a lazy habit at worst. Every time I sit down to write nonfiction a nice stream of catchy...

The Friday Five – Author Interviews

by | Apr 27, 2007 | Daily Writings

Today I’m interviewing yours truly. Not only will it let me introduce myself, but it gives me another week to get some other authors interviewed. I will ask each author to answer five of ten questions and submit a brief bio. When possible, I’ll read their...

Thursday – Your Writing

by | Apr 26, 2007 | Daily Writings

Hi. If you’re a writer, Thursday’s your day to tell me about it. Feel free to introduce yourself, tell me what you like to write, and anything else of interest. Also, I’ll try to have some fun writer exercises up here that we can do together, or...

On pace to ninety books or so…

by | Apr 25, 2007 | Need to Read

Last year I read roughly 125 books. Looking through my log, I was surprised to see that probably 15% were adult fiction. I don’t think of myself as reading adult fiction, but I guess I do sometimes. I probably read some nonfiction too, but I rarely remember to...

Writer Wednesday

by | Apr 25, 2007 | Daily Writings

I mostly write young adult fiction. I am currently working on a new novel which came to me in a surprising way. I have a manuscript called TRUE BLUE BABY which has generated a fair amount of interest, but needs a little work (see the music page to learn more about...

Chipmunks, Skunks, and baby birds, Oh, My!

by | Apr 24, 2007 | Daily Writings

I think there is a chipmunk living in my office, courtesy of Grinder. He brought us one the other day, let it go under the couch and then went back outside to see what else he could find. We left the door open all day, but despite that, I’ve seen the chipmunk...

Still reading…

by | Apr 24, 2007 | Need to Read

Hi, All. Well, the book I just read didn’t really pass muster with me, so I’m not going to mention it here. It was by an author that I love, so it just goes to show that even if you find a great author, everything they write, might not be for you....

Animals who earn their keep

by | Apr 21, 2007 | Daily Writings

I know that people really like dogs because they come when you call them and they’re so glad to see you, as if they’re amazed you can leave the house and ever come back. And dogs are cool. I know some dogs I like. But we don’t call our house Chez...

Recent Books I’ve read

by | Apr 20, 2007 | Need to Read

Hi. I’ve been reading even while I haven’t been blogging (surprise, surprise!). Here are a few books that I’ve read recently that you might want to check out. THE ISABEL FACTOR by Gayle Friesen – Canadian YA I adore this book. This is just...

My first update – hopefully!

by | Apr 20, 2007 | Daily Writings

Hi, Everyone. Thanks for stopping by. I’m still playing with all the features of the site and hopefully will get more familiar with it soon. I know I told some of you that you’d get an “audio surprise” if you used the contact form and for some...

Welcome to Need To Read

by | Apr 13, 2007 | Need to Read

Click here for a list of YAs you might be interested in reading, followed by my Fave Fifteen of 2006. Click here for the Red Hair Is Not As Uncommon As You Think article! Thanks for coming by! I am in the process of compiling a complete archive of Need To Read that...

Launch Party

by | Apr 13, 2007 | Daily Writings

Thanks for stopping by and helping me celebrate the launch of my new writing website. You can find out a little about me, what I’m writing, the books I’m reading, and how music has influenced my writing. I’ll be posting news as it happens (hopefully very good news,...

Posting!

by | Mar 29, 2007 | Need to Read

Hi. Well, I haven’t been posting much because I haven’t been reading much. I know! Shocker! But I’ve been writing a lot, plus I’m trying to do the content for my new soon-to-be released website (www.joelleanthony.com). I did, however, find out...

DOUBLE SHOT & DARK TORT by Diane Mott Davidson

by | Mar 18, 2007 | Need to Read

Hi. Well, I don’t read a lot of adult fiction, but someone recommended that I read these books because they said my writing reminded them of hers, especially my manuscript about cooking. These are murder mysteries and a caterer is the main character. I pretty...