I grew up on 80’s movies. The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Better Off Dead, Sixteen Candles, Some Kind of Wonderful, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off… you get the picture. My steady diet of 80s cheese left an indelible imprint on me that sneaks into my writing, even when I don’t necessarily mean for it to‚ with […]
Suzanne Young, author of The Program, had a live chat the other day, and here are ten things we learned about her, The Program, The Treatment (the sequel to The Program), and Just Like Fate, her book written with Cat Patrick. 1. She’s inspiring without knowing that she’s inspiring. I honestly believe I’m an author […]
Deb Caletti, author of Honey, Baby, Sweetheart is here to discuss why she writes stories that take place during the summer! Why I Write About Summer: I think we all have a season that’s ours. Not just our favorite time of the year, but the one that makes us feel most like ourselves. Some people feel […]
Dear Teen Jessi, Someone needs to just say this. Those eyebrows of yours? Wax them. Please. Other than that, you’re doing pretty good. Good friends, solid grades, big dreams, baby doll dresses and Mary Janes . . . You’re happy, and you should be. But I think this letter will make you even happier. You’re […]
John Corey Whaley talks about the inspiration behind Noggin: Believe me when I tell you this: I never, in a million years, thought I’d end up writing a book about cryonics or head transplants. In fact, after my debut, Where Things Come Back, published in 2011, I wrote a completely different book, and then rewrote […]
Editing is one of the most important (and least glamourous) aspects of bringing a book to life. Shannon Messenger, author of Let the Sky Fall & Let the Storm Break. * * * * * This dream/flashback used to come before Vane’s other memory of Audra and the snow, but I cut it because I […]
Where I grew up, there was both a swamp and a lake. I remember the lake as being icy cold, but everyone spent the summers swimming there anyway. The swamp was across town in a low area that every spring would become a small pond of thick mud and sharp reeds that smelt like rot. […]
Dear Teen Me, First things first, the mocha matte lipstick has got to go. I know you spent $18 on it at Lancome and it’s your prized possession but it is not a good look for you. I’ll tell you what else is not a good look. Pining for that boy. You know the one. […]
Did you have an idea of how you wanted the Dustlands trilogy to end when you started writing it? Also, why did you choose to have Emmy’s story end the way it did? Absolutely not! ‘Blood Red Road’ was the most ambitious book I’d attempted to write and it took me from the autumn of […]
Did you do any sort of research or extra work for the STARGLASS series? Like studying plants or drawing maps or anything? What kind of notes did you take to keep up with the world you built?” I did! I’m a research nerd. I have hand-drawn maps of the Asherah, and I also used a […]
