This fall, PBS is running a program called “The Great American Read.” Earlier this year, they asked 7,000 readers to name their favorite works of fiction. The alphabetical list of 100 (not ranked) was then culled by a panel of…
I didn’t plan to write for kids. My current middle grade novel, Beastly, began as a book for adults. After a few years it turned into a YA novel, and a few years later, it dropped to middle grade. Since…
When I started my YA thriller Half in Love with Death, I’d already abandoned two novels about a young girl who falls in love with a man who may be a murderer. Every time I tried to write it I…
Writers think about word counts the way dieters think about calories. By the time I finished my YA novel, Half in Love with Death, I’d reduced it from 97,000 to 90,000 words, and I thought it was pretty slim and…
With so much change for the better happening out there in the world – the #MeToo movement, the March for our Lives gun control rallies, the rise in LGBTQ+ books and authors of color in YA literature, to name a…
It’s been…an interesting year. But it didn’t entirely suck. In 2017, a lot of great YA fiction came charging out, leading the push for diverse representation, tackling some tough social issues, and being well-crafted, compelling reads. Here is a round-up…