Book Recs and a New Author!

Looking for something to read or watch - I have both for you here

I’ve been reading some great books lately, mostly because I have little patience (full stop), and none for weak writing or “wtf are they thinking?!?” characters. Happily, excellent books exist, and I have somehow lucked into knowing people who recommend them. Inevitably, the recommendations go straight onto my holds list at the Los Angeles Public Library (*if you can score a library card there, they have one of THE BEST collections!), and weeks or months later, something with a great cover and interesting blurb comes available and I’ve completely forgotten whose fault it is. Suffice to say that if you’re one of my book pushers, I love you for it.

First, if you haven’t picked up a Jandy Nelson book, WHY NOT?!? I’ll Give You the Sun is a Michael L. Printz award winner, Stonewall Honor Book, and School Library Journal best book of the year, and it was fabulous. Her newest book, When the World Tips Over, is equally captivating and already an editor’s pick and NY Times Bestseller. Her characters leap off the page and directly into your heart, and despite the hard parts, Jandy’s books always end beautifully.

I just opened Lucy Score’s Story of My Life, and the heroine’s writing woes are so painfully familiar I felt myself at a 5am crossroads - close what was clearly going to be a fun book and deny myself the inevitable joy of it, or pull up my big-girl-writer’s-guilt panties and push past the absolute discomfort of feeling like the emperor without her clothes. I’m still reading, and might even find inspiration in it.

Speaking of writing (because speaking of not writing is uninspiring and pointless), I had three really delightful conversation about writing in the last three days, and I can feel myself gaining momentum on the corner as I head back into the land of authorship. A reader from the early years of The Immortal Descendants series wrote a book, and also created a writer’s curriculum and community for women to find connections and support in their own writing journeys called Quill & Cup. She asked me if I’d be willing to record a webinar about writing a series, which will also be presented as a podcast conversation, and though it won’t happen until August, I’m excited to have it on my schedule to look forward to.

The second conversation was with my husband about a project we’re creating, inspired by the Federal One and WPA Writer’s Project. We recorded that discussion, and I can’t wait to share the project with you when it finds its form.

And finally, I got to talk about writing and reading with my dear friend Krysta Dearson, who’s debut novel The Best Medicine was just published by Smartypants Romance. I read it and loved it, and our conversation covered everything from writing what you know (she’s an M.D.) to giving side characters their own plot lines (the heroine’s kids are FANTASTIC!), and everything in between. If you have a few minutes, you can listen in here:

My weekend will be full of books, bagpipes, and birthday celebrations (my oldest is home from school to celebrate with us and with friends all weekend), and I wish you a wonderful weekend full of great stories, great conversations, and great friends.