Debbie Leland on Debbie Leland: “I was born in Kansas City, Missouri and moved to Texas when I was 15 years old. I fell in love with Texas, with the wildflowers, the beautiful sunsets, the y’alls and even the pointy-toed cowboy boots. It didn’t take me long to develop a good ol’ Texas drawl.
Category: General
The Men of Texas Libraries Calendar
The Men of Texas Libraries Calendar: January 2007 through June 2008 from the Texas Library Association. A Benefit for the TLA Library Disaster Relief Fund. “As featured in the Dallas Morning News and Washington Post.” Go ahead! Support the fund. You know you want to.
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I’m Not Julia Roberts by Laura Ruby
Congratulations to acclaimed middle grade-YA author Laura Ruby on the release of her first novel for adults, I’m Not Julia Roberts (Warner, 2007)!
Laura says: “…each story dictates the age group for which it’s written. For example, I could have written Good Girls (HarperCollins, 2006) as an adult novel with a narrator looking back on her high school experiences,
Happy New Year
Happy New Year! I’m pleased to announce that I have a fully signed contract for a second upper YA gothic fantasy with Candlewick Press, and I’m hard at work on the manuscript. Stay tuned for updates. Read an interview with my Candlewick editor, Deborah Wayshak.
Meanwhile, Stacy Whitman’s Grimoire chimes in on my upcoming Tantalize (Candlewick,
Cynsational News & Links
Many joyous wishes to Cynsations readers!
I’m signing off for a few days, but will check back in around the new year. Thanks to all for your readership and support.
Santa Knows: a recommendation by Liz B of A Chair, A Fireplace, and A Tea Cozy. Liz says: “I love his [Alfie’s] determination to prove what he knows to be true;
Cynsational Books of 2006
An Egg Is Quiet by Dianna Hutts Aston, illustrated by Sylvia Long (Chronicle)(author and illustrator interview).
Honors
Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Kadir Nelson (Hyperion)(illustrator interview)
Cynsational News & Links
Thanks…
to Rosie’s Little Book World: Your guide on the internet to the best modern girl litterature (or chick-lit, if you will) for recommending my recent interview with Sarah Dessen.
to Carrie Jones and A Fuse #8 Production for recommending my author/illustrator interviews of 2006.
Author/Illustrator Interviews of 2006
“The biggest challenge was reformatting the story from a traditional chapter book into the wacky format it ended up in. My editor told me I had to cut the word count from 7000 words to 4000, but the story was pretty lean to begin with and there just wasn’t a lot of room for cuts.”
Cynsational News & Links
One Writer’s Process: Shelley Pearsall from Wordswimmer. Read a Cynsations interview with Shelley.
Read interviews with poets Joyce Sidman and Tanya Lee Stone at author Tracie Vaughn Zimmer‘s Poetry House. Look for Reaching for Sun by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer (Bloomsbury,
Cynsational News & Links
In the Coop with Cynthia and Greg Leitich Smith from Three Silly Chicks: a co-authors’ interview about the writing of Santa Knows (Dutton, 2006). Note: Definitely our silliest interview ever. Don’t miss it! Learn more about silly chicks Andrea Beaty, Julia Durango, and Carolyn Crimi.