I started a post earlier today, but I was so irate when I wrote it, I would have offended half the people reading this blog if I actually published it. So, the main point from my “pre-post” are:
1) I HATE censorship.
2) Red Polka Dot is not an edgy novel. It’s realistic, but not edgy.
3) Teenagers curse, drink, and have sex, whether you want to believe it or not.
4) I use the F-word six times in my novel.
5) Thank God for the ALA.
Whew…now that that’s off my chest, on to more important issues. I’m happy to report that I have four author appearances lined up for November. I’m thinking of doing a few more in a few other cities, but I think for a first-time author, the ones I have set up are pretty good. Please join me at one of the following locations:
November 10 @ 7:00 PM: Barnes and Noble (Sunset Valley), Austin, TX
November 12 @ 2:00 PM: Black Images Book Bazaar, Dallas, TX
November 18: Wilson High School, Florence, SC
November 19 @ 1:00 PM: Books-A-Million, Florence, SC
Please check back for updates as I schedule new dates.
I’m sorry for the longer-than-usual delay in posts, but I was doing something that I have neglected for way too long – I was catching up on my reading. I really, really want to get Ellen Wittlinger’s new novel, Sandpiper (I wonder, would this be considered edgy?), but I can’t justify buying a new book when I have a stack of good books that I’ve been waiting to get through.
FYI – Ellen Wittlinger’s novel, Hard Love, is easily in my top three of YA books. The plot is good, but it’s her voice that really captured me. I don’t think I’ve felt so strongly about a group of characters since I read some of Judy Blume’s work when I was growing up. Hard Love is the first YA novel I read after I decided I wanted to write YA (I didn’t know what category I was trying to write for before then), and it’s a novel I re-read at least once a year. I highly recommend the novel to anyone thinking about writing YA, and to any teenagers looking for good, believable, realistic characters. I only hope I can write a book as good as Hard Love one day.
If you want to read more on Ms. Wittlinger, check out her website, or see Cynthia Leitich Smith’s interview with her.
Thanks for the recommendation. I’ll have to check this one out. My pile of YA and picture books is so high now, and I badly want to start in on my pile of adult (not adult adult) but grown people reading. And hey, as far as the niece, she looks like a Liz.
Best!
Readers interested in learning more on the subject should surf by the National Coalition Against Censorship:
http://www.ncac.org/
V, most of us writer’s share your passionate hatred for censorship, don’t sweat it. Looking forward to supporting you in Big “D”.
Queen Paula