Joëlle Anthony
J. M. Kelly
Welcome to My Blog
An Interview With Alan Gratz – the famous five
What’s the riskiest thing you ever did, and did it work out for you? Easily the riskiest thing I ever did was quit my teaching job to be a full time writer. The decision was partially motivated by the birth of my daughter, Jo, and the decisions we were soon going to...
Thursday’s Animal Essay – Cat Wrasslin
When we lived in our old house, the cats roamed free and wild. Around dusk, you might catch one of them chasing the other, but that was about it. Here, they also are free to go, but they've turned into a couple of chickens and won't go outside for more than a few...
A Cat Wrasslin Photo Essay
In this corner, weighing in at ten pounds two ounces, The Orange Menace! Known for his extra toes and shortage of wits, this fighter is capable of squishing opponents noses with one smack of his enormous paw. He's also capable of sustaining injury and fighting on....
Because you told me to…continued –
Because I think of all this reading as not simply fun, but learning about what I want to write too, I tend to look for YAs mostly in my genre. I choose books with appealing covers, by publishers I like, by authors I've read before, fairly recent publication dates, and...
Because you told me to…
As you probably know if you stop by here regularly, I read a lot. More when I'm taking a break from writing, but generally I devour around 150+ MG & YA books a year (plus a few nonfiction and adult titles). That's an average of 2.88 books per week. Sometimes, on...
A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban (MG)
Lisa Greenwald on The Longstockings blog, mentioned this book the other day. Read it in one sitting. Found it charming, funny, and chock full of really well drawn characters and just lovely. Add it to your list! I know, I know, I'm giving you so much to read. I plan...
Repossessed by A. M. Jenkins
The agent, Janet Reid, recommended this book on her blog a few weeks ago and I read it last night and this morning. It is so great! Very funny, a unique hook, and thought provoking. It also would be great for those reluctant readers or boys who think there's nothing...
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith
This is one of those books that you've always heard of but maybe never got around to reading. At least that was true for me. The other day, my librarian friend (who I hope is way too busy to read this or I'll be caught) was talking about A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and I...
You know you’ve made it when…
You know you've made it when someone asks you to guest blog on their fabulous website! Okay, okay...I volunteered while she's away on her book tour, but just the same, stop by Eileen Cook's website where yours truly is guest blogging about the difference between the...
Knitting and writing
This is my very first dishrag. I have to say it works excellently too. What do you do when you're brain is too fuzzy to read or write?
Carol Culver
Make sure you drop by Carol's site to find out more about her and her and to read the first chapter of her books, Manderly Prep and Rich Girl. 1) What's on your CD player? Broadway tunes. I'm a big fan of musicals, especially Oklahoma!, The Fantasticks, Into the Woods...
BROKEN MOON by Kim Antieau
I really have been winning the Fabulous Book Lottery lately. To be fair, a lot of the books are recommendations, and not just ones I've picked up randomly (thanks, Michael). This is a very good book. The subject matter is a little hard on the heart. If you're a kid...
BEIGE
I'm posting the picture so you can enlarge it and see the cover for a reason. When I was at the library, I picked up this book. I am not sure why, because the cover is off-putting to me. However, I read the first page, liked it, checked it out, took it home and it's...
BOY PROOF by Cecil Castellucci
I only write about books on this blog that I really like, but this one...this one goes to the top of the book pile. I am totally in love with this book. I read it through in one sitting and was truly blown away by it all: the writing, the story, the characters, the...
WHITE MAGIC by Kelly Easton
I feel like I'm on a roll here...lots of great books have come my way lately. This is a neat book. I know that makes me sound like I'm twelve, but it's the word I want to use. It's just kind of neat how it's told from many different perspectives. Unlike many authors...
Please welcome, Carol Culver!
I am happy to get back into a routine with my Friday Author Interviews. This week, Carol Culver has stopped by to answer some pressing questions. Okay, maybe not pressing, but interesting! Carol is a romance writer who is dipping her toes into the YA pool. Heck, she’s...
Thursday – the return of the Animal Essay!
I decided since I'm going back to a schedule of sorts, I should do my Thursday Humorous Animal essay. This is when I write about the humorous animals in my life. In the past there was a skunk in the house, my cats always offer fodder and we had an eagle in our yard...
Thursday – Animal stories
I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, so deer were around. I mean, you didn't see them down at the local 7-11, but you'd see them at the beach or along a country road, or even in the neighbour's yard. Now I live on an island and there are deer, deer, everywhere deer....