WHY I'M INSPIRED BY… @sarahockler

Weeping is not the same thing as crying. It takes your whole body to weep, and when it's over, you feel like you don't have any bones left to hold you up. 

-Sarah Ockler, Twenty Boy Summer p. 28

 

Like the stars, fading with the halo of the vanishing moon. Like the ocean, falling and whispering against the shore. Nothing ever really goes away - it just changes into something else. Something beautiful.

-Sarah Ockler, Twenty Boy Summer p. 289

 

An Awesome Author Evening at University Bookstore!

Just got home from a terrific Simon & Schuster author event. The Summer Lovin' Tour touched down at Seattle's University Bookstore this evening. Here are my TOP FIVE superlatives and one bad photo because I am probably the world's worst photographer.

Jessi Kirby & Morgan Matson
They are seriously so adorable (if I could only focus a camera)!
 

Coolest cover secret: The spine under the hardcover jacket of Jessi Kirby's GOLDEN is actually gold. (Also, ask about her new surfboard.)

 Most Revelatory Food Obsession: Morgan Matson's literary relationship with corn-on-the-cob

 

"Could it be coincidence" or was Adele's James Bond cover song inspired by Shannon Messenger? Ooh. Hmm. Think about it.

 

Best "Can You Imagine": Kimberly Derting as a trucker-lady?

(Don't you wish you'd been there to hear that story?!)

New Fan-Girl Dream: To see one of Sarah Ockler's writing spreadsheets.

Really. Seriously. And you should dream this dream, too!

Fiction Friday: SUMMER SECRETS

Not quite my typical book pairing this week.  If you're a teen or older, read 'em both because they're terrific.  For middle-graders (10 or 12 and up, depending on where you buy the book), stick with my first "summer secrets" suggestion.

In the Louise Fitzhugh's THE LONG SECRET, Harriet of HARRIET THE SPY fame is cast in a winning supporting role in a book of great wit and honesty.

Friendship, secrets and self play important roles in Sarah Ockler's beautiful debut, TWENTY BOY SUMMER as well. 

Posts will be short next week as I'll be "vacationing" to the best of my ability (not so great at lying by the lake but I'm sure going to try) which also means LOTS of work on my new ms.  But I will post all the info on my first contest next Friday.