Joëlle Anthony
J. M. Kelly
Welcome to My Blog
How dedicated are you to your writing?
Last year, before we moved, we debated back and forth on whether or not to buy a new flat screen TV because there was no way we were going to move our hundred plus pound 27" TV. Heck, we barely got it out to the porch for the garage sale, let alone across the country!...
How dedicated are you to your writing?
I'll tell you how dedicated I am, and if you know me at all, you're going to say, "Wow! Now that's one dedicated writer!"
The knucklehead story continued (both of us)
This cat, which we will call Grinder, since that's his official name, although today I called him a few choice other names, believes that the very best places to sleep are the places he is not allowed to go. For example, the top of my computer desk. Another favorite...
STORY OF A GIRL by Sara Zarr
Can I just say that Sara Zarr is the coolest name ever? Okay, now I've got that off my chest, let's talk about the book. This is a really good book, but you knew that because I'm blogging about it and I wouldn't if I didn't like it. This is one of those books that...
Never, ever, ever trust this cat…
I am sad to say that I once again fell for the "Who me? I'm totally innocent" act. Click here to read the full story of my knucklehead cat who wants to be a writer.
B FOR BUSTER by Iain Lawrence
I know that Iain Lawrence is an award winning writer, but for some reason I had never come across his books until I moved to the small town where we live now. And why did he suddenly end up on my reading list? Because he lives here too. All I can say is lucky me...
You couldn’t pay me to live here…
But you could pay me to write about living here. Heck, I'm writing about living here for free right now (but hopefully someone will pay me eventually). One of the notes my agent gave me was that I needed to work on my descriptions. Seems like they're all clear in my...
Q&A with Elana Roth
Here's a little about Elana Roth: Elana is graduate of Barnard College and the Jewish Theological Seminary, and is nearly at her 10 year mark in New York City. She started her career at Nickelodeon Magazine, researching wacky and even gross stories. Most recently, she...
Welcome to the Q&A with agent, Elana Roth!
Hi, Everyone. Thanks everyone for participating in the Q&A with Elana Roth. It was fun and informative. And thanks to you too, Elana! If you missed the Q&A, you can access the "live" portion by clicking on the comments below. Click here to view the Q&A.
SPELLS & SLEEPING BAGS by Sarah Mlynowski
If you've been around for a while, you might remember that I loved the first two books in this series (even though I read them out of order), Bras & Broomsticks and Frogs & French Kisses. This is another winner! It's set at sleep away camp and I am a sucker...
KISS cont.
He wanted me to raise the stakes for my character. So, me being who I am, immediately came up with this brilliant and complicated plot device for raising the stakes. It meant changing a bunch of stuff, introducing family secrets, creating unexpected twists and turns,...
LESSONS FROM A DEAD GIRL by Jo Knowles
I finally got a hold of a copy of this book and ended up reading it in two sittings (one day). I "virtually" know Jo Knowles, but so do a lot of people because she runs that write a book in two and a half month thingie which is a spin-off of the write a book in a...
KISS – Keep It Simple Sweetie!
So a few weeks ago, my agent read my new manuscript and while he was excited, he asked for some changes before it goes out. Click here for the rest of the story....
THE LIFE AND CRIMES OF BERNETTA WALLFLOWER by Lisa Graff (MG)
You may remember that Lisa's book, THE THING ABOUT GEORGIE was on my Fave Fifteen of 2007 and she's got another winner here. This book was interesting on so many levels. It really makes the reader feel quite uncomfortable because...well, I don't really want to say,...
The Art of Listening
I have never been very interested in audio books. The only time I ever wished I had one to listen to was when I had a headache and I was never prepared with one on hand during those times, so I basically never listened to them. The few times I'd tried them, I'd found...
TO CATCH A MERMAID by Suzanne Selfors
This is a lovely and delightful middle grade story. A little bit magic and a lot of heart. If you love Jean Ferris' books, you won't want to miss TO CATCH A MERMAID because it's just as wacky and fun, which is unusual and hard to find. It's also a very exciting story,...
DAIRY QUEEN & THE OFF SEASON by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Set on a Wisconsin Dairy farm, this book has a truly authentic (or what I imagine to be authentic, since I've never been on a Wisconsin Dairy farm) voice and setting. Small town life is depicted in a way that makes sense - some like it, some want out, some aren't...
An interview with Alan Gratz
Please join me in welcoming Alan Gratz! We met at a workshop a few years ago when Alan's first book, Samurai Shortstop had just been released. Samurai Shortstop (Dial, 2006), was named one of YALSA’s Top Ten Best Books of the Year and received starred reviews from...